- 


"  'It's  an  honest  regulation,  friend,  which  says,  Mind  your  own  busi- 
ness.' " — The  Prairie,  page  19. 


THE    PRAIRIE 


BY 

J.  FENIMORE   COOPER 

Author  of  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans,'1'1  "The  Deerslayer,"  "The  Pioneers," 
"The  Pathfinder,"  "The  Pilot,"  etc.,  etc. 


"Mark  his  condition,  and  th'  event ;  then  tell  me 
If  this  might  be  a  brother." — Tempest 


NEW  YORK 
JOHN  W.  LOVELL  COMPANY 

150  WORTH  STREET,  CORNER  MISSION  PLACE 


TROW8 

D   BOOKBINDING  COHPA.W, 
NEW   YORK. 


PS 


INTRODUCTION. 


ftl 

W 


THE  geological  formation  of  that  portion  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union  which  lies  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  has  given  rise  to  many  ingenious  theor- 
ies. Virtually,  the  whole  of  this  immense  region  is  a  plain. 
For  a  distance  extending  nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles 
east  and  west,  and  six  hundred  north  and  south,  there  is 
scarcely  an  elevation  worthy  to  be  called  a  mountain. 
Even  hills  are  not  common,  though  a  good  deal  of  the  face 
of  the  country  has  more  or  less  of  that  "  rolling  "  character 
which  is  described  in  the  opening  pages  of  this  work. 

There  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  the  territory  that 
now  composes  Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  and  a 
large  portion  of  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  lay 
formerly  under  water.  The  soil  of  all  the  former  States 
has  the  appearance  of  an  alluvial  deposit ;  and  isolated 
rocks  have  been  found,  of  a  nature  and  in  situations  which 
render  it  difficult  to  refute  the  opinion  that  they  have  been 
transferred  to  their  present  beds  by  floating  ice.  This 
theory  assumes  that  the  Great  Lakes  were  the  deep  pools 
of  one  immense  body  of  fresh  water,  which  lay  too  low  to 
be  drained  by  the  irruption  that  lay  bare  the  land. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  French,  when  masters 
of  the  Canadas  and  Louisiana,  claimed  the  whole  of  the 
territory  in  question.  Their  hunters  and  advanced  troops 
held  the  first  communications  with  the  savage  occupants, 
and  the  earliest  written  accounts  we  possess  of  these  vast 
regions  are  from  the  pens  of  their  missionaries.  Many 
French  words  have,  consequently,  become  cf  local  use  in 
this  quarter  of  America,  and  not  a  few  names  given  in  that 
language  have  been  perpetuated.  When  the  adventurers 
who  first  penetrated  these  wilds  met,  in  the  centre  of  the 
forests,  immense  plains  covered  with  rich  verdure  or  rank 
grasses,  they  naturally  gave  them  the  appellation  of  mead- 
ows. As  the  English  succeeded  the  French,  and  found  a 


4  INTRODUCTION^7. 

peculiarity  of  Nature,  differing  from  all  they  had  yet  seen 
on  the  continent,  already  distinguished  by  a  word  that  did 
not  express  anything  in  their  own  language,  they  left  these 
natural  meadows  in  possession  of  their  title  of  convention. 
In  this  manner  has  the  word  "  prairie  "  been  adopted  into 
the  English  tongue. 

The  American  prairies  are  of  two  kinds.  Those  which 
lie  east  of  the  Mississippi  are  comparatively  small,  are  ex^ 
ceedingly  fertile,  and  are  always  surrounded  by  forests. 
They  are  susceptible  of  high  cultivation,  and  are  fast  be- 
coming settled/  They  abound  in  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois, 
and  Indiana.  They  labor  under  the  disadvantages  of  a 
scarcity  of  wood  and  water — evils  of  a  serious  character, 
until  art  has  had  time  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  Nature. 
As  coal  is  said  to  abound  in  all  that  region,  and  wells  are 
generally  successful,  the  enterprise  of  the  immigrants  is 
gradually  prevailing  against  these  difficulties. 

The  second  description  of  these  natural  meadows  lies 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred 
miles  from  that  river,  and  is  called  the  Great  Prairies. 
They  resemble  the  steppes  of  Tartary  more  than  any  other 
known  portion  of  the  world  ;  being,  in  fact,  a  vast  coun- 
try, incapable  of  sustaining  a  dense  population,  in  the 
absence  of  the  two  great  necessaries  already  named.  Riv- 
ers abound,  it  is  true  ;  but  this  region  is  nearly  destitute 
of  brooks  and  the  smaller  water-courses,  which  tend  so 
much  to  comfort  and  fertility. 

The  origin  and  date  of  the  Great  American  Prairies 
form  one  of  Nature's  most  majestic  mysteries.  The  gen- 
eral character  of  the  United  States,  of  the  Canadas,  and  of 
Mexico,  is  that  of  luxuriant  fertility.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  find  another  portion  of  the  world,  of  the  same  extent, 
which  has  so  little  useless  land  as  the  inhabited  parts  of 
the  American  Union.  Most  of  the  mountains  are  arable  ; 
and  even  the  prairies,  in  this  section  of  the  republic,  are 
of  deep  alluvion.  The  same  is  true  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Pacific.  Between  the  two  lies  the 
broad  belt  of  comparative  desert,  which  is  the  scene  of  this 
tale,  appearing  to  interpose  a  barrier  to  the  progress  of 
the  American  people  westward.  Since  the  original  pub- 
lication of  the  book,  however,  the  boundaries  of  the  re- 
public have  been  carried  to  the  Pacific,  and  "  the  settler," 
preceded  by  the  "  trapper,"  has  already  established  him* 
self  on  the  shores  of  that  vast  sea. 


INTRODUCTION.  $ 

The  Great  Prairies  appear  to  be  the  final  gathering* 
place  of  the  red  men.  The  remnants  of  the  Mohicans  and 
the  Delawares,  of  the  Creeks,  Choctaws,  and  Cherokees, 
are  destined  to  fulfil  their  time  on  these  vast  plains.  The 
entire  number  of  the  Indians  within  the  Union  is  different- 
ly computed  at  between  one  arid  five  hundred  thousand 
souls.  Most  of  them  inhabit  the  country  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. At  the  period  of  the  tale,  they  dwelt  in  open 
hostility,  national  feuds  passing  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. The  power  of  the  republic  has  done  much  to  restore 
peace  to  these  wild  scenes,  and  it  is  now  possible  to  travel 
in  security  where  civilized  man  did  not  dare  to  pass  unpro- 
tected five-and-twenty  years  ago. 

Recent  events  have  brought  the  Grand  Prairies  into  fa- 
miliar notice,  and  we  now  read  of  journeys  across  them  as, 
half  a  century  since,  we  perused  the  narrative  of  the  emi- 
grants to  Ohio  and  Louisiana.  It  is  a  singular  commentary 
on  the  times  that  places  for  railroads  across  these  vast 
plains  are  in  active  discussion,  and  that  men  have  ceased 
to  regard  the  project  as  chimerical. 

This  book  closes  the  career  of  Leather-Stocking.  Pressed 
upon  by  time,  he  had  ceased  to  be  the  hunter  and  the  war- 
rior, and  has  become  a  trapper  of  the  Great  West.  The 
sound  of  the  axe  has  driven  him  from  his  beloved  forests 
to  seek  refuge,  by  a  species  of  desperate  resignation,  on 
the  denuded  plains  that  stretch  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Here  he  passes  the  few  closing  years  of  his  life,  dying  as 
he  had  lived,  a  philosopher  of  the  wilderness,  with  few  of 
the  failings,  none  of  the  vices,  and  all  the  nature  and  truth 
of  his  position. 


THE    PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

"  I  pray  thee,  shepherd,  if  that  love,  or  gold, 
Can  in  this  desert  place  buy  entertainment, 
Bring  us  where  we  may  rest  ourselves  and  feed." 

— As  You  LIKE  IT. 

MUCH  was  said  and  written,  at  the  time,  concerning  the 
policy  of  adding  the  vast  regions  of  "Louisiana  to  the  already 
immense  and  but  half-tenanted  territories  of  the  United 
States.  As  the  warmth  of  controversy,  however,  subsided, 
and  party  considerations  gave  place  to  more  liberal  views, 
the  wisdom  of  the  measure  began  to  be  generally  con- 
ceded. It  soon  became  apparent  to  the  meanest  capacity 
that,  while  Nature  had  placed  a  barrier  of  desert  to  the  ex- 
tension of  our  population  in  the  West,  the  measure  had 
made  us  the  masters  of  a  belt  of  fertile  country,  which,  in 
the  revolutions  of  the  day,  might  have  become  the  property 
of  a  rival  nation.  It  gave  us  the  sole  command  of  the  great 
thoroughfare  of  the  interior,  and  placed  the  countless 
tribes  of  savages,  who  lay  along  our  borders,  entirely  with- 
in our  control  ;  it  reconciled  conflicting  rights,  and  quieted 
national  distrusts  ;  it  opened  a  thousand  avenues  to  the 
inland  trade,  and  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  ;  and,  if  ever 
time  or  necessity  shall  require  a  peaceful  division  of  this 
vast  empire,  it  assures  us  of  a  neighbor  that  will  possess 
our  language,  our  religion,  our  institutions,  and,  it  is  also 
to  be  hoped,  our  sense  of  political  justice. 

Although  the  purchase  was  made  in  1803,  the  spring  of 
the  succeeding  year  was  permitted  to  open  before  the  offi- 
cial prudence  of  the  Spaniard,  who  held  the  province  for 
his  European  master,  admitted  the  authority  or  even  the 


S  THE  PRAIRIE. 

entrance  of  its  new  proprietors.  But  the  forms  of  the 
transfer  were  no  sooner  completed,  arid  the  new  govern- 
ment acknowledged,  than  swarms  of  that  restless  people 
which  is  ever  found  hovering  on  the  skirts  of  American 
society,  plunged  into  the  thickets  that  fringed  the  right 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  with  the  same  careless  hardihood 
chat  had  already  sustained  so  many  of  them  in  their  toil- 
some progress  from  the  Atlantic  States  to  the  eastern 
shores  of  the  "  Father  of  Rivers."  * 

Time  was  necessary  to  blend  the  numerous  and  affluent 
colonists  of  the  lower  province  with  their  new  compatriots  ; 
but  the  thinner  and  more  humble  population  above  was 
almost  immediately  swallowed  in  the  vortex  which  attended 
the  tide  of  instant  emigration.  The  inroad  from  the  East 
was  a  new  and  sudden  outbreaking  of  a  people  who  had 
endured  a  momentary  restraint,  after  having  been  rendered 
nearly  resistless  by  success.  The  toils  and  hazards  of  for- 
mer undertakings  were  forgotten,  as  these  endless  and  un- 
explored regions,  with  all  their  fancied  as  well  as  real 
•advantages,  were  laid  open  to  their  enterprise.  The  con- 
sequences were  such  as  might  easily  have  been  anticipated 
Irom  so  tempting  an  offering,  placed  as  it  was  before  the 
eyes  of  a  race  long  trained  in  adventure,  and  nurtured  in 
difficulties. 

Thousands  of  the  elders,  of  what  were  then  called  the 
new  States,!  broke  up  from  the  enjoyment  of  their  hard- 
earned  indulgences,  and  were  to  be  seen  leading  long  files 
of  descendants,  born  and  reared  in  the  forests  of  Ohio  and 
Kentucky,  deeper  into  the  land,  in  quest  of  that  which 
might  be  termed,  without  the  aid  of  poetry,  their  natural 
and  more  congenial  atmosphere.  The  distinguished  and 
resolute  forester  who  first  penetrated  the  wilds  of  the  lat- 
ter State,  was  of  the  number.  This  adventurous  and  ven- 
erable patriarch  was  now  seen  making  his  last  remove  ; 
placing  the  endless  river  between  him  and  the  multitude 
his  own  success  had  drawn  around  him,  and  seeking  for 

*  The  Mississippi  is  thus  termed  in  several  of  the  Indian  languages. 
The  reader  will  gain  a  more  just  idea  of  the  importance  of  this  stream  if  he 
recalls  to  mind  the  fact  that  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  are  properly 
the  same  river.  Their  united  lengths  cannot  be  greatly  short  of  four  thou- 
sand miles. 

\  All  the  States  admitted  to  the  American  Union  since  the  Revolution 
are  called  new  States,  with  the  exception  of  Vermont  ;  that  had  claims  be- 
fore the  war,  which  were  not,  however,  admitted  until  a  later  day. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  g 

the  renewal  of  enjoyments  which  were  rendered  worthless 
in  his  eyes  when  trammelled  by  the  forms  of  human  in- 
stitutions.* 

In  the  pursuit  of  adventures  such  as  these,  men  are  or- 
dinarily governed  by  their  habits  or  deluded  by  their 
wishes.  A  few,  led  by  the  phantoms  of  hope  and  ambi- 
tious of  sudden  affluence,  sought  the  mines  of  the  virgin 
territory  ;  but  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  emigrants 
were  satisfied  to  establish  themselves  along  the  margins 
of  the  larger  water-courses,  content  with  the  rich  returns 
that  the  generous,  alluvial  bottoms  of  the  rivers  never  fail 
to  bestow  on  the  most  desultory  industry.  In  this  man- 
ner were  communities  formed  with  magical  rapidity  ;  and 
most  of  those  who  witnessed  the  purchase  .of  the  empty 
empire  have  lived  to  see  already  a  populous  and  sovereign 
State  parcelled  from  its  inhabitants,  and  received  into  the 
bosom  of  the  national  Union  on  terms  of  political  equality. 

The  incidents  and  scenes  which  are  connected  with  this 
legend  occurred  in  the  earliest  periods  of  the  enterprises 
which  have  led  to  so  great  and  so  speedy  a  result. 

The  harvest  of  the  first  year  of  our  possession  had  long 
been  passed,  and  the  fading  foliage  of  a  few  scattered 
trees  was  already  beginning  to  exhibit  the  hues  and  tints 
of  autumn,  when  a  train  of  wagons  issued  from  the  bed  of 
a  dry  rivulet,  to  pursue  its  course  across  the  undulating 
surface  of  what,  in  the  language  of  the  country  of  which 
we  write,  is  called  a  "rolling  prairie."  The  vehicles, 
loaded  with  household  goods  and  implements  of  hus- 
bandry, the  few  straggling  sheep  and  cattle  that  were 
herded  in  the  rear,  and  the  rugged  appearance  and  care* 
less  mien  of  the  sturdy  men  who  loitered  at  the  sides  of 
the  lingering  teams,  united  to  announce  a  band  of  emi- 
grants seeking  for  the  El  Dorado  of  the  West.  Contrary 
to  the  usual  practice  of  the  men  of  their  caste,  this  party 
had  left  the  fertile  bottoms  of  the  low  country,  and  had 
found  its  way,  by  means  only  known  to  such  adventurers, 
across  glen  and  torrent,  over  deep  morasses  and  arid 
wastes,  to  a  point  far  beyond  the  usual  limits  of  civilized 
habitations.  In  their  front  were  stretched  those  broad 
plains  which  extend,  with  so  little  diversity  of  character, 

*  Colonel  Boone,  the  patriarch  of  Kentucky.  This  venerable  and  hardy 
pioneer  of  civilization  emigrated  to  an  estate  three  hundred  miles  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  in  his  ninety-second  year,  because  he  found  a  population 
of  ten  to  the  square  mile  inconveniently  crowded  I 


io  THE  PRAIRIE. 

to  the  bases  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  and,  many  long 
and  dreary  miles  in  their  rear,  foamed  the  swift  and  turbid 
waters  of  La  Platte. 

The  appearance  of  such  a  train  in  that  bleak  and  sol- 
itary place  was  rendered  the  more  remarkable  by  the  fact 
that  the  surrounding  country  offered  so  little  that  was 
tempting  to  the  cupidity  of  speculation,  and,  if  possible, 
still  less  that  was  flattering  to  the  hopes  of  an  ordinary 
settler  of  new  lands. 

The  meagre  herbage  of  the  prairie  promised  nothing  in 
favor  of  a  hard  and  unyielding  soil,  over  which  the  wheels 
of  the  vehicles  rattled  as  lightly  as  if  they  travelled  on  a 
beaten  road  ;  neither  wagons  nor  beasts  making  any 
deeper  impression  than  to  mark  that  bruised  and  with- 
ered grass  which  the  cattle  plucked  from  time  to  time, 
and  as  often  rejected  as  food  too  sour  for  even  hunger  to 
render  palatable. 

Whatever  might  be  the  final  destination  of  these  adven- 
turers, or  the  secret  causes  of  their  apparent  security  in 
so  remote  and  unprotected  a  situation,  there  was  no  vis- 
ible sign  of  uneasiness,  uncertainty,  or  alarm  among  them. 
Including  both  sexes,  and  every  age,  the  number  of  the 
party  exceeded  twenty. 

At  some  little  distance  in  front  of  the  whole,  marched 
the  individual  who,  by  his  position  and  air,  appeared  to 
be  the  leader  of  the  band.  He  was  a  tall,  sunburnt  man, 
past  the  middle  age,  of  a  dull  countenance  and  listless 
manner.  His  frame  appeared  loose  and  flexible  ;  but  it 
was  vast,  and  in  reality  of  prodigious  power.  It  was  only 
at  moments,  however,  as  some  slight  impediment  opposed 
itself  to  his  loitering  progress,  that  his  person,  which  in 
its  ordinary  gait  seemed  so  lounging  and  nerveless,  dis- 
played any  of  those  energies  which  lay  latent  in  his 
system,  like  the  slumbering  and  unwieldy,  but  terrible, 
strength  of  the  elephant.  The  inferior  lineaments  of  his 
countenance  were  coarse,  extended,  and  vacant  ;  while 
the  superior,  or  those  nobler  parts  which  are  thought  to 
affect  the  intellectual  being,  were  low,  receding  and  mean. 

The  dress  of  this  individual  was  a  mixture  of  the  coarsest 
vestments  of  a  husbandman,  with  the  leathern  garments 
that  fashion  as  well  as  use  had  in  some  degree  rendered 
necessary  to  one  engaged  in  his  present  pursuits.  There 
was,  however,  a  singular  and  wild  display  of  prodigal  and 
ill-judged  ornaments  blended  with  his  motley  attire.  In 


THE  PRAIRIE.  It 

place  of  the  usual  deerskin  belt,  he  wore  around  his  body 
a  tarnished  silken  sash  of  the  most  gaudy  colors  ;  the  buck- 
horn  haft  of  his  knife  was  profusely  decorated  with  plates 
of  silver  ;  the  marten's  fur  of  his  cap  was  of  a  fineness  and 
shadowing  that  a  queen  might  covet  ;  the  buttons  of  his 
rude  and  soiled  blanket-coat  were  of  the  glittering  coinage 
of  Mexico  ;  the  stock  of  his  rifle  was  of  beautiful  mahog- 
any, riveted  and  banded  with  the  same  precious  metal ; 
and  the  trinkets  of  no  less  than  three  worthless  watches 
dangled  from  different  parts  of  his  person.  In  addition 
to  the  pack  and  the  rifle  which  were  slung  at  his  back,  to- 
gether with  the  well-filled  and  carefully  guarded  pouch 
and  horn,  he  had  carelessly  cast  a  keen  and  bright  wood- 
axe  across  his  shoulder,  sustaining  the  weight  of  the 
whole  with  as  much  apparent  ease  as  if  he  moved  unfet- 
tered in  limb,  and  free  from  encumbrance. 

A  short  distance  in  the  rear  of  this  man  came  a  group 
of  youths  very  similarly  attired,  and  bearing  sufficient  re- 
semblance to  each  other,  and  to  their  leader,  to  distinguish 
them  as  the  children  of  one  family.  Though  the  youngest 
of  their  number  could  not  much  have  passed  the  period 
that,  in  the  nicer  judgment  of  the  law,  is  called  the  age  of 
discretion,  he  had  proved  himself  so  far  worthy  of  his  pro- 
genitors as  to  have  reared  already  his  aspiring  person  to 
the  standard  height  of  his  race.  There  were  one  or  two 
others,  of  different  mould,  whose  descriptions  must,  how- 
ever, be  referred  to  the  regular  course  of  the  narrative. 

Of  the  females,  there  were  but  two  who  had  arrived  at 
womanhood  ;  though  several  white-headed,  olive-skinned 
faces  were  peering  out  of  the  foremost  wagon  of  the  train, 
with  eyes  of  lively  curiosity  and  characteristic  animation. 
The  elder  of  the  two  adults  was  the  sallow  and  wrinkled 
mother  of  most  of  the  party  ;  and  the  younger  was  a 
sprightly,  active  girl  of  eighteen,  who,  in  figure,  dress, 
and  mien,  seemed  to  belong  to  a  station  in  society  several 
gradations  above  that  of  any  one  of  her  visible  associates. 
The  second  vehicle  was  covered  with  a  top  of  a  cloth  so 
tightly  drawn  as  to  conceal  its  contents  with  the  nicest 
care.  The  remaining  wagons  were  loaded  with  such  rude 
furniture  and  other  personal  effects  as  might  be  supposed 
to  belong  to  one  ready  at  any  moment  to  change  his 
abode,  without  reference  to  season  or  distance. 

Perhaps  there  was  little  in  this  train,  or  in  the  appear- 
ance of  its  proprietors,  that  is  not  daily  to  be  encountered 


12  THE  PRAIRIE. 

on  the  highways  of  this  changeable  and  moving  country. 
But  the  solitary  and  peculiar  scenery  in  which  it  was  so 
unexpectedly  exhibited,  gave  to  the  party  a  marked  char- 
acter of  wildness  and  adventure. 

In  the  little  valleys  which,  in  the  regular  formation  of 
the  land,  occurred  at  every  mile  of  their  progress,  the 
view  was  bounded  on  two  of  the  sides  by  the  gradual 
and  low  elevations  which  give  name  to  the  description 
of  prairie  we  have  mentioned  ;  while  on  the  others  the 
meagre  prospect  ran  off  in  long,  narrow,  barren  per- 
spectives, but  slightly  relieved  by  a  pitiful  show  of  coarse, 
though  somewhat  luxuriant  vegetation.  From  the  sum- 
mits of  the  swells,  the  eye  became  fatigued  with  the  same- 
ness and  chilling  dreariness  of  the  landscape.  The  earth 
was  not  unlike  the  ocean,  when  its  restless  waters  are 
heaving  heavily,  after  the  agitation  and  fury  of  the  tempest 
have  begun  to  lessen.  There  was  the  same  waving 
and  regular  surface,  the  same  absence  of  foreign  ob- 
jects, and  the  same  boundless  extent  to  the  view.  In- 
deed, so  very  striking  was  the  resemblance  between  the 
water  and  the  land,  that,  however  much  the  geologist 
might  sneer  at  so  simple  a  theory,  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  a  poet  not  to  have  felt  that  the  formation  of 
the  one  had  been  produced  by  the  subsiding  dominion 
of  the  other.  Here  and  there  a  tall  tree  rose  out  of  the 
bottoms,  stretching  its  naked  branches  abroad,  like  some 
solitary  vessel  ;  and,  to  strengthen  the  delusion,  far  in  the 
distance  appeared  two  or  three  rounded  thickets,  looming 
in  the  misty  horizon  like  islands  resting  on  the  waters.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  warn  the  practised  reader  that  the  same- 
ness of  the  surface,  and  the  low  stands  of  the  spectators, 
exaggerated  the  distances  ;  but,  as  swell  appeared  after 
swell,  and  island  succeeded  island,  there  was  a  dishearten- 
ing assurance  that  long  and  seemingly  interminable  tracts 
of  territory  must  be  passed  before  the  wishes  of  the  hum- 
blest agriculturist  could  be  realized. 

Still  the  leader  of  the  emigrants  steadily  pursued  his 
way,  with  no  other  guide  than  the  sun,  turning  his  back 
resolutely  on  the  abodes  of  civilization,  and  plunging  at 
each  step  more  deeply,  if  not  irretrievably,  into  the  haunts 
of  the  barbarous  and  savage  occupants  of  the  country.  As 
the  day  drew  nigher  to  a  close,  however,  his  mind,  which 
was,  perhaps,  incapable  of  maturing  any  connected  system 
of  forethought,  beyond  that  which  related  to  the  interests 


THE  PRAIRIE.  !3 

<z>f  the  present  moment,  became  in  some  slight  degree 
troubled  with  the  care  of  providing  for  the  wants  of  the 
hours  of  darkness. 

On  reaching  the  crest  of  a  swell  that  was  a  little  highei 
than  the  usual  elevations,  he  lingered  a  minute,  and  cast 
a  half-curious  eye  on  either  hand,  in  quest  of  those  well- 
known  signs  which  might  indicate  a  place  where  the  three 
grand  requisites  of  water,  fuel,  and  fodder,  were  to  be  ob- 
tained in  conjunction. 

It  would  seem  that  his  search  was  fruitless  ;  for  after  a 
few  moments  of  indolent  and  listless  examination,  he  suf- 
fered his  huge  frame  to  descend  the  gentle  declivity,  in 
the  same  sluggish  manner  that  an  over-fatted  beast  would 
have  yielded  to  the  downward  pressure. 

His  example  was  silently  followed  by  those  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  though  not  until  the  young  men  had  mani- 
fested much  more  of  interest,  if  not  of  concern,  in  the 
brief  inquiry  which  each  in  his  turn  made  on  gaining  the 
same  lookout.  It  was  now  evident,  by  the  tardy  move- 
ments both  of  beasts  and  men,  that  the  time  of  necessary 
rest  was  not  far  distant.  The  matted  grass  of  the  lower 
land  presented  obstacles  which  fatigue  began  to  render 
formidable,  and  the  whip  was  becoming  necessary  to  urge 
the  lingering  teams  to  their  labor.  At  this  moment,  whena 
with  the  exception  of  the  principal  individual,  a  general 
lassitude  was  getting  the  mastery  of  the  travellers,  and 
every  eye  was  cast,  by  a  sort  of  common  impulse,  wistfully 
forward,  the  whole  party  was  brought  to  a  halt,  by  a  spec- 
tacle as  sudden  as  it  was  unexpected.  „ 

The  sun  had  fallen  below  the  crest  of  the  nearest  wav& 
of  the  prairie,  leaving  the  usual  rich  and  glowing  train  OK 
its  track.  In  the  centre  of  this  flood  of  fiery  light  a  human 
form  appeared,  drawn  against  the  gilded  background  as 
distinctly,  and  seemingly  as  palpable,  as  though  it  would 
come  within  the  grasp  of  any  extended  hand.  The  figure 
was  colossal  ;  the  attitude  musing  and  melancholy  ;  and 
the  situation  directly  in  the  route  of  the  travellers.  But 
embedded,  as  it  was,  in  its  setting  of  garish  light,  it  was 
impossible  to  distinguish  its  just  proportions  or  ti  ue  char- 
acter. 

The  effect  of  such  a  spectacle  was  instantaneous  and 
powerful.  The  man  in  front  of  the  emigrants  came  to  a 
stand  and  remained  gazing  at  the  mysterious  object  with  a 
dull  interest,  that  soon  quickened  into  superstitious  awe. 


24  THE  PRAIRIE. 

His  sons,  so  soon  as  the  first  emotions  of  surprise  had  a 
little  abated,  drew  slowly  around  him,  and  as  they  who  gov- 
erned the  teams  gradually  followed  their  example,  the 
whole  party  was  soon  condensed  in  one  silent  and  wonder- 
ing group.  Notwithstanding  the  impression  of  a  super- 
natural agency  was  very  general  among  the  travellers,  the 
ticking  of  gun-locks  was  heard,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
bolder  youths  cast  their  rifles  forward,  in  readiness  for  ser- 
vice. 

"  Send  the  boys  off  to  the  right,"  exclaimed  the  resolute 
wife  and  mother,  in  a  sharp,  dissonant  voice  ;  "  I  warrant 
me  Asa  or  Abner  will  give  some  account  of  the  creature!" 

"  It-may  be  well  enough  to  try  the  rifle,"  muttered  a 
dull-looking  man,  whose  features,  both  in  outline  and  ex- 
pression, bore  no  small  resemblance  to  the  first  speaker, 
and  who  loosened  the  stock  of  his  piece  and  brought  it 
dexterously  to  the  front,  while  delivering  this  opinion  ; 
"the  Pawnee  Loups  are  said  to  be  hunting  by  hundreds 
in  the  plains  ;  if  so,  they'll  never  miss  a  single  man  from 
their  tribe." 

"  Stay ! "  exclaimed  a  soft-toned  but  alarmed  female  vc  ^ce, 
which  was  easily  to  be  traced  to  the  trembling  lips  oi  the 
younger  of  the  two  women  ;  "  we  are  not  all  together  ;  it 
may  be  a  friend  !  " 

"  Who  is  scouting  now  ? "  demanded  the  father,  scan- 
ning, at  the  same  time,  the  cluster  of  his  stout  sons  wi*h  a 
displeased  and  sullen  eye.  "  Put  by  the  piece,  put  by  the 
piece,"  he  continued,  diverting  the  other's  aim  with  the 
finger  of  a  giant,  and  with  the  air  of  one  it  might  be  dan- 
gerous to  deny.  "My  job  is  not  yet  ended  ;  let  us  firish 
the  little  that  remains  in  peace." 

The  man  who  had  manifested  so  hostile  an  intention  ap- 
peared to  understand  the  other's  allusion,  and  suffered  him- 
self to  be  diverted  from  his  object.  The  sons  turned  tl;eir 
inquiring  looks  on  the  girl  who  had  so  eagerly  spoken,  to 
require  an  explanation  ;  but,  as  if  content  with  the  respite 
she  had  obtained  for  the  stranger,  she  sank  back  in  her 
seat,  and  chose  to  affect  a  maidenly  silence. 

In  the  meantime  the  hues  of  the  heavens  had  offen 
changed.  In  place  of  the  brightness  that  had  dazzled  the 
eye,  a  gray  and  more  sober  light  had  succeeded,  and,  as 
the  setting  lost  its  brilliancy,  the  proportions  of  the  fanci- 
ful form  became  less  exaggerated,  and  finally  distinct. 
Ashamed  to  hesitate,  now  that  the  truth  was  no  longer 


THE  PRAIRIE.  15 

doubtful,  the  leader  of  tlie  party  resumed  his  journey, 
using  the  precaution,  as  he  ascended  the  slight  acclivity, 
to  release  his  own  riiie  from  the  strap,  and  to  cast  it  into 
a  situation  more  convenient  for  sudden  use. 

There  was  little  apparent  necessity,  however,  for  such 
watchfulness.  From  the  moment  when  it  had  thus  unac- 
countably appeared,  as  it  were,  between  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  the  stranger's  figure  had  neither  moved  nor  given 
the  smallest  evidence  of  hostility.  Had  he  harbored  any 
such  evil  intention,  the  individual  who  now  came  plainly 
into  view  seemed  but  little  qualified  to  execute  them. 

A  frame  that  had  endured  the  hardships  of  more  than 
eighty  seasons  was  not  qualified  to  awaken  apprehension 
in  the  breast  of  one  as  powerful  as  the  emigrant.  Not- 
withstanding his  years,  and  his  look  of  emaciation,  if  not 
of  suffering,  there  was  that  about  this  solitary  being,  how- 
ever, which  said  that  Time,  and  not  disease,  had  laid  his 
hand  heavily  on  him.  His  form  had  withered,  but  it  was 
not  wasted.  The  sinews  and  muscles,  which  had  once  de- 
noted great  strength,  though  shrunken,  were  still  visible  ; 
and  his  whole  figure  had  attained  an  appearance  of  indur- 
ation which,  if  it  were  not  for  the  well-known  frailty  of 
humanity,  would  have  seemed  to  bid  defiance  to  the  further 
approaches  of  decay.  His  dress  was  chiefly  of  skins,  worn 
with  the  hair  to  the  weather  ;  a  pouch  and  horn  were  sus- 
pended from  his  shoulders  ;  and  he  leaned  on  a  rifle  of  un- 
common length,  but  which,  like  its  owner,  exhibited  the 
wesff  of  long  and  hard  service. 

As  the  party  drew  nigher  to  this  solitary  being,  and  came 
within  a  distance  to  be  heard,  a  low  growl  issued  from  the 
grass  at  his  feet,  and  then  a  tall,  gaunt,  toothless  hound 
arose  lazily  from  his  lair,  and,  shaking  himself,  made  some 
show  of  resisting  the  nearer  approach  of  the  travellers. 

"Down,  Hector,  down,"  said  his  master,  in  a  voice  that 
was  a  little  tremulous  and  hollow  with  age.  "What  have 
ye  to  do,  pup,  with  men  who  journey  on  their  lawful  call- 
ings ? " 

"  Stranger,  if  you  are  much  acquainted  in  this  country," 
said  the  leader  of  the  emigrants,  "  can  you  tell  a  traveller 
where  he  may  find  necessaries  for  the  night  ?  " 

"  Is  the  land  filled  on  the  oth<»r  side  of  the  Big  River?" 
demanded  the  old  man,  solemnly,  and  without  appearing 
to  hearken  to  the  other's  question  ;  "  or  why  do  I  see  a 
sight  I  had  i.ever  thought  to  behold  again  ? " 


1 6  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Why,  there  is  country  left,  it  is  true,  for  such  as  have 
money,  and  ar'  not  particular  in  the  choice,"  returned  the 
emigrant  ;  "  but  to  my  taste  it  is  getting  crowdy.  What 
may  a  man  call  the  distance  from  this  place  to  the  nighest 
point  on  the  main  river?" 

"  A  hunted  deer  could  not  cool  his  sides  in  the  Missis- 
sippi, without  travelling  a  weary  five  hundred  miles." 

"And  what  may  you  name  the  district  hereaway  ?" 

"By  what  name,"  returned  the  old  man,  pointing  sig- 
nificantly upward,  "  would  you  call  the  spot  where  you  see 
yonder  cloud  ?" 

The  emigrant  looked  at  the  other  like  one  who  did  not 
comprehend  his  meaning,  and  who  half  suspected  he  was 
trifled  with ;  but  he  contented  himself  by  saying  : 

"  You  ar'  but  a  new  inhabitant,  like  myself,  I  reckon, 
stranger,  or  otherwise  you  would  not  be  backward  in  help- 
ing a  traveller  to  some  advice  ;  words  cost  but  little,  and 
sometimes  lead  to  friendships." 

"  Advice  is  not  a  gift,  but  a  debt  that  the  old  owe  to  the 
young.  What  would  you  wish  to  know  ? " 

"  Where  I  may  camp  for  the  night.  I'm  no  great  diffi- 
culty-maker as  to  bed  and  board  ;  but  all  old  journeyers 
like  myself  know  the  virtue  of  sweet  water,  and  a  good 
browse  for  the  cattle." 

"  Come,  then,  with  me,  and  you  shall  be  master  of  both  ; 
and  little  more  is  it  that  I  can  offer  on  this  hungry  prairie." 

As  the  old  man  was  speaking,  he  raised  his  heavy  rifle 
to  his  shoulder  with  a  facility  a  little  remarkable  f  orchis 
years  and  appearance,  and  without  further  words  led  the 
way  over  the  acclivity  to  the  adjacent  bottom. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  Up  with  my  tent :  here  will  I  lie  to-night, 
But  where  to-morrow? — Well,  all's  one  for  that." 

— RICHARD  III. 

THE  travellers  soon  discovered  the  usual  and  unerring 
evidences  that  the  several  articles  necessary  to  their  situa- 
tion wTere  not  far  distant.  A  clear  and  gurgling  spring 
burst  out  of  the  side  of  the  declivity,  and,  joining  its  waters 
to  those  of  other  similar  little  fountains  in  its  vicinity, 
their  united  contributions  formed  a  run,  which  was  easily 


THE  PRAIRIE.  I7 

to  be  traced  for  miles  along  the  prairie,  by  the  scattering 
foliage  and  verdure  which  occasionally  grew  within  the 
influence  of  its  moisture.  Hither,  then,  the  stranger  held 
his  way,  eagerly  followed  by  the  willing  teams,  whose  in- 
stinct gave  them  a  prescience  of  refreshment  and  rest. 

On  reaching  what  he  deemed  a  suitable  spot,  the  old 
man  halted,  and  with  an  inquiring  look,  he  seemed  to  de- 
mand if  it  possessed  the  needed  conveniences.  The  leader 
of  the  emigrants  cast  his  eye  understandingly  about  him, 
and  examined  the  place  with  the  keenness  of  one  compe- 
tent to  judge  of  so  nice  a  question,  though  in  that  dilatory 
and  heavy  manner  which  rarely  permitted  him  to  betray 
precipitation. 

"Ay,  this  may  do,"  he  said,  when  satisfied  with  his 
scrutiny.  "Boys,  you  have  seen  the  last  of  the  sun  ;  be 
stirring." 

The  young  men  manifested  a  characteristic  obedience. 
The  order,  for  such  in  tone  and  manner  it  was,  in  truth, 
was  received  with  respect  ;  but  the  utmost  movement  was 
the  falling  of  an  ax  or  two  from  the  shoulder  to  the  ground, 
while  their  owners  continued  to  regard  the  place  with  list- 
less and  incurious  eyes.  In  the  meantime,  the  elder  trav- 
eller, as  if  familiar  with  the  nature  of  the  impulses  by 
which  his  children  were  governed,  disencumbered  himself 
of  his  pack  and  rifle,  and,  assisted  by  the  man  already 
mentioned  as  disposed  to  appeal  so  promptly  to  the  rifle, 
he  quietly  proceeded  to  release  the  cattle  from  the  gears. 

At  length  the  eldest  of  the  sons  stepped  heavily  forward, 
and,  without  any  apparent  effort,  he  buried  his  axe  to  the 
eye  in  the  soft  body  of  a  cotton-wood  tree.  He  stood  a 
moment  regarding  the  effect  of  the  blow,  with  that  sort  of 
contempt  with  which  a  giant  might  be  supposed  to  con- 
template the  puny  resistance  of  a  dwarf,  and  then,  flourish- 
ing the  implement  above  his  head,  with  the  grace  and  dex- 
terity with  which  a  master  of  the  art  of  offence  would  wield 
his  nobler  though  less  useful  weapon,  he  quickly  severed 
the  trunk  of  the'tree,  bringing  its  tall  top  crashing  to  the 
earth  in  submission  to  his  prowess.  His  companions  re- 
garded the  operation  with  indolent  curiosity,  until  they  saw 
the  prostrate  trunk  stretched  on  the  ground,  when,  as  if  a 
signal  for  a  general  attack  had  been  given,  they  advanced 
in  a  body  to  the  work  ;  and  in  a  space  of  time,  and  with  a 
neatness  of  execution,  that  would  have  astonished  an  ig- 
norant spectator,  they  stripped  a  small  but  suitable  spot 


1 8  THE  PRAIRIE. 

of  its  burden  of  forest,  as  effectually,  and  almost  as 
promptly,  as  if  a  whirlwind  had  passed  along  the  place. 

The  stranger  had  been  a  silent  but  attentive  observer  of 
their  progress.  As  tree  after  tree  came  whistling  down, 
he  cast  his  eyes  upward  at  the  vacancies  they  left  in  the 
heavens,  with  a  melancholy  gaze,  and  finally  turned  away, 
muttering  to  himself  with  a  bitter  smile,  like  one  who  dis- 
dained giving  a  more  audible  utterance  to  his  discontent. 
Pressing  through  the  group  of  active  and  busy  children 
who  had  already  lighted  a  cheerful  fire,  the  attention  of 
the  old  man  became  next  fixed  on  the  movements  of  the 
leader  of  the  emigrants -and  of  his  savage-looking  assistant. 

These  two  had  already  liberated  the  cattle,  which  were 
eagerly  browsing  the  grateful  and  nutritious  extremities 
of  the  fallen  trees,  and  were  now  employed  about  the 
wagon,  which  has  been  described  as  having  its  contents 
concealed  with  so  much  apparent  care.  Notwithstanding 
this  particular  conveyance  appeared  to  be  as  silent  and  as 
tenaritless  as  the  rest  of  the  vehicles,  the  men  applied  their 
strength  to  its  wheels  and  rolled  it,  apart  from  the  others, 
to  a  dry  and  elevated  spot  near  the  edge  of  the  thicket. 
Here  they  brought  certain  poles,  which  had  seemingly 
been  long  employed  in  such  a  service,  and  fastening  their 
larger  ends  firmly  in  the  ground,  the  smaller  were  atcached 
to  the  hoops  that  supported  the  covering  of  the  wagon. 
Large  folds  of  cloth  were  next  drawn  out  of  the  vehicle, 
and,  after  being  spread  around  the  whole,  were  pegged  to 
the  earth  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  tolerably  capa- 
cious and  an  exceedingly  convenient  tent.  After  survey- 
ing their  work  with  inquisitive  and  perhaps  jealous  eyes, 
arranging  a  fold  here,  and  driving  a  peg  more  firmly  there, 
the  men  once  more  applied  their  strength  to  the  wagon, 
pulling  it  by  its  projecting  tongue  from  the  centre  of  the 
canopy  until  it  appeared  in  the  open  air,  deprived  of  its 
covering,  and  destitute  of  any  other  freight  than  a  few 
light  articles  of  furniture.  The  latter  were  immediately 
removed  by  the  traveller  into  the  tent  with  his  own  hands, 
as  though  to  enter  it  were  a  privilege  to  which  even  his 
bosom  companion  was  not  entitled. 

Curiosity  is  a  passion  that  is  rather  quickened  than  de- 
stroyed by  seclusion,  and  the  old  inhabitant  of  the  prairies 
did  not  view  these  precautionary  and  mysterious  move- 
ments without  experiencing  some  of  its  impulses.  He 
approached  the  tent,  and  was  about  to  sever  two  of  its 


THE  PRAIRIE.  rg 

folds,  with  the  very  obvious  intention  of  examining  more 
closely  into  the  nature  of  its  contents,  when  the  man  who 
had  once  already  placed  his  life  in  jeopardy,  seized  him  by 
the  arm,  and  with  a  rude  exercise  of  his  strength  threw 
him  from  the  spot  he  had  selected  as  the  one  most  con- 
venient for  his  object. 

"  It's  an  honest  regulation,  friend,"  the  fellow  dryly 
observed,  though  with  an  eye  that  threatened  volumes, 
"  and  sometimes  it  is  a  safe  one,  which  says,  'Mind  your 
own  business.'  " 

"  Men  seldom  bring  anything  to  be  concealed  into  these 
deserts,"  returned  the  old  man,  as  i£  willing  and  yet  a  little 
ignorant  how  to  apologize  for  the  liberty  he  had  been  about 
to  take,  "  and  I  had  hoped  no  offence  in  examining  your 
comforts." 

"  They  seldom  bring  themselves,  I  reckon.  Though  this 
has  the  look  of  an  old  county,  to  my  eye  it  seems  not  to 
be  overly  peopled." 

"  The  land  is  as  aged  as  the  rest  of  the  works  of  the 
Lord,  I  believe  ;  but  you  say  true  concerning  its  inhab- 
itants. Many  months  have  passed  since  I  have  laid  eyes  on 
a  face  of  my  own  color  before  your  own.  I  say  again,  friend, 
I  meant  no  harm  ;  I  did  not  know  but  there  was  some- 
thing behind  the  cloth  that  might  bring  former  days  to  my 
mind." 

As  the  stranger  ended  his  simple  explanation  he  walked 
meekly  away,  like  one  who  felt  the  deepest  sense  of  tht; 
right  which  every  man  has  to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  his; 
own,  without  any  troublesome  interference  on  the  part  of 
his  neighbor  ;  a  wholesome  and  a  just  principle  that  he 
had  also  most  probably  imbibed  from  the  habits  of  his 
secluded  life.  As  he  passed  toward  the  little  encamp- 
ment of  the  emigrants,  for  such  the  place  had  now  become, 
he  heard  the  voice  of  the  leader  calling  aloud  in  its  hoarse 
tones,  the  name  of — 

"  Ellen  Wade  ! " 

The  girl  who  has  been  already  introduced  to  the  reader, 
and  who  was  occupied  with  the  others  of  her  sex  around 
the  fires,  sprang  willingly  forward  at  this  summons  ;  and, 
passing  the  stranger  with  the  activity  of  a  young  antelope, 
she  was  instantly  lost  behind  the  forbidden  folds  of  the 
tent.  Neither  her  sudden  disappearance,  nor  any  of  the 
arrangements  we  have  mentioned,  seemed,  however,  to 
excite  the  smallest  surprise  among  the  remainder  of  ths 


20  THE  PRAIRIE. 

party.  The  young  men,  who  had  already  completed  their 
tasks  with  the  axe,  were  all  engaged,  after  their  lounging 
and  listless  manner,  some  in  bestowing  equitable  por- 
tions of  the  fodder  among  the  different  animals  ;  others  in 
plying  the  heavy  pestle  of  a  movable  hominy-mortar ;  * 
and  one  or  two  in  wheeling  the  remainder  of  the  wagons 
aside,  and  arranging  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form 
n  sort  of  outwork  for  their  otherwise  defenceless  bivouac. 

These  several  duties  were  soon  performed,  and,  as 
darkness  now  began  to  conceal  the  objects  on  the  sur- 
rounding prairie,  the  shrill-toned  termagant,  whose  voice 
since  the  halt  had  been  diligently  exercised  among  her 
idle  and  drowsy  offspring,  announced,  in  tones  that  might 
have  been  heard  at  a  dangerous  distance,  that  the  evening 
meal  waited  only  for  the  approach  of  those  who  were  to 
consume  it.  Whatever  may  be  the  other  qualities  of  a 
border-man,  he  is  seldom  deficient  in  the  virtue  of  hos- 
pitality. The  emigrant  no  sooner  heard  the  sharp  call  of 
his  wife,  than  he  cast  his  eyes  about  him  in  quest  of  the 
stranger,  in  order  to  offer  him  the  place  of  distinction  in 
the  rude  entertainment  to  w7hich  they  were  so  uncere- 
moniously summoned. 

"  I  thank  you,  friend,"  the  old  man  replied  to  the  rough 
invitation  to  take  a  seat  nigh  the  smoking  kettle  ;  "you 
have  my  hearty  thanks  ;  but  I  have  eaten  for  the  day,  and 
am  not  one  of  them  who  dig  their  graves  with  their  teeth. 
Well,  as  you  wish  it,  I  will  take  a  place,  for  it  is 
long  sin'  I  have  seen  people  of  my  color  eating  their 
daily  bread." 

"You  ar'  an  old  settler  in  these  districts,  then  ?  "  the  emi- 
grant rather  remarked  than  inquired,  with  his  mouth  filled 
nearly  to  overflowing  with  the  delicious  hominy,  prepared 
by  his  skilful  though  repulsive  spouse.  "  They  told  us 
below  we  should  find  settlers  something  thinish  here- 
away, and  I  must  say  the  report  was  mainly  true  ;  for,  un- 
less \ve  count  the  Canada  traders  on  the  big  river,  you  ar' 
the  first  white  face  I  have  met  in  a  good  five  hun- 
dred miles  ;  that  is,  calculating  according  to  your  own 
reckoning." 

"  Though  I  have  spent  some  years  in  this  quarter,  I  can 
hardly  be  called  a  settler,  seeing  that  I  have  no  regular 
abode,  and  seldom  pass  more  than  a  month  at  a  time  on 
the  same  range." 

*  Hominy  is  a  dish  composed  chiefly  of  cracked  corn,  or  maize. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  21 

"A  hunter,  I  reckon?"  the  other  continued,  glancing 
his  eyes  aside,  as  if  to  examine  the  equipments  of  his  new 
acquaintance  :  "yourfixen  seem  none  of  the  best  for  such 
a  calling." 

"They  are  old,  and  nearly  ready  to  be  laid  aside,  like 
their  master,"  said  the  old  man,  regarding  his  rifle  with  a 
look  in  which  affection  and  regret  were  singularly  blended  ? 
"  and  I  may  say  they  are  but  little  needed,  too.  You  are 
mistaken,  friend,  in  calling  me  a  hunter  ;  I  am  nothing 
better  than  a  trapper."  * 

"  If  you  ar'  much  of  the  one,  I'm  bold  to  say  you  arf 
something  of  the  other  ;  for  the  two  callings  go  mainly  to- 
gether in  these  districts." 

"  To  the  shame  of  the  man  who  is  able  to  follow  the  first 
be  it  said  !  "  returned  the  trapper,  whom  in  future  we  shall 
choose  to  designate  by  his  pursuit  ;  "  for  more  than  fifty 
years  did  I  carry  my  rifle  in  the  wilderness,  without  so 
much  as  setting  a  snare  for  even  a  bird  that  flies  the  heav- 
ens ;  much  less  a  beast  that  has  nothing  but  legs  for  its 
gifts." 

"  I  see  but  little  difference  whether  a  man  gets  his  pel- 
try by  the  rifle  or  by  the  trap,"  said  the  ill-looking  com- 
panion of  the  emigrant,  in  his  rough  manner.  "The  'arth 
was  made  for  our  comfort  ;  and,  for  that  matter,  so  ar'  its 
creator's. " 

''You  seem  to  have  but  little  plunder,  f  stranger,  for 
one  who  is  far  abroad,"  bluntly  interrupted  the  emigrant, 
as  if  he  had  a  reason  for  wishing  to  change  the  conversa- 
tion. "  I  hope  you  ar'  better  off  for  skins." 

<l  I  make  but  little  use  of  either,"  the  trapper  quietly  re- 
plied. "  At  my  time  of  life,  food  and  clothing  be  all  that 
is  needed  ;  and  I  have  little  occasion  for  what  you  call 
plunder,  unless  it  may  be  now  and  then  to  barter  for  a 
horn  of  powder  or  a  bar  of  lead." 

"  You  ar'  not,  then,  of  these  parts  by  natur'  friend,"  the 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  this  American  word  means  one  who 
takes  his  game  in  a  trap.  It  is  of  general  use  on  the  frontiers.  The 
beaver,  an  animal  too  sagacious  to  be  easily  killed,  is  oftener  taken  in  this 
way  than  in  any  other. 

f  The  cant  word  for  luggage  in  the  Western  States  of  America  is  "  plun- 
der. '  The  term  might  easily  mislead  one  as  to  the  character  of  the  people, 
who,  notwithstanding  their  pleasant  use  of  so  expressive  a  word,  are,  like 
the  inhabitants  of  all  new  settlements,  hospitable  and  honest.  Knavery 
of  the  description  conveyed  by  "plunder"  is  chiefly  found  in  regions mor« 
civilized. 


22  THE  PRAIRIE. 

emigrant  continued,  having  in  his  mind  the  exception 
which  the  other  had  taken  to  the  very  equivocal  word, 
which  he  himself,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country, 
had  used  for  "  baggage,"  or  "effects." 

"  I  was  born  on  the  sea-shore,  though  most  of  my  life 
has  been  passed  in  the  woods." 

The  whole  party  now  looked  up  at  him,  as  men  are  apt 
to  turn  their  eyes  on  some  unexpected  object  of  general 
interest. 

One  or  two  of  the  young  men  repeated  the  words  "  sea- 
shore ; "  and  the  woman  tendered  him  one  of  those  civil- 
ities with  which,  uncouth  as  they  were,  she  was  little  ac- 
customed to  grace  her  hospitality,  as  if  in  deference  to 
the  travelled  dignity  of  her  guest.  After  a  long  and 
seemingly  a  meditating  silence,  the  emigrant,  who  had, 
however,  seen  no  apparent  necessity  to  suspend  the  func- 
tions of  his  masticating  powers,  again  resumed  the  dis- 
course. 

"  It  is  a  long  road,  as  I  have  heard,  from  the  waters  of 
the  West  to  the  shores  of  the  main  sea." 

"  It  is  a  weary  path,  indeed,  friend  ;  and  much  have  I 
seen,  and  something  have  I  suffered,  in  journeying  over 
it." 

"  A  man  would  see  a  good  deal  of  hard  travel  in  going 
its  length." 

"  Seventy-and-five  years  have  I  been  upon  the  road ; 
and  there  are  not  half  that  number  of  leagues  in  the  whole 
distance,  after  you  leave  the  Hudson,  on  which  I  have  not 
tasted  venison  of  my  own  killing.  But  this  is  vain  boast- 
ing. Of  what  use  are  former  deeds,  when  time  draws  to 
an  end  ?" 

"  I  once  met  a  man  that  had  boasted  on  the  river  he 
names,"  observed  the  eldest  son,  speaking  in  a  low  tone  of 
voice,  like  one  who  distrusted  his  knowledge,  and  deemed 
it  prudent  to  assume  a  becoming  diffidence  in  the  presence 
of  a  man  who  had  seen  so  much  ;  "  from  his  tell,  it  must 
be  a  considerable  stream,  and  deep  enough  for  a  keel-boat 
from  top  to  bottom." 

"  It  is  a  wide  and  deep  water-course,  and  many  sightly 
towns  are  there  growing  on  its  banks,"  returned  the  trap- 

Eer  ;  "and  yet  it  is  but  a  brook  to  the  waters  of  the  end* 
jss  river  !  " 

"  I  call  nothing  a  stream  that  a  man  can  travel  round," 
exclaimed  the  ill-looking  associate  of  the  emigrant  \  "a 


THE  PRAIRIE.  ^ 

real  river  must  be  crossed,  not  headed,  like  a  bear  in  q 
county  hunt."  * 

"  Have  you  been  far  toward  the  sundown,  friend  ? "  in- 
terrupted the  emigrant,  as  if  he  desired  to  keep  his  rough 
companion  as  much  as  possible  out  of  the  discourse.  "  I 
find  it  is  a  wide  tract  of  clearing  this,  into  which  I  have 
fallen." 

"  You  may  travel  weeks  and  you  will  see  it  the  same.  I 
often  think  the  Lord  has  placed  this  barren  belt  of  prairie 
behind  the  States,  to  warn  men  to  what  their  folly  may  yet 
bring  the  land  !  Aye,  weeks,  if  not  months,  may  you  jour- 
ney in  these  open  fields,  in  which  there  is  neither  dwelling 
nor  habitation  for  man  or  beast.  Even  the  savage  animals 
travel  miles  on  miles  to  seek  their  dens  ;  and  yet  the  wind 
seldom  blows  from  the  east,  but  I  conceit  the  sound  of 
axes  and  the  crash  of  falling  trees  are  in  my  ears." 

As  the  old  man  spoke  with  the  seriousness  .and  dignity 
that  age  seldom  fails  to  communicate,  even  to  less  striking 
sentiments,  his  auditors  were  deeply  attentive,  and  as  silent 
as  the  grave.  Indeed,  the  trapper  was  left  to  renew  the 
dialogue  himself,  which  he  soon  did  by  asking  a  question, 
in  the  indirect  manner  so  much  in  use  by  the  border  in- 
habitants. 

"You  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  ford  the  water-courses, 
and  to  make  your  way  so  deep  into  the  prairies,  friend, 
with  teams  of  horses  and  herds  of  horned  beasts  ? " 

"  I  kept  the  left  bank  of  the  main  river,"  the  emigrant 
replied,  "until  I  found  the  stream  leading  too  much  to  the 
north,  when  we  rafted  ourselves  across  without  any  great 
suffering.  The  woman  lost  a  fleece  or  two  from  the  next 
year's  shearing,  and  the  girls  had  one  cow  less  to  their 
dairy.  Since  then,  we  have  done  bravely,  by  bridging  a 
creek  every  day  or  two." 

"  It  is  likely  you  will  continue  west  until  you  come  to 
land  more  suitable  for  a  settlement  ?" 

"  Until  I  see  reason  to  stop,  or  to  turn  ag'in,"  the  emi- 
grant bluntly  answered,  rising  at  the  same  time,  and  cut- 
ting short  the  dialogue  by  the  suddenness  of  the  move- 
ment. His  example  was  followed  by  the  trapper,  as  well 

*  There  is  a  practice  in  the  new  countries  to  assemble  the  men  of  a  large 
district,  sometimes  of  an  entire  county,  to  exterminate  the  beasts  of  prey. 
They  form  themselves  into  a  circle  of  several  miles  in  extent,  and  gradually 
draw  nearer,  killing  all  before  them.  The  allusion  is  to  this  custom,  in 
which  the  hunted  beast  is  turned  from  one  to  another. 


24  THE  PRAIRIE. 

as  the  rest  of  the  party  ;  and  then,  without  much  deferenc< 
to  the  presence  of  their  guests,  the  travellers  proceeded  to 
make  their  dispositions  to  pass  the  night.  Several  little 
bowers,  or  rather  huts,  had  already  been  formed  of  the 
tops  of  trees,  blankets  of  coarse  country  manufacture,  and 
the  skins  of  buffaloes,  united  without  much  reference  to 
any  other  object  than  temporary  comfort.  Into  these 
covers  the  children,  with  their  mother,  soon  drew  them- 
selves, where,  it  is  more  than  possible,  they  were  all  speed » 
ily  lost  in  the  oblivion  of  sleep.  Before  the  men,  however, 
could  seek  their  rest,  they  had  sundry  little  duties  to  per- 
form ;  such  as  completing  their  works  of  defence,  carefully 
concealing  the  fires,  replenishing  the  fodder  of  their  cattle, 
and  setting  the  watch  that  was  to  protect  the  party  in  the 
approaching  hours  of  night. 

The  former  was  effected  by  dragging  the  trunks  of  a 
few  trees  into  the  intervals  left  by  the  wagons,  and  along 
the  open  space  between  the  vehicles  and  the  thicket,  on 
which,  in  military  language,  the  encampment  would  be 
said  to  have  rested  :  thus  forming  a  sort  of  chevaux  de  frist 
on  three  sides  of  the  position.  Within  these  narrow  lim- 
its (with  the  exception  of  what  the  tent  contained),  both 
man  and  beast  were  now  collected  ;  the  latter  being  far 
too  happy  in  resting  their  weary  limbs  to  give  any  undue 
annoyance  to  their  scarcely  more  intelligent  associates, 
Two  of  the  young  men  took  their  rifles  ;  and,  first  renew- 
ing their  priming,  and  examining  the  flints  with  the  ut- 
most care,  they  proceeded,  the  one  to  the  extreme  right, 
and  the  other  to  the  left  of  the  encampment,  where  they 
posted  themselves  within  the  shadows  of  the  thicket,  but 
in  such  positions  as  enabled  each  to  overlook  a  portion  oi 
the  prairie. 

The  trapper  loitered  about  the  place,  declining  to  share 
the  straw  of  the  emigrant,  until  the  whole  arrangement 
was  completed  ;  and  then,  without  the  ceremony  of  an 
adieu,  he  slowly  retired  from  the  spot. 

It  was  now  in  the  first  watch  of  the  night,  and  the  pale,, 
quivering,  and  deceptive  light  from  a  new  moon  was  play- 
ing over  the  endless  waves  of  the  prairie,  tipping  the 
swells  with  gleams  of  brightness,  and  leaving  the  interval 
land  in  deep  shadow.  Accustomed  to  scenes  of  solitude 
like  the  present,  the  old  man,  as  he  left  the  encampment, 
proceeded  alone  into  the  waste,  like  a  bold  vessel  leaving 
its  haven  to  enter  on  the  trackless  field  of  the  ocean.  He 


THE  PRAIRIE.  25 

Appeared  to  move  for  some  time  without  object,  or,  indeed, 
without  any  apparent  consciousness  whither  his  limbs 
were  carrying  him.  At  length,  on  reaching  the  rise  of 
one  of  the  undulations,  he  came  to  a  stand,  and,  for  the 
first  time  since  leaving  the  band  who  had  caused  such  a 
flood  of  reflections  and  recollections  to  crowd  upon  his 
mind,  the  old  man  became  aware  of  his  present  situation. 
Throwing  one  end  of  his  rifle  to  the  earth,  he  stood  leaning 
mi  the  other,  again  lost  in  deep  contemplation  for  several 
minutes,  during  which  time  his  hound  came  and  crouched 
?it  his  feet.  A  deep,  menacing  growl  from  the  faithful 
Unimal  aroused  him  from  his  musing. 

"  What  now,  dog  ? "  he  said,  looking  down  at  his  com- 
panion, as  if  he  addressed  a  being  of  an  intelligence  equal 
to  his  own,  and  speaking  in  a  voice  of  great  affection. 
"  What  is  it,  pup  ?  ha  !  Hector  ;  what  is  it  nosing  now  ? 
It  won't  do,  dog,  it  won't  do  ;  the  very  fa'ans  play  in  open 
view  of  us,  without  minding  so  worn-out  curs  as  you  and 
I.  Instinct  is  their  gift,  Hector,  and  they  have  found  out 
how  little  we  are  to  be  feared,  they  have." 

The  dog  stretched  his  head  upward  and  responded  to 
the  words  of  his  master  by  a  long  and  plaintive  whine, 
winch  he  even  continued  after  he  had  again  buried  his 
head  in  the  grass,  as  if  he  held  an  intelligent  communica- 
tion with  one  who  so  well  knew  how  to  interpret  dumb 
Discourse. 

"  This  is  a  manifest  warning,  Hector  !  "  the  trapper  con- 
tinued, dropping  his  voice  to  the  tones  of  caution  and 
looking  warily  about  him.  "  What  is  it,  pup  ?  speak  plainer, 
dog  ;  what  is  it  ?" 

The  hound  had,  however,  already  laid  his  nose  to  the 
earth,  and  was  silent,  appearing  to  slumber.  But  the  keen, 
quick  glances  of  his  master  soon  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  dis- 
tant figure,  which  seemed,  through  the  deceptive  light, 
floating  along  the  very  elevation  on  which  he  had  placed 
himself.  Presently  its  proportions  became  more  distinct, 
and  then  an  airy  female  form  appeared  to  hesitate,  as  if 
considering  whether  it  would  be  prudent  to  advance. 
Though  the  eyes  of  the  dog  were  now  to  be  seen  glancing 
in  the  rays  of  the  moon,  opening  and  shutting  lazily,  he 
gave  no  further  signs  of  displeasure. 

"  Come  nigher  ;  we  are  friends,"  said  the  trapper,  asso- 
ciating himself  with  his  companion  by  long  use,  and  prob- 
ably through  the  strength  of  the  secret  tie  that  connected 


26  THE  PRAIRIE. 

them  together  ;  "  we  are  your  friends  ;  none  will  harm 
you." 

Encouraged  by  the  mild  tones  of  his  voice,  and  perhaps 
led  on  by  the  earnestness  of  her  purpose,  the  female  ap- 
proached until  she  stood  at  his  side  ;  when  the  old  man 
perceived  his  visitor  to  be  the  young  woman  with  whom 
the  reader  has  already  become  acquainted  by  the  name  of 
"Ellen  Wade." 

"  I  had  thought  you  were  gone,"  she  said,  looking  tim- 
idly and  anxiously  around.  "  They  said  you  were  gone, 
and  that  we  should  never  see  you  again.  I  did  not  think 
it  was  you  !  " 

"Men  are  no  common  objects  in  these  empty  fields,"  re- 
turned the  trapper,  "and  I  humbly  hope,  though  I  have 
so  long  consorted  with  the  beasts  of  the  wilderness,  that  I 
have  not  yet  lost  the  look  of  my  kind." 

"  Oh  !  I  knew  you  to  be  a  man,  and  I  thought  I  knew 
the  whine  of  the  hound  too,"  she  answered  hastily,  as  if 
willing  to  explain  she  knew  not  what,  and  then  checking 
herself,  like  one  fearful  of  having  already  said  too  much. 

"I  saw  no  dogs  among  the  teams  of  your  father,"  the 
trapper  remarked. 

"Father!"  exclaimed  the  girl,  feelingly,  "I  have  no 
father!  I  had  nearly  said  no  friend." 

The  old  man  turned  toward  her  with  a  look  of  kindness 
and  interest  that  was  even  more  conciliating  than  the  or- 
dinary upright  and  benevolent  expression  of  his  weather- 
beaten  countenance. 

"  Why  then  do  you  venture  in  a  place  where  none  but 
the  strong  should  come  ?"  he  demanded.  "Did  you  not 
know  that  when  you  crossed  the  big  river  you  left  a  friend 
behind  you  that  is  always  bound  to  look  to  the  young  and 
feeble  like  yourself? " 

"  Of  whom  do  you  speak  ?" 

"  The  law — 'tis  bad  to  have  it,  but  I  sometimes  think  it  is 
worse  to  be  entirely  without  it.  Age  and  weakness  has 
brought  me  to  feel  such  weakness  at  times.  Yes — yes,  the 
law  is  needed  when  such  as  have  not  the  gifts  of  strength 
and  wisdom  are  to  be  taken  care  of.  I  hope,  young  wo- 
man, if  you  have  no  father,  you  have  at  least  a  brother." 

The  maiden  felt  the  tacit  reproach  conveyed  in  this 
covert  question,  and  for  a  moment  she  remained  in  an  em- 
barrassed silence.  But,  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  mild  and 
serious  features  of  her  companion  as  he  continued  to  gaze 


THE  PRAIRIE.  27 

at*  ner  wltn  a  look  of  interest,  she  replied  firmly  and  in  a 
manner  tnat  left  no  doubt  she  comprehended  his  meaning  : 

'-rieav^n  rorbid  that  any  such  as  you  have  seen  should 
be  a  brother  of  mine,  or  anything  else  near  or  dear  to  me  ! 
But,  teli  me,  do  you  then  actually  live  alone  in  this  desert 
district,  old  man  ;  is  there  really  none  here  besides  your- 
self ?" 

"  There  are  hundreds,  nay,  thousands  of  the  rightful 
owners  of  the  country,  roving  about  the  plains  ;  but  few  of 
our  own  color." 

"  And  have  you  then  met  none  who  are  white  but  us  ?" 
interrupted  the  girl,  like  one  too  impatient  to  await  the 
tardy  explanations  of  age  and  deliberation. 

"  Not  in  many  days.  Hush,  Hector,  hush  ! "  he  added, 
in  reply  to  a  low  and  nearly  inaudible  growl  from  his 
hound.  "  The  dog  scenes  mischief  in  the  wind.  The  black 
bears  from  the  mountains  sometimes  make  their  way  even 
lower  than  this.  The  pup  is  not  apt  to  complain  of  the 
harmless  game.  I  am  not  so  ready  and  true  with  the  piece 
as  I  used-to-could-be,  yet  i  have  struck  even  the  fiercest 
animals  of  the  prairie  in  my  time  ;  so  you  have  little  rea- 
son for  fear,  young  woman." 

The  girl  raised  her  eyes  in  that  peculiar  manner  which 
is  so  often  practised  by  her  sex  when  they  commence  their 
glances,  by  examining  the  earth  at  their  feet,  and  termi- 
nate them  by  noting  everything  within  the  power  of  human 
vision  ;  but  she  rather  manifested  the  quality  of  impatience 
than  any  feeling  of  alarm. 

A  short  bark  from  the  dog,  however,  soon  gave  a  new 
direction  to  the  looks  of  both,  and  then  the  real  object  of 
his  second  warning  became  dimly  visible. 


CHAPTER   III. 

"  Come,  come,  thou  art  as  hot  a  Jack  in  thy  mood  as  any  in  Italy ;  and 
«.s  soon  moved  to  be  moody,  and  as  soon  moody  to  be  moved." — ROMEO 
A.ND  JULIET. 

THOUGH  the  trapper  manifested  some  surprise  when  he 
perceived  that  another  human  figure  was  approaching  him, 
and  that,  too,  from  a  direction  opposite  to  the  place  where 
the  emigrant  had  made  his  encampment,  it  was  with  the 
steadiness  of  one  long  accustomed  to  scenes  of  danger. 


28  TIIF.  PRAIRIE. 

"This  is  a  man,"  he  said  ;  "  and  one  who  has  white  blood 
in  his  veins,  or  his  step  would  be  lighter.  It  will  be  well 
to  be  ready  for  the  worst,  as  the  half-and-halfs  *  that  one 
meets  in  these  distant  districts,  are  altogether  more  bar- 
barous than  the  real  savage." 

He  raised  his  rifle  while  he  spoke,  and  assured  himself 
of  the  state  of  its  flint,  as  well  as  of  the  priming,  by  man- 
ual examination.  But  his  arm  was  arrested,  while  in  the 
act  of  throwing  forward  the  muzzle  of  the  piece,  by  the 
eager  and  trembling  hands  of  his  companion. 

"  For  God's  sake  be  not  too  hasty,"  she  said  ;  "  it  may 
be  a  friend — an  acquaintance — a  neighbor  !  " 

"  A  friend  !  "  the  old  man  repeated,  deliberately  releas- 
ing himself  at  the  same  time  from  her  grasp.  "  Friendr, 
are  rare  in  any  land,  and  less  in  this,  perhaps,  than  in  an- 
other :  and  the  neighborhood  is  too  thinly  settled  to  make 
it  likely  that  he  who  comes  toward  us  is  even  an  acquaint- 
ance." 

"  But,  though  a  stranger,  you  would  not  seek  his  blood  !  " 

The  trapper  earnestly  regarded  her  anxious  and  fright- 
ened features,  and  then  he  dropped  the  butt  of  his  rifle 
on  the  ground,  like  one  whose  purpose  had  undergone  a 
sudden  change. 

"  No,"  he  said,  speaking  rather  to  himself  than  to  his 
companion,  "she  is  right  ;  blood  is  not  to  be  spilt  to  save 
the  life  of  one  so  useless,  and  so  near  his  time.  Let  him 
come  on  ;  my  skins,  my  traps,  and  even  my  rifle,  shall  be 
his  if  he  sees  fit  to  demand  them." 

"  He  will  ask  for  neither  :  he  wants  neither,"  returned 
the  girl  :  "  if  he  be  an  honest  man,  he  will  surely  be  con- 
tent with  his  own,  and  ask  for  nothing  that  is  the  property 
of  another." 

The  trapper  had  not  time  to  express  the  surprise  he 
felt  at  this  incoherent  and  contradictory  language,  for  the 
man  who  was  advancing,  was  already  within  fifty  feet  of 
the  place  where  they  stood.  In  the  meantime  Hector 
had  not  been  an  indifferent  witness  of  what  was  passing. 
At  the  sound  of  the  distant  footsteps,  he  had  risen  from  his 
warm  bed  at  the  feet  of  his  master  ;  and  now,  as  the  stran- 
ger appeared  in  open  view,  he  stalked  slowly  toward  him, 
crouching  to  the  earth  like  a  panther  about  to  take  his 
leap. 

*  Half-breeds  :  men  born  of  Indian  women  by  white  fathers.  The  race 
ias  much  of  the  depravity  of  civilization,  without  the  virtues  of  the  savage. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  29 

"  Call  in  your  dog,"  said  a  firm,  deep,  manly  voice,  in 
tones  of  friendship  rather  than  of  menace  ;  "  I  love  a 
bound,  and  should  be  sorry  to  do  an  injury  to  the  ani- 
mal." 

"You  hear  what  is  said  about  you,  pup  i"  the  trapper 
answered  ;  "  come  hither,  fool.  His  growl  and  his  bark 
are  all  that  is  left  of  him  now  ;  you  may  come  on,  friend  ; 
the  hound  is  toothless." 

The  stranger  profited  by  the  intelligence.  He  sprang 
eagerly  forward,  and  at  the  next  instant  stood  at  the  side 
of  Ellen  Wade.  After  assuring  himself  of  the  identity  of 
the  latter  by  a  hasty  but  keen  glance,  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion, with  a  quickness  and  impatience  that  proved  the  in- 
terest he  took  in  the  result,  to  a  similar  examination  of 
her  companion. 

"  From  what  cloud  have  you  fallen,  my  good  old  man  ? " 
he  said,  in  a  careless,  off-hand,  heedless  manner,  that 
seemed  too  natural  to  be  assumed  ;  "or  do  you  actually 
live,  hereaway,  in  the  prairies  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  long  on  earth,  and  never  I  hope  nigher  to 
heaven  than  I  am  at  this  moment,"  returned  the  trapper; 
"  my  dwelling,  if  dwelling  I  may  be  said  to  have,  is  not 
far  distant.  Now,  may  I  take  the  liberty  with  you,  that 
you  are  so  willing  to  take  with  others  ?  Whence  do  you 
come,  and  where  is  your  home?" 

"  Softly,  softly  when  I  have  done  with  my  catechism, 
it  will  be  time  to  begin  with  yours.  What  sport  is  this 
you  follow  by  moonlight  ?  You  are  not  dodging  the  buffa- 
loes at  such  an  hour  ! " 

"  I  am,  as  you  see,  going  from  an  encampment  of  trav- 
ellers, which  lies  over  yonder  swell  in  the  land,  to  my  own 
wigwam  ;  in  doing  so,  I  wrong  no  man." 

"  All  fair  and  true.  And  you  got  this  young  woman  to 
show  you  the  way,  because  she  knows  it  so  well,  and  you 
know  so  little  about  it  yourself  !  " 

"  I  met  her,  as  I  have  met  you,  by  accident.  For  ten 
tiresome  years  have  I  dwelt  on  these  open  fields,  and 
never,  before  to-night,  have  I  found  human  beings  with 
white  skins  on  them,  at  this  hour.  If  my  presence  here 
gives  offence,  I  am  sorry,  and  will  go  my  way.  It  is  more 
than  likely  that,  when  your  young  friend  has  told  her 
story,  you  will  be  better  given  to  believe  mine." 

"  Friend  !  "  said  the  youth,  lifting  a  cap  of  skins  from 
his  head,  and  running  his  fingers  leisurely  through  a  dense 


30  THE  PRAIRIE. 

mass  of  black  and  shaggy  locks,  "  if  I  have  ever  laid  eyes 
on  the  girl  before  to-night,  may  I " 

"You've  said  enough,  Paul,"  interrupted  the  female, 
laying  her  hand  on  his  mouth,  with  a  familiarity  that  gave 
something  very  like  the  lie  direct  to  his  intended  assever- 
ation. "  Our  secret  will  be  safe  with  this  honest  old  man 
I  know  it  by  his  looks  and  kind  words." 

"Our  secret.     Ellen,  have  you  forgot 

"  Nothing.  I  have  not  forgotten  anything  I  should  re* 
member.  But  still  I  say  we  are  safe  with  this  honest 
trapper." 

"  Trapper  !  is  he  then  a  trapper  ?  Give  me  your  hand, 
father;  our  trades  should  bring  us  acquainted." 

"  There  is  little  call  for  handicraft  in  this  region,"  re- 
turned the  other,  examining  the  athletic  and  active  form 
of  the  youth,  as  he  leaned  carelessly  and  not  ungracefully 
on  his  rifle  ;  "  the  art  of  taking  the  creatur's  of  God  in 
traps  and  nets  is  one  that  needs  more  cunning  than  man- 
hood ;  and  yet  am  I  brought  to  practise  it  in  my  age  ! 
But  it  would  be  quite  as  seemly  in  one  like  you  to  follow 
a  pursuit  better  becoming  your  years  and  courage." 

"  I  !  I  never  took  even  a  slinking  mink  or  a  paddling 
musk  rat  in  a  cage  ;  though  I  admit  having  peppered  a  few 
of  the  dark-skin'd  devils,  when  I  had  much  better  have 
kept  my  powder  in  the  horn  and  the  lead  in  its  pouch. 
Not  I,  old  man  ;  nothing  that  crawls  the  earth  is  for  my 
sport." 

11  What,  then,  may  you  do  for  a  living,  friend  ? — for  little 
profit  is  to  be  made  in  these  districts,  if  a  man  denies  him- 
self his  lawful  right  in  the  beasts  of  the  fields." 

"  I  deny  myself  nothing.  If  a  bear  crosses  my  path,  he 
is  soon  the  mere  ghost  of  Bruin.  The  deer  begin  to  nose 
me  ;  and  as  for  the  buffalo,  I  have  killed  more  beef,  old 
stranger,  than  the  largest  butcher  in  all  Kentuck." 

"You  can  shoot,  then?"  demanded  the  trapper,  with  a 
glow  of  latent  fire  glimmering  about  his  eyes  ;  "is  your 
hand  true  and  your  look  quick  ? " 

"  The  first  is  like  a  steel  trap,  and  the  last  nimbler  than 
a  buckshot.  I  wish  it  was  hot  noon  now,  grand'ther ;  and 
that  there  was  an  acre  or  two  of  your  white  swans  or  of 
black-feathered  ducks  going  south,  over  our  heads  ;  you  ot 
Ellen  here  might  set  your  heart  on  the  finest  in  the  flock, 
and  my  character  against  a  horn  of  powder,  that  the  bird 
would  be  hanging  head  downward  in  five  minutes,  and  that 


THE  PRAIRIE.  31 

too  with  a  single  ball.  I  scorn  a  shot-gun  !  No  man  can 
say  he  ever  knew  me  to  carry  one  a  rod." 

"The  lad  has  good  in  him  !  I  see  it  plainly  by  his  man- 
ner," said  the  trapper,  turning  to  Ellen  with  an  encourag- 
ing air.  "  I  will  take  it  on  myself  to  say  that  you  are  not 
unwise  in  meeting  him  as  you  do.  Tell  me,  lad  ;  did  you 
ever  strike  a  leaping  buck  atwixt  the  antlers?  Hector; 
quiet,  pup  ;  quiet !  The  very  name  of  venison  quickens 
the  blood  of  the  cur.  Did  you  ever  take  an  animal  in  that 
fashion  on  the  long  leap  ?  " 

"You  might  just  as  well  ask  me,  'Did  you  ever  eat?* 
There  is  no  fashion,  old  stranger,  that  a  deer  has  not  been 
touched  by  my  hand,  unless  it  was  when  asleep." 

"  Ay,  ay  ;  you  have  a  long  and  a  happy — ay,  and  an  hon- 
est life  afore  you  !  I  am  old,  and,  I  suppose  I  might  also 
say,  worn  out  and  useless  ;  but  if  it  was  given  me  to  choose 
my  time  and  place  again— as  such  things  are  not  and  ought 
not  ever  to  be  given  to  the  will  of  man — though  if  such  a 
gift  was  to  be  given  me,  I  would  say,  twenty  and  the  wil- 
derness ?  But  tell  me  ;  how  do  you  part  with  the  peltry  ?  " 

"With  my  pelts!  I  never  took  a  skin  from  a  buck  nor 
a  quill  from  a  goose  in  my  life  ?  I  knock  them  over  now 
and  then  for  a  meal,  -and  sometimes  to  keep  my  linger  true 
to  the  touch  ;  but  when  hunger  is  satisfied  the  prairie 
wolves  get  the  remainder.  No — no— I  keep  to  my  call- 
ing ;  which  pays  me  better  than  all  the  fur  I  could  sell  on 
the  other  side  of  the  big  river." 

The  old  man  appeared  to  ponder  a  little  ;  but  shaking 
his  head,  he  soon  continued  : 

"  I  know  of  but  one  business  that  can  be  followed  here 
with  profit " 

He  was  interrupted  by  the  youth,  who  raised  a  small 
cup  of  tin  which  dangled  at  his  neck  before  the  other's 
eyes,  and,  springing  its  lid,  the  delicious  odor  of  the  finest 
flavored  honey  diffused  itself  over  the  organs  of  the  trapper. 

"  A  hee-hunter  !  "  observed  the  latter,  with  a  readiness 
that  proved  he  understood  the  nature  of  the  occupation, 
though  not  without  some  little  surprise  at  discovering  one 
of  the  other's  spirited  mien  engaged  in  so  humble  a  pur- 
suit. "  It  pays  well  in  the  skirts  of  the  settlements,  but  I 
should  call  it  a  doubtful  trade  in  more  open  districts." 

"  You  think  a  tree  is  wanting  for  a  swarm  to  settle  in ! 
But  I  know  differently  :  and  so  I  have  stretched  out  a  few 
hundred  miles  farther  west  than  common  to  taste  your 


• 
32  THE  PRAIRIE. 

honey.  And  now  I  have  bated  your  curiosity,  strangere 
you  will  just  move  aside  while  I  tell  the  remainder  of  my 
story  to  this  young  woman." 

"  It  is  not  necessary,  I'm  sure  it  is  not  necessary  that  he 
should  leave  us,"  said  Ellen,  with  a  haste  that  implied 
some  little  consciousness  of  the  singularity,  if  not  of  the 
impropriety,  of  the  request.  "  You  can  have  nothing  to 
say  that  the  whole  world  might  not  hear." 

"  No !  well,  may  I  be  stung  to  death  by  drones  if  I  un- 
derstand the  buzzings  of  a  woman's  mind  !  For  my  part, 
Ellen,  I  care  for  nothing  nor  anybody  ;  and  am  just  as 
ready  to  go  down  to  the  place  where  your  uncle,  if  uncle 
you  can  call  one  who  I'll  swear  is  no  relation,  has  hoppled 
his  teams,  and  tell  the  old  man  my  mind  now,  as  I  shall 
be  a  year  hence.  You  have  only  to  say  a  single  word,  and 
the  thing  is  done  ;  let  him  like  it  or  not." 

"  You  are  ever  so  hasty  and  rash,  Paul  Hover,  that  I 
seldom  know  when  I  am  safe  with  you.  How  can  you, 
who  know  the  danger  of  our  being  seen  together,  speak 
of  going  before  my  uncle  and  his  sons  ? " 

"  Has  he  done  that  of  which  he  has  reason  to  be 
ashamed  ? "  demanded  the  trapper,  who  had  not  moved  an 
inch  from  the  place  he  first  occupied. 

"  Heaven  forbid !  But  there  are  reasons  why  he  should 
not  be  seen  just  now,  that  could  do  him  no  harm  if  known, 
but  which  may  not  yet  be  told.  And  so  if  you  will  wait, 
father,  near  yonder  willow-bush,  until  I  have  heard  what 
Paul  can  possibly  have  to  say,  I  shall  be  sure  to  come  and 
wish  you  good-night  before  I  return  to  the  camp." 

The  trapper  drew  slowly  aside,  as  if  satisfied  with  the 
somewhat  incoherent  reason  Ellen  had  given  why  he 
should  retire.  When  completely  out  of  ear-shot  of  the 
earnest  and  hurried  dialogue  that  instantly  commenced 
between  the  two  he  had  left,  the  old  man  again  paused, 
and  patiently  awaited  the  moment  when  he  might  renew 
his  conversation  with  beings  in  whom  he  felt  a  growing 
interest,  no  less  from  the  mysterious  character  of  their 
intercourse  than  from  a  natural  sympathy  in  the  welfare 
of  a  pair  so  young,  and  who,  as  in  the  simplicity  of  his 
heart  he  was  also  fain  to  believe,  were  also  so  deserving. 
He  was  accompanied  by  his  indolent  but  attached  dog, 
who  once  more  made  his  bed  at  the  feet  of  his  master, 
and  soon  lay  slumbering  as  usual,  with  his  head  nearly 
buried  in  the  dense  fog  of  the  prairie-grass. 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


33 


It  was  a  spectacle  so  unusual  to  see  the  human  form 
amid  the  solitude  in  which  he  dwelt  that  the  trapper  bent 
his  eyes  on  the  dim  figures  of  his  new  acquaintances  with 
sensations  to  which  he  had  long  been  a  stranger.  Their 
presence  awakened  recollections  and  emotions  to  which 
his  sturdy  but  honest  nature  had  latterly  paid  but  little 
homage,  and  his  thoughts  began  to  wander  over  the  varied 
scenes  of  a  life  of  hardships  that  had  been  strangely 
blended  with  scenes  of  wild  and  peculiar  enjoyment.  The 
train  taken  by  his  thoughts  had  already  conducted  him  in 
imagination  far  into  an  ideal  world,  when  he  was  once 
more  suddenly  recalled  to  the  reality  of  his  situation  by 
the  movements  of  the  faithful  hound. 

The  dog  who,  in  submission  to  his  years  and  infirmities, 
had  manifested  such  a  decided  propensity  to  sleep,  now 
arose  and  stalked  from  out  the  shadow  cast  by  the  tall 
person  of  his  master,  and  looked  abroad  into  the  prairie, 
as  if  his  instinct  apprised  him  of  the  presence  of  still 
another  visitor.  Then  seemingly  content  with  his  exam- 
ination, he  returned  to  his  comfortable  post,  and  disposed 
of  his  weary  limbs  with  the  deliberation  and  care  of  one 
who  was  no  novice  in  the  art  of  self-preservation. 

"What,  again,  Hector  ?"  said  the  trapper,  in  a  soothing 
voice,  which  he  had  the  caution,  however,  to  utter  in  an 
undertone  ;  "what  is  it,  dog  ?  tell  it  all  to  his  master,  pup  ; 
what  is  it?" 

Hector  answered  with  another  growl,  but  was  content  to 
continue  in  his  lair..  These  were  evidences  of  intelligence 
and  distrust  to  which  one  as  practised  as  the  trapper  could 
not  turn  an  inattentive  ear.  He  again  spoke  to  the  dog, 
encouraging  him  to  watchfulness  by  a  low,  guarded  whistle. 
The  animal,  however,  as  if  conscious  of  having  already 
discharged  his  duty,  obstinately  refused  to  raise  his  head 
from  the  grass. 

'*  A  hint  from  such  a  friend  is  far  better  than  man's  ad- 
vice ! "  muttered  the  trapper,  as  he  slowly  moved  toward 
the  couple  who  were  yet  too  earnestly  and  abstractedly 
engaged  in  their  own  discourse  to  notice  his  approach ; 
"and  none  but  a  conceited  settler  would  hear  it  and  not 
respect  it  as  he  ought. — Children,"  he  added,  when  nigh 
enough  to  address  his  companions;  "we  are  not  alone  in 
these  dreary  fields  ;  thers  are  others  stirring,  and  therefore, 
to  the  shame  of  our  kind  be  it  said,  danger  is  nigh." 

'•  If  one  of  the  lazy  sons  of  Skirting  Ishmael  is  prowling 


34  THE  PRAIRIE. 

out  of  his  camp  to-night,"  said  the  young  bee-hunter,  with 
great  vivacity,  and  in  tones  that  might  easily  have  been 
excited  to  a  menace,  "  he  may  have  an  end  put  to  his 
journey  sooner  than  either  he  or  his  father  is  dreaming! " 

"My  life  on  it  they  are  all  with  the  teams,"  hurriedly 
answered  the  girl.  "I  saw  the  whole  of  them  asleep  my- 
self, except  the  two  on  watch  ;  and  their  natures  have 
greatly  changed  if  they  too  are  not  dreaming  of  a  turkey- 
hunt  or  a  court-house  fight  at  this  very  moment." 

"  Some  beast  with  a  strong  scent  has  passed  between 
the  wind  and  the  hound,  father,  and  it  makes  him  uneasy ; 
or  perhaps  he  too  is  dreaming.  I  had  a  pup  of  my  own  in 
Kentuck,  that  would  start  upon  a  long  chase  from  a  deep 
sleep,  and  all  upon  the  fancy  of  some  dream.  Go  to  him 
and  pinch  his  ear,  that  the  beast  may  feel  the  life  within 
him." 

"  Not  so — not  so,"  returned  the  trapper,  shaking  his 
head  as  one  who  better  understood  the  qualities  of  his  dog. 
"Youth  sleeps,  ay,  and  dreams  too  ;  but  age  is  awake  and 
watchful.  The  pup  is  never  false  with  his  nose,  and  long 
experience  tells  me  to  heed  his  warnings." 

"Did  you  ever  run  him  upon  the  trail  of  carrion  ?" 

"Why,  I  must  say  that  the  ravenous  beasts  have  some- 
times tempted  me  to  let  him  loose,  for  they  are  as  greedy 
as  men  after  the  venison,  in  its  season  ;  but  then  I  know 
the  reason  of  the  dog  woulfl  tell  him  the  object !  No — no, 
Hector  is  an  animal  known  in  the  ways  of  man,  and  will 
never  strike  a  false  trail  when  a  true  one  is  to  be  followed ! " 

"Ay,  ay,  the  secret  is  out!  you  have  run  the  hound  on 
the  track  of  a  wolf,  and  his  nose  has  a  better  memory  than 
his  master  !  "  said  the  bee-hunter,  laughing. 

"  I  have  seen  the  creatur'  sleep  for  hours  with  pack 
after  pack  in  open  view.  A  wolf  might  eat  out  of  his  tray 
without  a  snarl,  unless  there  was  a  scarcity  ;  then,  indeed, 
'Hector  would  be  apt  to  claim  his  own." 

"  There  are  panthers  down  from  the  mountains  ;  I  saw 
one  make  a  leap  at  a  sick  deer,  as  the  sun  was  setting. 
Go — go  you  back  to  the  dog,  and  tell  him  the  truth — • 
father  ;  in  a  minute,  I " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  long,  loud,  and  piteous  howl 
from  the  hound,  which  rose  on  the  air  of  the  evening,  like 
the  wailing  of  some  spirit  of  the  place,  and  passed  off  intG 
the  prairie,  in  cadences  that  rose  and  fell  like  its  own  un« 
dulating  surface.  The  trapper  was  impressively  silent^ 


THE  PRAIRIE.  35 

listening  intently.  Even  the  reckless  bee-hunter  was 
struck  with  the  wailing  wildness  of  the  sounds.  After  a 
short  pause  the  former  whistled  the  dog  to  his  side,  and, 
turning  to  his  companions,  he  said  with  the  seriousness 
which  in  his  opinion  the  occasion  demanded  : 

"  They  who  think  man  enjoys  all  the  knowledge  of  the 
creatur's  of  God,  will  live  to  be  disappointed,  if  they  reach, 
as  I  have  done,  the  age  of  fourscore  years.  I  will  not  take 
upon  myself  to  say  what  mischief  is  brewing,  nor  will  I 
vouch  that  even  the  hound  himself  knows  so  much  ;  but, 
that  evil  is  nigh,  and  that  wisdom  invites  us  to  avoid  it,  I 
have  heard  from  the  mouth  of  one  who  never  lies.  I  did 
think  the  pup  had  become  unused  to  the  footsteps  of  man, 
and  that  your  presence  made  him  uneasy  ;  but  his  nose 
has  been  on  a  long  scent  the  whole  evening,  and  what  I 
mistook  as  a  notice  of  your  coming  has  been  intended  for 
something  more  serious.  If  the  advice  of  an  old  man  is, 
then,  worth  hearkening  to,  children,  you  will  quickly  go 
different  ways  to  your  places  of  shelter  and  safety." 

"  If  I  quit  Ellen  at  such  a  moment,"  exclaimed  the  youth, 
"  may  I " 

"  You've  said  enough  ! "  the  girl  interrupted  by  again 
interposing  a  hand  that  might,  both  by  its  delicacy  and 
color,  have  graced  a  far  more  elevated  station  in  life  ;  "my 
time  is  out,  and  we  must  part  at  all  events — so  good-night, 
Paul — father — good-  night. ' ' 

"  Hist !  "  said  the  youth,  seizing  her  arm,  as  she  was  in 
the  very  act  of  tripping  from  his  side.  .  "  Hist !  do  you 
hear  nothing  ?  There  are  buffaloes  playing  their  pranks 
at  no  great  distance.  That  sound  beats  the  earth  like  a 
herd  of  the  mad,  scampering  devils  !  " 

His  two  companions  listened,  as  people  in  their  situation 
would  be  apt  to  lend  their  faculties  to  discover  the  mean- 
ing of  any  doubtful  noises,  especially  when  heard  after  so 
many  and  such  startling  warnings.  The  unusual  sounds 
were  unequivocally,  though  still  faintly  audible.  The 
youth  and  his  female  companion  had  made  several  hurried 
and  vacillating  conjectures  concerning  their  nature,  when 
a  current  of  the  night  air  brought  the  rush  of  trampling 
footsteps  too  sensible  to  their  ears  to  render  mistake  any 
longer  possible. 

"  I  am  right  !  "  said  the  bee-hunter  ;  "a  panther  is  driv- 
ing; a  herd  before  him  ;  or,  maybe,  there  is  a  battle  among 
the  beasts." 


30  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"Your  ears  are  cheats,"  returned  the  old  man,  who, 
from  the  moment  his  own  organs  had  been  able  to  catch 
the  distant  sounds,  stood  like  a  statue  made  to  represent 
deep  attention  ;  "  the  leaps  are  too  long  for  the  buffalo, 
and  too  regular  for  terror.  Hist !  now  they  are  in  a  bot. 
torn  where  the  grass  is  high,  and  the  sound  is  deadened! 
Ay,  there  they  go  on  the  hard  earth  !  and  now  they  como 
up  the  swell,  dead  upon  us  ;  they  will  be  here  afore  you 
can  find  cover  !  " 

"Come,  Ellen,"  cried  the  youth,  seizing  his  companion 
by  the  hand,  "let  us  make  a  trail  for  the  encampment." 

"  Too  late  !  too  late  !  "  exclaimed  the  trapper,  "  for  thus 
creatur's  are  in  open  view  ;  and  a  bloody  band  of  accursed 
Siouxes  they  are,  by  their  thieving  look,  and  the  random 
fashion  in  which  they  ride  !  " 

"  Siouxes  or  devils,  they  shall  find  us  men  !  "  said  the 
bee-hunter,  with  a  mien  as  fierce  as  if  he  led  a  party  oi 
superior  strength,  and  of  a  courage  equal  to  his  own. 
"You  have  a  piece,  old  man,  and  will  pull  a  trigger  in  be. 
half  of  a  helpless  Christian  girl  ?  " 

"  Down,  down  into  the  grass — down  with  ye  both  ! " 
whispered  the  trapper,  intimating  to  them  to  turn  aside  to 
the  tall  weeds,  which  grew  in  a  denser  body  than  common 
near  the  place  where  they  stood.  "You've  not  the  time 
to  fly,  nor  the  numbers  to  fight,  foolish  boy.  Down  into 
the  grass,  if  you  prize  the  young  woman,  or  value  the  gift 
of  life!" 

His  remonstrance,  seconded  as  it  was  by  a  prompt,  ener- 
getic  action,  did  not  fail  to  produce  the  submission  to  hi* 
order  which  the  occasion  seemed,  indeed,  imperiously  to 
require.  The  moon  had  fallen  behind  a  sheet  of  thin, 
fleecy  clouds,  which  skirted  the  horizon,  leaving  just 
enough  of  its  faint  and  fluctuating  light  to  render  objects 
visible,  dimly  revealing  their  forms  and  proportions.  The 
trapper,  by  exercising  that  species  of  influence  over  his 
companions  which  experience  and  decision  usually  assert 
in  cases  of  emergency,  had  effectually  succeeded  in  con- 
cealing them  in  the  grass  ;  and,  by  the  aid  of  the  feeble 
rays  of  the  luminary,  he  was  enabled  to  scan  the  disorderly 
party  which  was  riding,  like  so  many  madmen,  directly 
upon  them. 

A  band  of  beings,  who  resembled  demons  rather  thaiv 
men,  sporting  in  their  nightly  revels  across  the  bieak  plain, 
was  in  truth  approaching  at  a  fearful  rate,  and  in  a  direo 


THE  PRAIRIE.  37 

tion  to  leave  little  hope  that  some  one  among  them,  at 
least,  would  not  pass  over  the  spot  where  the  trapper  and 
his  companions  lay.  At  intervals,  the  clattering  of  hoofs 
was  borne  along  by  the  night  wind,  quite  audibly  in  their 
front,  and  then  again  their  progress  through  the  fog  of  the 
autumnal  grass  was  swift  and  silent ;  adding  to  the  unearth- 
ly  appearance  of  the  spectacle.  The  trapper,  who  had  called 
in  his  hound,  and  bidden  him  crouch  at  his  side,  now 
kneeled  in  the  cover  also,  and  kept  a  keen  and  watchful 
eye  on  the  route  of  the  band,  soothing  the  fears  of  the 
girl,  and  restraining  the  impatience  of  the  youth  in  the 
same  breath. 

"  If  there's  one,  there's  thirty  of  the  miscreants  ! "  he 
said,  in  a  sort  of  episode  to  his  whispered  comments.  "  Ay, 
ay  ;  thoy  are  edging  toward  the  river. — Peace,  pup,  peace. 
— No,  here  they  come  this  way  again — the  thieves  don't 
seem  to  know  their  own  errand  !  If  there  were  just  six  of 
us,  lad,  what  a  beautiful  ambushment  we  might  make  upon 
them,  from  this  very  spot  ! — it  won't  do,  it  won't  do,  boy  ; 
keep  yourself  closer,  or  your  head  will  be  seen — besides, 
I'm  not  altogether  strong  in  the  opinion  it  would  be  law- 
ful, as  they  have  done  us  no  harm.  There  they  bend 
again  to  the  river — no  ;  here  they  come  up  the  swell. 
Now  is  the  moment  to  be  as  still  as  if  the  breath  had  done 
its  duty,  and  departed  the  body." 

The  old  man  sank  into  the  grass  while  he  was  speaking, 
as  if  the  final  separation  to  which  he  alluded  had  in  his 
own  case  actually  occurred  ;  and,  at  the  next  instant,  a 
band  of  wild  horsemen  whirled  by  them,  with  the  noise- 
less rapidity  in  which  it  might  be  imagined  a  troop  of 
spectres  would  pass.  The  dark  and  fleeting  forms  were 
already  vanished,  when  the  trapper  ventured  to  raise  his 
head  to  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  bending  herbage,  mo- 
tioning at  the  same  time  to  his  companions  to  maintain 
their  positions  and  their  silence. 

"  They  are  going  down  the  swell  toward  the  encamp- 
ment," he  continued,  in  his  former  guarded  tones ;  "  no, 
they  halt  in  the  bottom,  and  are  clustering  together  like 
deer  in  council.  By  the  Lord,  they  are  turning  again,  and 
we  are  not  yet  done  with  the  reptiles  ! " 

Once  more  he  sought  his  friendly  cover,  and  at  the  next 
instant  the  dark  troop  were  to  be  seen  riding,  in  a  dis- 
orderly manner,  on  the  very  summit  of  the  little  elevation 
on  which  the  trapper  and  his  companions  lay.  It  wasnoW 


38  THE  PRAIRIE. 

soon  apparent  that  they  had  returned  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  height  of  the  ground,  in  order  to  examine  the  dim 
horizon. 

Some  dismounted,  while  others  rode  to  and  fro,  like 
men  engaged  in  a  local  inquiry  of  much  interest  Hap- 
pily for  the  hidden  party,  the  grass  in  which  they  were 
concealed  not  only  served  to  screen  them  from  the  eyes 
of  the  savages,  but  opposed  an  obstacle  to  prevent  their 
horses,  which  wrere  no  less  rude  and  untrained  than  their 
riders,  from  trampling  on  them,  in  their  irregular  and 
wild  paces. 

At  length  an  athletic  and  dark-looking  Indian,  who,  by 
his  air  of  authority,  would  seem  to  be  the  leader,  sum- 
moned his  chiefs  about  him,  to  a  consultation,  which  was 
held  mounted.  This  body  was  collected  on  the  very  mar- 
gin of  that  mass  of  herbage  in  which  the  trapper  and  his 
companions  were  hid.  As  the  young  man  looked  up  and 
saw  the  fierce  aspect  of  the  group,  which  was  increasing 
at  each  instant  by  the  accession  of  some  countenance  and 
figure  apparently  more  forbidding  than  any  which  had 

E receded  it,  he  drew  his  rifle,  by  a  very  natural  impulse, 
rom  beneath  him,  and  commenced  putting  it  in  a  state 
for  service.  The  female  at  his  side  buried  her  face  in  the 
grass,  by  a  feeling  that  was,  possibly,  quite  as  natural  to 
her  sex  and  habits,  leaving  him  to  follow  the  impulses  of 
his  hot  blood  ;  but  his  aged  and  more  prudent  adviser 
whispered  sternly  in  his  ear  : 

"  The  tick  of  the  lock  is  as  well  known  to  the  knaves  as 
the  blast  of  a  trumpet  to  a  soldier  !  lay  down  the  piece — 
lay  down  the  piece — should  the  moon  touch  the  barrel,  it 
could  not  fail  to  be  seen  by  the  devils,  whose  eyes  are 
keener  than  the  blackest  snake's  !  The  smallest  motion, 
now,  would  be  sure  to  bring  an  arrow  among  us." 

The  bee-hunter  so  far  obeyed  as  to  continue  immovable 
and  silent.  But  there  was  still  sufficient  light  to  convince 
his  companion,  by  the  contracted  brow  and  threatening 
eye  of  the  young  man,  that  a  discovery  would  not  bestow 
a  bloodless  victory  on  the  savages.  Finding  his  advice 
disregarded,  the  trapper  took  his  measures  accordingly, 
and  awaited  the  result  with  a  resignation  and  calmness 
that  were  characteristic  of  the  individual. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Sioux  (for  the  sagacity  of  the  old 
man  was  not  deceived  in  the  character  of  his  dangerous 
Yieighbors)  had  terminated  their  council,  and  were  again 


THE  PRAIRIE.  35 

dispersed  along  the  ridge  of  land  as  if  they  sought  some 
hidden  object. 

"  The  imps  have  heard  the  hound  !  "  whispered  the  trap* 
per,  "  and  their  ears  are  too  true  to  be  cheated  in  the  dis- 
tance. Keep  close,  lad,  keep  close  ;  down  with  your  head 
to  the  very  earth,  like  a  dog  that  sleeps  !  " 

"  Let  us  rather  take  to  our  feet,  and  trust  to  manhood," 
returned  his  impatient  companion. 

He  would  have  proceeded  ;  but  feeling  a  hand  laid  rude- 
ly on  his  shoulder,  he  turned  his  eyes  upward,  and  beheld 
the  dark  and  savage  countenance  of  an  Indian  gleaming 
full  upon  him.  Notwithstanding  the  surprise  and  the  dis- 
advantage of  his  attitude,  the  youth  was  not  disposed  to 
become  a  captive  so  easily.  Quicker  than  a  flash  of  his 
own  gun,  he  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and  was  throttling  his 
opponent  with  a  power  that  would  soon  have  terminated 
the  contest,  when  he  felt  the  arms  of  the  trapper  thrown 
around  his  body,  confining  his  exertions  by  a  strength  very 
little  inferior  to  his  own.  Before  he  had  time  to  reproach 
his  comrade  for  this  apparent  treachery,  a  dozen  Sioux 
were  around  them,  and  the  whole  party  were  compelled  to 
yield  themselves  as  prisoners. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

— "  With  much  more  dismay 
I  view  the  fight  than  those  who  make  the  fray." 

— MERCHANT  OF  VENICE. 

THE  unfortunate  bee-hunter  and  his  companions  had  be- 
come the  captives  of  a  people  who  might,  without  exagger- 
ation, be  called  the  Ishmaelites  of  the  American  deserts. 
From  time  immemorial  the  hands  of  the  Sioux  had  been 
turned  against  their  neighbors  of  the  prairies  ;  and  even 
at  this  day,  when  the  influence  and  authority  of  a  civilized 
government  are  beginning  to  be  felt  around  them,  they 
are  considered  a  treacherous  and  dangerous  race.  At  the 
period  of  our  tale,  the  case  was  far  worse  ;  few  white  men 
trusting  themselves  in  the  remote  and  unprotected  regions 
where  so  false  a  tribe  was  known  to  dwell. 

Notwithstanding  the  peaceable  submission  of  the  trap- 
per, he  was  quite  aware  of  the  character  of  the  band  inti 
vhose  hands  he  had  fallen.  It  would  have  been  difficult, 


tO  77/yt  PRAIRIE. 

however,  for  the  nicest  judge  to  have  determined  whether 
fear,  policy,  or  resignation  formed  the  secret  motive  of  the 
old  man,  in  permitting  himself  to  be  plundered  as  he  did, 
without  a  murmur.  So  far  from  opposing  any  remon- 
strance to  the  rude  and  violent  manner  in  which  his  con- 
querors performed  the  customary  office,  he  even  antici- 
pated their  cupidity,  by  tendering  to  the  chiefs  such  arti- 
cles as  he  thought  might  prove  the  most  acceptable.  On 
the  other  hand,  Paul  Hover,  who  had  been  literally  a  con- 
quered man,  manifested  the  strongest  repugnance  to  sub- 
mit to  the  violent  liberties  that  were  taken  with  his  per- 
son and  property.  Fie  even  gave  several  exceedingly  un- 
equivocal demonstrations  of  his  displeasure  during  the 
summary  process,  and  would,  more  than  once,  have  broken 
out  in  open  and  desperate  resistance,  but  for  the  admoni- 
tions and  entreaties  of  the  trembling  girl,  who  clung  to  his 
side  in  a  manner  so  dependent  as  to  show  the  youth  that 
her  hopes  were  now  placed  no  less  on  his  discretion  than 
on  his  disposition  to  serve  her. 

The  Indians  had,  however,  no  sooner  deprived  the  cap- 
tives of  their  arms  and  ammunition,  and  stripped  them  of 
a  few  articles  of  dress  of  little  use,  and  perhaps  of  les? 
value,  than  they  appeared  disposed  to  grant  them  a  respite. 
Business  of  greater  moment  pressed  on  their  hands,  and 
required  their  attention.  Another  consultation  of  the 
chiefs  was  convened,  and  it  was  apparent,  by  the  earnest 
and  vehement  manner  of  the  few  who  spoke,  that  the  war- 
riors conceived  their  success  as  yet  to  be  far  from  com- 
plete. 

"It  will  be  well,"  whispered  the  trapper,  who  knew 
enough  of  the  language  he  heard  to  comprehend  perfectly 
the  subject  of  the  discussion,  "if  the  travellers  who  lie  near 
the  willow-brake  are  not  awoke  out  of  their  sleep  by  a 
visit  from  these  miscreants.  They  are  too  cunning  to  be- 
lieve that  a  woman  of  the  '  pale-faces '  is  to  be  found  so 
far  from  the  settlements,  without  having  a  white  man's  in- 
ventions and  comforts  at  hand." 

"  If  they  will  carry  the  tribe  of  wandering  Ishmael  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,"  said  the  young  bee-hunter,  laughing 
in  his  vexation  with  a  sort  of  bitter  merriment,  "  I  may 
forgive  the  rascals." 

"  Paul !  Paul !  "  exclaimed  his  companion,  in  a  tone  oJ 
reproach,  "you  forget  all !  Think  of  the  dreadful  con.se 
^uences ! " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  41 

"  Ay,  it  was  thinking  of  what  you  call  consequences,  Eller^ 
that  prevented  me  from  putting  the  matter,  at  once,  to 
yonder  red-devil,  and  making  it  a  real  knock-down  and  drag- 
out  !  Old  trapper,  the  sin  of  this  cowardly  business  lies 
on  your  shoulders  !  But  it  is  no  more  than  your  daily  call- 
ing, I  reckon,  to  take  men,  as  well  as  beasts,  in  snares." 

"I  implore  you,  Paul,  to  be  calm — to  be  patient." 

"Well,  since  it  is  your  wish,  Ellen,"  returned  the  youth, 
endeavoring  to  swallow  his  spleen,  "  I  will  make  the  trial ; 
though,  as  you  ought  to  know,  it  is  part  of  the  religion  of 
a  Kentuckian  to  fret  himself  a  little  at  a  mischance." 

"  I  fear  your  friends  in  the  other  bottom  will  not  es- 
cape the  eyes  of  the  imps  ! "  continued  the  trapper,  as 
coolly  as  though  he  had  not  heard  a  syllable  of  the  inter- 
vening discourse.  "  They  scent  plunder  ;  and  it  would  be 
as  hard  to  drive  a  hound  from  his  game  as  to  throw  the 
varmints  from  its  trail." 

"  Is  there  nothing  to  be  done  ? "  asked  Ellen,  in  an  im- 
ploring manner,  which  proved  the  sincerity  of  her  con- 
cern. 

"  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  call  out  in  so  loud  a 
Voice  as  to  make  old  Ishmael  dream  that  the  wolves  were 
among  his  flock,"  Paul  replied  ;  "  I  can  make  myself  heard 
a  mile  in  these  open  fields,  and  his  camp  is  but  a  short 
quarter  from  us." 

"  And  get  knocked  on  the  head  for  your  pains,"  returned 
the  trappen  "  No,  no  ;  cunning  must  match  cunning,  or 
the  hounds  will  murder  the  whole  family." 

"  Murder  !  no — no  murder.  Ishmael  loves  travel  so  well, 
there  would  be  ho  harm  in  his  having  a  look  at  the  other 
sea,  but  the  old  fellow  is  in  a  bad  condition  to  take  the 
long  journey  !  I  would  try  a  lock  myself  before  he  should 
be  quite  murdered." 

"  His  party  is  strong  in  number,  and  well  armed  ;  do 
you  think  it  will  fight  ?  " 

"Look  here,  old  trapper:  few  men  love  Ishmael  Bush 
and  his  seven  sledge-hammer  sons  less  than  one  Paul  Hover  ; 
but  I  scorn  to  slander  even  a  Tennessee  shot-gun.  There? 
is  as  much  of  the  true  stand-up  courage  among  them  as 
there  is  in  any  family  that  was  ever  raised  in  Kentuck  it. 
self.  They  are  a  long-sided  and  a  double-jointed  breed  ; 
and  let  me  tell  you  that  he  who  takes  the  measure  of  one 
of  them  on  the  ground,  must  be  a  workman  at  a  hug." 

"  Hist !  the  savages  have  done  their  talk,  and  are  about 


42  THE  PRAIRIE. 

to  set  their  accursed  devices  in  motion.    Let  us  be  patient, 
something  may  yet  offer  in  favor  of  your  friends." 

"  Friends  !  call  none  of  the  race  a  friend  of  mine,  trap- 
per, if  you  have  the  smallest  regard  for  my  affection.  What 
I  say  in  their  favor  is  less  from  love  than  honesty." 

"  I  did  not  know  but  the  young  woman  was  of  the  kin," 
returned  the  other,  a  little  dryly — "  but  no  offence  should 
be  taken  where  none  was  intended." 

The  mouth  of  Paul  was  again  stopped  by  the  hand  of 
Ellen,  who  took  upon  herself  to  reply,  in  her  conciliating 
tones  :  "  We  should  be  all  of  a  family,  when  it  is  in  our 
power  to  serve  each  other.  We  depend  entirely  on  your 
experience,  honest  old  man,  to  discover  the  means  to  ap- 
prise our  friends  of  their  danger." 

"  There  will  be  a  real  time  of  it,"  muttered  the  bee-hunter, 
laughing,  "  if  the  boys  get  at  work,  in  good  earnest,  with 
these  red-skins  ! " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  general  movement  which  took 
place  among  the  band.  The  Indians  dismounted  to  a  man, 
giving  their  horses  in  charge  to  three  or  four  of  the  party, 
who  were  also  entrusted  with  the  safe  keeping  of  the 
prisoners.  They  then  formed  themselves  into  a  circle 
around  a  warrior  who  appeared  to  possess  the  chief  au- 
thority ;  and  at  a  given  signal  the  whole  array  moved 
slowly  and  cautiously  from  the  centre  in  straight  and  con 
sequently  in  diverging  lines.  Most  of  their  dark  forms 
were  soon  blended  with  the  brown  covering  of  the  prairie  ; 
though  the  captives,  who  watched  the  slightest  movement 
of  their  enemies  with  vigilant  eyes,  were  now  and  then 
enabled  to  discern  a  human  figure  drawn  against  the 
horizon,  as  some  one,  more  eager  than  the  rest,  rose  to  his 
greatest  height  in  order  to  extend  the  limits  of  his  view. 
But  it  was  not  long  before  even  these  fugitive  glimpses  of 
the  moving  and  constantly  increasing  circle  were  lost,  and 
uncertainty  and  conjecture  were  added  to  apprehension. 
In  this  manner  passed  many  anxious  and  weary  minutes, 
during  the  close  of  which  the  listeners  expected  at  each 
moment  to  hear  the  whoop  of  the  assailants  and  the 
shrieks  of  the  assailed,  rising  together  on  the  stillness  of 
the  night.  But  it  would  seem  that  the  search,  which  was 
so  evidently  making,  was  without  a  sufficient  object  ;  for 
at  the  expiration  of  half  an  hour  the  different  individuals 
of  the  band  began  to  return  singly,  gloomy  arid  sullen^ 
like  men  who  were  disappointed. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  4j 

•'  Our  time  is  at  hand,"  observed  the  trapper,  who  noted 
the  smallest  incident,  or  the  slightest  indication  of  hostility 
among  the  savages  ;  "we  are  now  to  be  questioned  ;  and, 
if  I  know  anything  of  the  policy  of  our  case,  I  should  say 
it  would  be  wise  to  choose  one  among  us  to  hold  the  diS' 
course,  in  order  that  our  testimony  may  agree.  And, 
furthermore,  if  an  opinion  from  one  as  old  and  as  worth- 
less as  a  hunter  of  fourscore  is  to  be  regarded,  I  would 
just  venture  to  say,  that  man  should  be  the  one  most 
skilled  in  the  natur'  of  an  Indian,  and  that  he  should  also 
know  something  of  their  language.  Are  you  acquainted 
with  the  tongue  of  the  Siouxes,  friend?" 

"Swarm  your  own  hive,"  returned  the  discontented  bee- 
hunter.  "  You  are  good  at  buzzing,  old  trapper,  if  you 
are  good  at  nothing  else." 

"'Tis  the  gift  of  youth  to  be  rash  and  heady,"  the 
trapper  calmly  retorted.  "  The  day  has  been,  boy,  when 
my  blood  was  like  your  own,  too  swift  and  too  hot  to  run 
quietly  in  my  veins.  But  what  will  it  profit  to  talk  of  silly 
risks  and  foolish  acts  at  this  time  of  life  ?  A  gray  head 
should  cover  a  brain  of  reason,  and  not  the  tongue  of  a 
boaster." 

"True,  true,"  whispered  Ellen;  "and  we  have  other 
things  to  attend  to  now  !  Here  comes  the  Indian  to  put 
his  questions." 

The  girl,  whose  apprehensions  had  quickened  her 
senses,  was  not  deceived.  She  was  yet  speaking  when  a 
tall,  half-naked  savage  approached  the  spot  where  they 
stood,  and  after  examining  the  whole  party  as  closely  as 
the  dim  light  permitted,  for  more  than  a  minute  in  perfect 
stillness,  he  gave  the  usual  salutation  in  the  harsh  and 
guttural  tones  of  his  own  language.  The  trapper  replied 
as  well  as  he  could,  which  it  seems  was  sufficiently  well  to 
be  understood.  In  order  to  escape  the  imputation  of 
pedantry,  we  shall  render  the  substance,  and,  so  far  as  it  is 
possible,  the  form  of  the  dialogue  that  succeeded,  into  the 
English  tongue. 

"  Have  the  pale-faces  eaten  their  own  buffaloes,  and 
taken  the  skins  from  all  their  own  beavers,"  continued  the 
savage,  allowing  the  usual  moment  of  decorum  to  elapse, 
after  the  words  of  greeting,  before  he  again  spoke,  "  that 
they  come  to  count  how  many  are  left  among  the  Paw- 
nees?" 

"  Some  of  us  are  here  to  buy,  and  some  to  sell,"  returned 


44  THE  PRAIRIE. 

the  trapper ;  "  but  none  will  follow,  if  they  hear  it  is  not 
safe  to  come  nigh  the  lodge  of  a  Sioux." 

"  The  Siouxes  are  thieves,  and  they  live  among  the 
snow  ;  why  do  we  talk  of  a  people  who  are  so  far,  when 
we  are  in  the  country  of  the  Pawnees  ? " 

"  If  the  Pawnees  are  owners  of  this  land,  then  white 
and  red  are  here  by  equal  right." 

"  Have  not  the  pale-faces  stolen  enough  from  the  red 
men,  that  you  come  so  far  to  carry  a  lie  ?  I  have  said 
that  this  is  a  hunting  ground  of  my  tribe." 

"  My  right  to  be  here  is  equal  to  your  own,"  the  trapper 
rejoined,  with  undisturbed  coolness  ;  "  I  do  not  speak  as 
I  might — it  is  better  to  be  silent.  The  Pawnees  and  the 
white  men  are  brothers,  but  a  Sioux  dare  not  show  his 
face  in  the  village  of  the  Loups." 

"The  Dahcotahs  are  men!"  exclaimed  the  savage, 
fiercely  ;  forgetting  in  his  anger  to  maintain  the  char- 
acter he  had  assumed,  and  using  the  appellation  of  which 
his  nation  was  most  proud  ;  "  the  Dahcotahs  have  no  fear! 
Speak — what  brings  you  so  far  from  the  villages  of  the 
pale-faces  ? " 

"  I  have  seen  the  sun  rise  and  set  on  many  councils, 
and  have  heard  the  words  of  wise  men.  Let  your  chiefs 
come,  and  my  mouth  shall  not  be  shut." 

"  I  am  a  great  chief  !  "  said  the  savage,  affecting  an  air 
of  offended  dignity.  "  Do  you  take  rne  for  an  Assiniboine  ? 
Weucha  is  a  warrior  often  named,  and  much  believed  ! " 

"Am  I  a  fool  not  to  know  a  burnt-wood  Teton?"  de- 
manded the  trapper,  with  a  steadiness  that  did  great  credit 
to  his  nerves.  "  Go  ;  it  is  dark,  and  you  do  not  see  that 
my  head  is  gray  !  " 

The  Indian  now  appeared  convinced  that  he  had  adopt- 
ed too  shallow  an  artifice  to  deceive  one  so  practised  as 
the  man  he  addressed,  and  he  was  deliberating  what  fiction 
he  should  next  invent,  in  order  to  obtain  his  real  object, 
when  a  slight  commotion  among  the  band  put  an  end  at 
once  to  all  his  schemes.  Casting  his  eyes  behind  him,  as 
if  fearful  of  a  speedy  interruption,  he  said,  in  tones  much 
less  pretending  than  those  he  had  first  resorted  to  : 

"  Give  Weucha  the  milk  of  the  Long-knives,  and  he  will 
sing  your  name  in  the  ears  of  the  great  men  of  his  tribe." 

"Go,"  repeated  the  trapper,  motioning  him  away,  with 
strong  disgust.  "Your  young  men  are  speaking  of  Mali* 
toree.  My  words  are  for  the  ears  of  a  chief/' 


THE  PRAIRIE.  45 

The  savage  cast  a  look  on  the  other,  which  notwith- 
standing the  dim  light,  was  sufficiently  indicative  of  im- 
placable hostility.  He  then  stole  away  among  his  fellows, 
anxious  to  conceal  the  counterfeit  he  had  attempted  to 
practise,  no  less  than  the  treachery  he  had  contemplated 
against  a  fair  division  of  the  spoils,  from  the  man  named 
by  the  trapper,  whom  he  now  also  knew  to  be  approach- 
ing, by  the  manner  in  which  his  name  passed  from  one  to 
another  in  the  band.  He  had  hardly  disappeared  before 
a  warrior  of  powerful  frame  advanced  out  of  the  dark  cir- 
cle and  placed  himself  before  the  captives,  with  that  high 
and  proud  bearing  for  which  a  distinguished  Indian  chief 
is  ever  so  remarkable.  He  was  followed  by  all  the  party, 
who  arranged  themselves  around  his  person  in  a  deep  and 
respectful  silence. 

11  The  earth  is  very  large,"  the  chief  commenced,  after  a 
pause  of  that  true  dignity  which  his  counterfeit  had  so 
miserably  affected  ;  "  why  can  the  children  of  my  great 
white  father  never  find  room  on  it  ?" 

"  Some  among  them  have  heard  that  their  friends  in  the 
prairies  are  in  want  of  many  things,"  returned  the  trapper; 
"and  they  have  come  to  see  if  it  be  true.  Some  want,  in 
their  turns,  what  the  red  men  are  willing  to  sell,  and  they 
some  to  make  their  friends  rich  with  powder  and  blankets." 

"  Do  traders  cross  the  big  river  with  empty  hands  ? " 

"  Our  hands  are  empty  because  your  young  men  thought 
we  were  tired,  and  they  have  lightened  us  of  our  load. 
They  were  mistaken  ;  I  am  old,  but  I  am  still  strong." 

"  It  cannot  be.  Your  load  has  fallen  in  the  prairies. 
Show  my  young  men  the  place,  that  they  may  pick  it  up 
before  the  Pawnees  find  it." 

"  The  path  to  the  spot  is  crooked,  and  it  is  night.  The 
hour  is  come  for  sleep,"  said  the  trapper,  with  perfect  com- 
posure. "  Bid  your  warriors  go  over  yonder  hill  ;  there  is 
water  and  there  is  wood  ;  let  them  light  their  fires  and 
sleep  with  warm  feet.  When  the  sun  comes  again  I  will 
speak  to  you." 

A  low  murmur,  but  one  that  was  clearly  indicative  of 
dissatisfaction,  passed  among  the  attentive  listeners,  and 
served  to  inform  the  old  man  that  he  had  not  been  suffi- 
ciently wary  in  proposing  a  measure  that  he  intended 
should  notify  the  travellers  in  the  brake  of  the  presence  of 
their  dangerous  neighbors.  Mahtoree,  however,  without 
betraying  in  the  slightest  degree  the  excitement  which  was 


*6  THE  PRAIRIE. 

so  strongly  exhibited  by  his  companions,  continued  the 
discourse  in  the  same  lofty  manner  as  before. 

"I  know  that  my  friend  is  rich,"  he  said  ;  "  that  he  has 
many  warriors  not  far  off,  and  that  horses  are  plenties 
with  him  than  dogs  among  the  red-skins." 

"  You  see  my  warriors  and  my  horses." 

"  What !  has  the  woman  the  feet  of  a  Dahcotah,  that  she 
can  walk  for  thirty  nights  in  the  prairies,  and  not  fall  ?  I 
know  the  red  men  of  the  woods  make  long  marches  on 
foot,  but  we,  who  live  where  the  eye  cannot  see  from  one 
lodge  to  another,  love  our  horses." 

The  trapper  now  hesitated,  in  his  turn.  He  was  per- 
fectly  aware  that  deception,  if  detected,  might  prove  dan- 
gerous ;  and,  for  one  of  his  pursuits  and  character,  he  was 
strongly  troubled  with  an  unaccommodating  regard  for  the 
truth.  But  recollecting  that  he  controlled  the  fate  of 
others  as  well  as  of  himself,  he  determined  to  let  things 
take  their  course,  and  to  permit  the  Dahcotah  chief  to  de- 
ceive himself,  if  he  would. 

"  The  women  of  the  Siouxes  and  of  the  white  men  are 
not  of  the  same  wigwam,"  he  answered,  evasively.  "  Would 
a  Teton  warrior  make  his  wife  greater  than  himself?  I 
know  he  would  not  ;  and  yet  my  ears  have  heard  that  there 
are  lands  where  the  councils  are  held  by  squaws." 

Another  slight  movement  in  the  dark  circle  apprised  the 
trapper  that  his  declaration  was  not  received  without  sur- 
prise,  if  entirely  without  distrust.  The  chief  alone  seemed 
unmoved  ;  nor  was  he  disposed  to  relax  from  the  loftiness 
and  high  dignity  of  his  air. 

"  My  white  fathers  who  live  in  the  great  lakes  have  de- 
clared," he  said,  "that  their  brothers  toward  the  rising  sun 
are  not  men  ;  and  now  I  know  they  did  not  lie  !  Go ! — 
what  is  a  nation  whose  chief  is  a  squaw  ?  Are  you  the  dog 
and  not  the  husband  of  this  woman  ?" 

"  I  am  neither.  Never  did  I  see  her  face  before  this 
day.  She  came  into  the  prairies  because  they  had  told 
her  a  great  and  generous  nation  called  the  Dahcotahs 
lived  there,  and  she  wished  to  look  on  men.  The  women 
of  the  pale-faces,  like  the  women  of  the  Siouxes,  open  their 
eyes  to  see  things  that  are  new  ;  but  she  is  poor,  like  my- 
self, and  she  will  want  corn  and  buffaloes,  if  you  take 
away  the  little  that  she  and  her  friend  still  have." 

"  My  ears  listen  to  many  wicked'  lies !  "  exclaimed  the 
Teton  warrior,  in  a  voice  so  stern  that  it  startled  even  his 


THE  PRAIRIE.  47 

red  auditors.  "Am  I  a  woman?  Has  not  a  Dahcotah 
eyes  ?  Tell  me,  white  hunter,  who  are  the  men  of  your 
color  that  sleep  near  the  fallen  trees  ? " 

As  he  spoke  the  indignant  chief  pointed  in  the  direction 
of  Ishmael's  encampment,  leaving  the  trapper  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  the  superior  industry  and  sagacity  of  this 
man  had  effected  a  discovery  which  had  eluded  the  search 
of  the  rest  of  his  party.  Notwithstanding  his  regret  at  an 
event  that  might  prove  fatal  to  the  sleepers,  and  some 
little  vexation  at  having  been  so  completely  outwitted  in 
the  dialogue  just  related,  the  old  man  continued  to  main- 
tain his  air  of  inflexible  composure. 

"  It  may  be  true,"  he  answered,  "that  white  men  are 
sleeping  in  the  prairie.  If  my  brother  says  it,  it  is  true  ; 
but  what  men  thus  trust  to  the  generosity  of  the  Tetons, 
I  cannot  tell.  If  there  be  strangers  asleep,  send  your 
young  men  to  wake  them  up,  and  let  them  say  why  they 
are  here  ;  every  pale-face  has  a  tongue." 

The  chief  shook  his  head  with  a  wild  and  fierce  smile, 
answering  abruptly,  as  he  turned  away  to  put  an  end  to 
the  conference  : 

"  The  Dahcotahs  are  a  wise  race,  and  Mahtoree  is  their 
chief !  He  will  not  call  to  the  strangers,  that  they  may 
rise  and  speak  to  him  with  their  carabines.  He  will  whis- 
per softly  in  their  ears.  When  this  is  done,  let  the  men 
of  their  own  color  come  and  awake  them." 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  and  turned  on  his  heel,  a  low 
and  approving  laugh  passed  around  the  dark  circle,  which 
instantly  broke  its  order,  and  followed  him  to  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  stand  of  the  captives,  where  those  who 
might  presume  to  mingle  opinions  with  so  great  a  warrior 
again  gathered  about  him  in  consultation.  Weucha  prof- 
ited by  this  occasion  to  renew  his  importunities  ;  but  the 
trapper,  who  had  discovered  how  great  a  counterfeit  he 
was,  shook  him  off  in  displeasure.  An  end  was,  however, 
more  effectually  put  to  the  annoyance  of  this  malignant 
savage  by  a  mandate  for  the  whole  party,  including  men 
and  beasts,  to  change  their  positions.  The  movement  was 
made  in  dead  silence,  and  with  an  order  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  more  enlightened  beings.  A  halt,  however, 
was  soon  made  ;  and  when  the  captives  had  time  to  look 
about  them,  they  found  they  were  in  view  of  the  low,  dark 
outline  of  the  copse  near  which  lay  the  slumbering  party 
of  Ishmael. 


48  THE  PRAJRtR. 

Here  another  short  but  grave  and  deliberate  consulta- 
tion was  held. 

The  beasts,  which  seemed  trained  to  such  covert  and 
silent  attacks,  were  once  more  placed  under  the  care  of 
keepers,  who,  as  before,  were  charged  with  the  duty  of 
watching  the  prisoners.  The  mind  of  the  trapper  was  in 
no  degree  relieved  from  the  uneasiness  which  was  at  each 
instant  getting  a  stronger  possession  of  him,  when  he  found 
Weucha  was  placed  nearest  to  his  own  person,  and,  as  it 
appeared  by  the  air  of  triumph  and  authority  he  assumed, 
at  the  head  of  the  guard  also.  The  savage,  however,  who 
doubtless  had  his  secret  instructions,  was  content,  for  the 
present,  with  making  a  significant  gesture  with  his  toma- 
hawk, which  menaced  death  to  Ellen.  After  admonishing 
in  this  expressive  manner  his  male  captives  of  the  fate 
that  would  instantly  attend  their  female  companion  on  the 
slightest  alarm  proceeding  from  any  of  the  party,  he  was 
content  to  maintain  a  rigid  silence.  This  unexpected 
forbearance  on  the  part  of  Weucha  enabled  the  trapper 
and  his  two  associates  to  give  their  undivided  attention  to 
the  little  that  might  be  seen  of  the  interesting  movements 
which  were  passing  in  their  front. 

Mahtoree  took  the  entire  disposition  of  the  arrangements 
on  himself.  He  pointed  out  the  precise  situation  he 
wished  each  individual  to  occupy,  like  one  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  qualifications  of  his  respective  followers, 
and  he  was  obeyed  with  the  deference  and  promptitude 
with  which  an  Indian  warrior  is  wont  to  submit  to  the  in- 
structions of  his  chief  in  moments  of  trial.  Some  he  dis- 
patched to  the  right,  and  others  to  the  left.  Each  man 
departed  with  the  noiseless  and  quick  step  peculiar  to  the 
race,  until  all  had  assumed  their  allotted  stations,  with 
the  exception  of  two  chosen  warriors,  who  remained 
nigh  the  person  of  their  leader.  When  the  rest  had  dis- 
appeared, Mahtoree  turned  to  these  select  companions, 
and  intimated  by  a  sign  that  the  critical  moment  had  ar- 
rived when  the  enterprise  he  contemplated  was  to  be  put 
in  execution. 

Each  man  laid  aside  the  light  fowling  piece  which,  un- 
der the  name  of  a  carabine,  he  carried  in  virtue  of  his  rank  ; 
and,  divesting  himself  of  every  article  of  exterior  or  heavy 
clothing,  he  stood  resembling  a  dark  and  fierce-looking 
statue,  in  the  attitude,  and  nearly  in  the  garb,  of  nature 
Mahtoree  assured  himself  of  the  right  position  of  his  tormj 


THE  PRAIRIE.  49 

hawk,  felt  that  his  knife  was  secure  in  its  sheath  of  skin, 
tightened  his  girdle  of  wampum,  and  saw  that  the  lacing 
of  his  fringed  and  ornamented  leggings  was  secure,  and 
likely  to  offer  no  impediment  to  his  exertions.  Thus  pre- 
pared at  all  points,  and  ready  for  his  desperate  undertaking 
the  Teton  gave  the  signal  to  proceed. 

The  three  advanced  in  a  line  with  the  encampment  oi 
the  travellers,  until,  in  the  dim  light  by  which  they  were 
seen,  their  dusky  forms  were  nearly  lost  to  the  eyes  of  the 
prisoners.  Here  they  paused,  looking  around  them  like 
men  who  deliberate  and  ponder  long  on  the  consequences 
before  they  take  a  desperate  leap.  Then,  sinking  together, 
they  became  lost  in  the  grass  of  the  prairie. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  distress  and  anxiety  of 
the  different  spectators  of  these  threatening  movements. 
Whatever  might  be  the  reasons  of  Ellen  for  entertaining 
BO  strong  attachment  to  the  family  in  which  she  has  first 
been  seen  by  the  reader,  the  feelings  of  her  sex,  and,  per- 
haps, some  lingering  seeds  of  kindness,  predominated. 
More  than  once  she  felt  tempted  to  brave  the  awful  and 
instant  danger  that  awaited  such  an  offence,  and  to  raise 
her  feeble,  and,  in  truth,  impotent  voice  in  warning.  So 
strong,  indeed,  and  so  very  natural  was  the  inclination, 
that  she  would  most  probably  have  put  it  into  execution, 
but  for  the  often-repeated  though  whispered  remonstrances 
of  Paul  Hover.  In  the  breast  of  the  young  bee-hunter 
himself  there  was  a  singular  union  of  emotion.  His  first 
nnd  chiefest  solicitude  was  certainly  in  behalf  of  his  gentle 
and  dependent  companion  ;  but  the  sense  of  her  danger 
was  mingled,  in  the  breast  of  the  reckless  woodsman,  with 
a  consciousness  of  a  high  and  wild,  and  by  no  means  an 
unpleasant  excitement.  Though  united  to  the  emigrants 
by  ties  still  less  binding  than  those  of  Ellen,  he  longed  to 
hear  the  crack  of  their  rifles,  and,  had  occasion  offered,  he 
would  gladly  have  been  among  the  first  to  rush  to  their 
rescue.  There  were,  in  truth,  moments  when  he  felt  in 
his  turn  an  impulse  that  was  nearly  resistless,  to  spring 
forward  and  awake  the  unconscious  sleepers  ;  but  a  glance 
at  Ellen  would  serve  to  recall  his  tottering  prudence,  and 
to  admonish  him  of  the  consequences.  The  trapper  alone 
remained  calm  and  observant,  as  if  nothing  that  involved 
his  personal  comfort  or  safety  had  occurred.  His  ever- 
moving,  vigilant  eyes  watched  the  smallest  change,  with 
f.he  composure  of  one  too  long  inured  to  scenes  of  danger 

A 


50  THE  PRAIRIE. 

to  be  easily  moved,  and  with  an  expression  of  cool  deteN 
mination  which  denoted  the  intention  he  actually  har- 
bored, of  profiting  by  the  smallest  oversight  on  the  part 
of  the  captors. 

In  the  meantime  the  Teton  warriors  had  not  been  idle. 
Profiting  by  the  high  fog  which  grew  in  the  bottoms,  they 
had  wormed  their  way  through  the  matted  grass,  like  so 
many  treacherous  serpents  stealing  on  their  prey,  until  the 
point  was  gained  where  an  extraordinary  caution  became 
necessary  to  their  further  advance.  Mahtoree  alone  had 
occasionally  elevated  his  dark  grim  countenance  above 
the  herbage,  straining  his  eyeballs  to  penetrate  the  gloom 
which  skirted  the  border  of  the  brake.  In  these  momen- 
tary glances  he  gained  sufficient  knowledge,  added  to  that 
he  had  obtained  in  his  former  search,  to  be  the  perfect 
master  of  the  position  of  his  intended  victims,  though  he 
was  still  profoundly  ignorant  of  their  number  and  of  their 
means  of  defence. 

His  efforts  to  possess  himself  of  the  requisite  knowledge 
concerning  these  two  latter  arid  essential  points  were,  how- 
ever, completely  baffled  by  the  stillness  of  the  camp,  which 
lay  in  a  quiet  as  deep  as  if  it  were  literally  a  place  of  the 
dead.  Too  wary  and  distrustful  to  rely,  in  circumstances 
of  so  much  doubt  on  the  discretion  of  any  less  firm  and 
crafty  than  himself,  the  Dahcotah  bade  his  companions 
remain  where  they  lay,  and  pursued  the  adventure  alone. 

The  progress  of  Mahtoree  was  now  slow,  and,  to  one 
less  accustomed  to  such  a  species  of  exercise,  it  would  have 
proved  painfully  laborious.  But  the  advance  of  the  wily 
snake  itself  is  not  more  certain  or  noiseless  than  was  his 
approach.  He  drew  his  form,  foot  by  foot,  through  the 
bending  grass,  pausing  at  each  movement  to  catch  the 
smallest  sound  that  might  betray  any  knowledge,  on  the 
part  of  the  travellers,  of  his  proximity.  He  succeeded,  at 
length,  in  dragging  himself  out  of  the  sickly  light  of  the 
moon  into  the  shadows  of  the  brake,  where  not  only  his 
own  dark  person  was  much  less  liable  to  be  seen,  but  where 
the  surrounding  objects  became  more  distinctly  visible  to 
his  keen  and  active  glances. 

Here  the  Teton  paused  long  and  warily  to  make  his  ob- 
servations before  he  ventured  further.  His  position  en- 
abled him  to  bring  the  whole  encampment,  with  its  tent, 
wagons,  and  lodges,  into  a  dark  but  clearly  marked  profile; 
furnishing  a  clue  by  which  the  practised  warrior  was  led 


THE  PRAIRIE.  «1 

to  a  tolerably  accurate  estimate  of  the  force  he  was  about 
to  encounter.  Still  an  unnatural  silence  pervaded  the 
spot,  as  if  men  suppressed  even  the  quiet  breathings  of 
sleep,  in  order  to  render  the  appearance  of  their  confidence 
more  evident.  The  chief  bent  his  head  to  the  earth  and 
listened  intently.  He  was  about  to  raise  it  again,  in  dis- 
appointment, when  the  long-drawn  and  trembling  respira- 
tion of  one  who  slumbered  imperfectly  met  his  ear.  The 
Indian  was  too  well  skilled  in  all  the  means  of  deception 
to  become  himself  the  victim  of  any  common  artifice.  He 
knew  the  sound  to  be  natural,  by  its  peculiar  quivering, 
and  he  hesitated  no  longer. 

A  man  of  nerves  less  tried  than  those  of  the  fierce  and 
conquering  Mahtoree  would  have  been  keenly  sensible  of 
all  the  hazard  he  incurred.  The  reputation  of  those  hardy 
and  powerful  white  adventurers  who  so  often  penetrated 
the  wilds  inhabited  by  his  people,  was  well  known  to  him  ; 
but  while  he  drew  nigher,  with  the  respect  and  caution 
that  a  brave  enemy  never  fails  to  inspire,  it  was  with  the 
vindictive  animosity  of  a  red  man,  jealous  and  resentful  of 
the  inroads  of  the  stranger. 

Turning  from  the  line  of  his  former  route,  the  Teton 
dragged  himself  directly  toward  the  margin  of  the  thicket. 
When  this  material  object  was  effected  in  safety,  he  rose 
to  his  seat,  and  took  a  better  survey  of  his  situation.  A 
single  moment  served  to  apprise  him  of  the  place  where 
the  unsuspecting  traveller  lay.  The  reader  will  readily 
anticipate  that  the  savage  had  succeeded  in  gaining  a  dan- 
gerous proximity  to  one  of  those  slothful  sons  of  Ishmael 
who  were  deputed  to  watch  over  the  isolated  encampment 
of  the  travellers. 

When  certain  that  he  was  undiscovered,  the  Dahcotah 
raised  his  person  again,  and,  bending  forward,  he  moved 
his  dark  visage  above  the  face  of  the  sleeper,  in  that  sort 
of  wanton  and  subtle  manner  with  which  the  reptile  is 
seen  to  play  about  its  victim  before  it  strikes.  Satisfied 
at  length,  not  only  of  the  condition  but  of  the  character  of 
the  stranger,  Mahtoree  was  in  the  act  of  withdrawing  his 
head  when  a  slight  movement  of  the  sleeper  announced 
the  symptoms  of  reviving  consciousness.  The  savage 
seized  the  knife  which  hung  at  his  girdle,  and  in  an  in- 
stant it  was  poised  above  the  breast  of  the  young  emigrant. 
Then  changing  his  purpose,  with  an  action  as  rapid  as  his 
own  flashing  thoughts,  he  sank  back  behind  the  trunk  of 


52  THE  PRAIRIE. 

the  fallen  tree  against  which  the  other  reclined,  and  lay  in 
its  shadow,  as  dark,  as  motionless,  and  apparently  as  in- 
sensible,  as  the  wood  itself. 

The  slothful  sentinel  opened  his  heavy  eyes,  and,  gazing 
upward  for  a  moment  at  the  hazy  heavens,  he  made  an 
extraordinary  exertion,  and  raised  his  powerful  frame  from 
ihe  support  of  the  log.  Then  he  looked  about  him,  with 
an  air  of  something  like  watchfulness,  suffering  his  dull 
glances  to  run  over  the  misty  objects  of  the  encampment 
until  they  finally  settled  on  the  distant  and  dim  field  of  the 
open  prairie.  Meeting  with  nothing  more  attractive  than 
the  same  faint  outlines  of  swell  and  interval  which  every- 
where rose  before  his  drowsy  eyes,  he  changed  his  posi- 
tion so  as  completely  to  turn  his  back  on  his  dangerous 
neighbor,  and  suffered  his  person  to  sink  sluggishly  down 
into  its  former  recumbent  attitude.  A  long,  and,  on  the 
part  of  the  Teton,  an  anxious  and  painful  silence  succeeded, 
before  the  deep  breathing  of  the  traveller  again  announced 
that  he  was  indulging  in  his  slumbers.  The  savage  was, 
however,  far  too  jealous  of  a  counterfeit  to  trust  to  the 
first  appearance  of  sleep.  But  the  fatigues  of  a  day  of 
unusual  toil  lay  too  heavy  on  the  sentinel  to  leave  the 
other  long  in  doubt.  Still  the  motion  with  which  Mah- 
toree  again  raised  himself  to  his  knees  was  so  noiseless  and 
guarded,  that  even  a  vigilant  observer  might  have  hesitated 
to  believe  he  stirred.  The  change  was,  however,  at  length 
effected,  and  the  Dahcotah  chief  then  bent  again  over  his 
enemy,  without  having  produced  a  noise  louder  than  that 
of  the  cotton-wood  leaf  which  fluttered  at  his  side  in  the 
currents  of  the  passing  air. 

Mahtoree  now  felt  himself  master  of  the  sleeper's  fate. 
At  the  same  time  that  he  scanned  the  vast  proportions  and 
athletic  limbs  of  the  youth,  in  that  sort  of  admiration  which 
physical  excellence  seldom  fails  to  excite  in  the  breast  of 
a  savage,  he  coolly  prepared  to  extinguish  the  principle 
of  vitality  which  could  alone  render  them  formidable. 
After  making  himself  sure  of  the  seat  of  life  by  gently 
removing  the  folds  of  the  intervening  cloth,  he  raised  his 
keen  weapon,  and  was  about  to  unite  his  strength  and 
skill  in  the  impending  blow,  when  the  young  man  threw 
his  brawny  arm  carelessly  backward,  exhibiting  in  the  ac- 
tion the  vast  volume  of  its  muscles. 

The  sagacious  and  wary  Teton  paused.  It  struck  his 
acute  faculties  that  sleep  was  less  dangerous  to  him,  at  that 


THE  PRAIRIE.  53 

moment,  that  even  death  itself  might  prove.  The  smallest 
noise,  the  agony  of  struggling,  with  which  such  a  frame 
would  probably  relinquish  its  hold  of  life,  suggested  them- 
selves to  his  rapid  thoughts,  and  were  all  present  to  his 
experienced  senses.  He  looked  back  into  the  encampment, 
turned  his  head  into  the  thicket,  and  glanced  his  glowing 
eyes  abroad  into  the  wild  and  silent  prairies.  Bending 
once  more  over  the  respited  victim,  he  assured  himself  that 
he  was  sleeping  heavily,  and  then  abandoned  his  immedi- 
ate purpose  in  obedience  alone  to  the  suggestions  of  a 
more  crafty  policy. 

The  retreat  of  Mahtoree  was  as  still  and  guarded  as  had 
been  his  approach.  He  now  took  the  direction  of  the  en- 
campment, stealing  along  the  margin  of  the  brake,  as  a 
cover  into  which  he  might  easily  plunge  at  the  smallest 
alarm.  The  drapery  of  the  solitary  hut  attracted  his  notice 
in  passing.  After  examining  the  whole  of  its  exterior,  and 
listening  with  painful  intensity,  in  order  to  gather  counsel 
from  his  ears,  the  savage  ventured  to  raise  the  cloth  at  the 
bottom,  and  to  thrust  his  dark  visage  beneath.  It  might 
have  been  a  minute  before  the  Teton  chief  drew  back,  and 
seated  himself  with  the  whole  of  his  form  without  the  linen 
tenement.  Here  he  sat,  seemingly  brooding  over  his  dis- 
covery, for  many  moments,  in  rigid  inaction.  Then  he 
resumed  his  crouching  attitude,  and  once  more  projected 
his  visage  beyond  the  covering  of  the  tent.  His  second 
visit  to  the  interior  was  longer,  and,  if  possible,  more 
ominous  than  the  first.  But  it  had,  like  everything  else, 
its  termination,  and  the  savage  again  withdrew  his  glaring 
eyes  from  the  secrets  of  the  place. 

Mahtoree  had  drawn  his  person  many  yards  from  the 
spot  in  his  slow  progress  toward  the  cluster  of  objects 
which  pointed  out  the  centre  of  the  position,  before  he 
again  stopped.  He  made  another  pause,  and  looked  back 
at  the  solitary  little  dwelling  he  had  left,  as  if  doubtful 
whether  he  should  not  return.  But  the  chevaux  de  frise  of 
branches  now  lay  within  reach  of  his  arm,  and  the  very 
appearance  of  precaution  it  presented  as  it  announced  the 
value  of  the  effects  it  encircled,  tempted  his  cupidity,  and 
induced  him  to  proceed. 

The  passage  of  the  savage,  through  the  tender  and  brit. 
tie  limbs  of  the  cotton-wood,  could  be  likened  only  to  the 
sinuous  and  noiseless  winding  of  the  reptiles  which  he 
fonitated.  When  he  had  effected  his  object,  and  had  taken 


54  THE  PRAIRIE. 

an  instant  to  become  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the 
localities  within  the  enclosure,  the  Teton  used  the  precau- 
tion to  open  a  way  through  which  he  might  make  a  swift 
retreat.  Then,  raising  himself  on  his  feet,  he  stalked 
through  the  encampment,  like  the  master  of  evil,  seeking 
whom  and  what  he  should  first  devote  to  his  fell  purposes. 
He  had  already  ascertained  the  contents  of  the  lodge  in 
which  were  collected  the  woman  and  her  young  children, 
and  had  passed  several  gigantic  frames,  stretched  on  dif- 
ferent piles  of  brush,  which  happily  for  him  lay  in  uncon- 
scious helplessness,  when  he  reached  the  spot  occupied  by 
Ishmael  in  person.  It  could  not  escape  the  sagacity  of 
one  like  Mahtoree,  that  he  had  now  within  his  power  the 
principal  man  among  the  travellers.  He  stood  long  hover- 
ing above  the  recumbent  and  Herculean  form  of  the  emi- 
grant, keenly  debating  in  his  own  mind  the  chances  of  his 
enterprise,  and  the  most  effectual  means  of  reaping  its 
richest  harvest. 

He  sheathed  the  knife,  which,  under  the  hasty  and  burn- 
ing impulse  of  his  thoughts,  he  had  been  tempted  to  draw, 
and  was  passing  on,  when  Ishmael  turned  in  his  lair,  and 
demanded  roughly  who  was  moving  before  his  half-opened 
eyes.  Nothing  short  of  the  readiness  and  cunning  of  a 
savage  could  have  evaded  the  crisis.  Imitating  the  gruff 
tones  and  nearly  unintelligble  sounds  he  heard,  Mahtoree 
threw  his  body  heavily  on  the  earth,  and  appeared  to  dis- 
pose himself  to  sleep.  Though  the  whole  movement  was 
seen  by  Ishmael,  in  a  sort  of  stupid  observation,  the  arti- 
fice was  too  bold  and  too  admirably  executed  to  fail.  The 
drowsy  father  closed  his  eyes,  and  slept  heavily,  with  his 
treacherous  inmate  in  the  very  bosom  of  his  family. 

It  was  necessary  for  the  Teton  to  maintain  the  position 
he  had  taken  for  many  long  and  weary  minutes,  in  order 
to  make  sure  that  he  was  no  longer  watched.  Though  his 
body  lay  so  motionless,  his  active  mind  was  not  idle.  He 
profited  by  the  delay  to  mature  a  plan  which  he  intended 
should  put  the  whole  encampment,  including  both  its  ef- 
fects and  their  proprietors,  entirely  at  his  mercy.  The  in- 
stant he  could  do  so  with  safety,  the  indefatigable  savage 
was  again  in  motion.  He  took  his  way  toward  the  slight 
pen  which  contained  the  domestic  animals,  worming  him- 
self along  the  ground  in  his  former  subtle  and  guarded 
manner. 

The  first  animal  he  encountered  among  the  beasts  occa- 


THE  PRAJRIL.  55 

sloned  a  long  and  hazardous  delay.  The  wary  creature, 
perhaps  conscious,  through  its  secret  instinct,  that  in  the 
endless  wastes  of  the  prairies  its  surest  protector  was  to 
be  found  in  man,  was  so  exceedingly  docile  as  quietly  to 
submit  to  the  close  examination  it  was  doomed  to  undergo. 
The  hand  of  the  wandering  Teton  passed  over  the  downy 
coat,  the  meek  countenance,  and  the  slender  limbs  of  the 
gentle  creature,  with  untiring  curiosity  ;  but  he  finally 
abandoned  the  prize,  as  useless  in  his  predatory  expedi 
tions,  and  offering  too  little  temptation  to  the  appetite. 
As  soon,  however,  as  he  found  himself  among  the  beasts 
of  burden,  his  gratification  was  extreme,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  he  restrained  the  customary  ejaculations  of 
pleasure  that  were  more  than  once  on  the  point  of  bursting 
from  his  lips.  Here  he  lost  sight  of  the  hazards  by  which 
he  had  gained  access  to  his  dangerous  position  ;  and  the 
watchfulness  of  the  wary  and  long-practised  warrior  was 
momentarily  forgotten  in  the  exultation  of  the  savage. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"Why,  worthy  father,  what  have  we  to  lose  ? 

—The  law 

Protects  us  not.     Then  why  should  we  be  tender 
To  let  an  arrogant  piece  of  flesh  threat  us  ! 
Play  judge  and  executioner." — CYMBELINE. 

WHILE  the  Teton  thus  enacted  his  subtle  and  charac- 
teristic part,  not  a  sound  broke  the  stillness  of  the  sur- 
rounding prairie.  The  whole  band  lay  at  their  several 
posts,  waiting  with  the  well-known  patience  of  the  natives 
for  the  signal  which  was  to  summon  them  to  action. 
To  the  eyes  of  the  anxious  spectators  who  occupied  the 
little  eminence,  already  described  as  the  position  of  the 
captives,  the  scene  presented  the  broad,  solemn  view  of  a 
waste,  dimly  lighted  by  the  glimmering  rays  of  a  clouded 
moon.  The  place  of  the  encampment  was  marked  by  a 
gloom  deeper  than  that  which  faintly  shadowed  out  the 
courses  of  the  bottoms,  and  here  and  there  a  brighter 
streak  tinged  the  rolling  summits  of  the  ridges.  As  for  the 
rest,  it  was  the  deep,  imposing  quiet  of  a  desert. 

But  to  those  who  so  well  knew  how  much  was  brooding 
beneath  this  mantle  of  stillness  and  night,  it  was  a  scene 


56  THE  PRAIRIE. 

of  high  and  wild  excitement.  Their  anxiety  gradually  in. 
creased,  as  minute  after  minute  passed  away,  and  not  the 
smallest  sound  of  life  arose  out  of  the  calm  and  darkness 
which  enveloped  the  brake.  The  breathing  of  Paul  grew 
louder  and  deeper,  and  more  than  once  Ellen  trembled  at 
she  knew  not  what,  as  she  felt  the  quivering  of  his  active 
frame,  while  she  leaned  dependently  on  his  arm  for  sup 
port. 

The  shallow  honesty,  as  well  as  the  besetting  infirmity 
of  Weucha,  had  alre'ady  been  exhibited.  The  reader, 
therefore,  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  he  was  the 
first  to  forget  the  regulations  he  had  himself  imposed.  If 
was  at  the  precise  moment  when  we  left  Mahtoree  yield- 
ing to  his  nearly  ungovernable  delight,  as  he  surveyed  the 
number  and  quality  of  Ishmael's  beasts  of  burden,  that  the 
man  he  had  selected  to  watch  his  captives  chose  to  indulge 
in  the  malignant  pleasure  of  tormenting  those  it  was  his 
duty  to  protect.  Bending  his  head  nigh  the  ear  of  the 
trapper,  the  savage  rather  muttered  than  whispered  : 

"  If  the  Tetons  lose  their  great  chief  by  the  hands  of  the 
Long-knives,*  old  shall  die  as  well  as  young  !  " 

"  Life  is  the  gift  of  the  Wahcondah,"  was  the  unmoved 
reply.  "The  burnt-wood  warrior  must  submit  to  his  laws, 
as  well  as  his  other  children.  Men  only  die  when  ffi 
chooses  ;  and  no  Dahcotah  can  change  the  hour." 

"  Look  !  "  returned  the  savage,  thrusting  the  blade  oi 
his  knife  before  the  face  of  his  captive.  "  Weucha  is  the 
Wahcondah  of  a  dog." 

The  old  man  raised  his  eyes  to  the  fierce  visage  of  his 
keeper,  and,  for  a  moment,  a  gleam  of  honest  and  power 
ful  disgust  shot  from  their  deep  cells  ;  but  it  instantly 
passed  away,  leaving  in  its  place  an  expression  of  com- 
miseration, if  not  of  sorrow. 

"  Why  should  one  made  in  the  real  image  of  God  suffer 
his  natur'  to  be  provoked  by  a  mere  effigy  of  reason  ? "  he 
said  in  English,  and  in  tones  much  louder  than  those  in 
which  Weucha  had  chosen  to  pitch  the  conversation.  The 
latter  profited  by  the  unintentional  offence  of  his  captive, 
and,  seizing  him  by  the  thin,  gray  locks  that  fell  from  be- 
neath his  cap,  was  on  the  point  of  passing  the  blade  of 
his  knife  in  malignant  triumph  around  their  roots,  when  a 
long  shrill  yell  rent  the  air,  and  was  instantly  echoed  from 

*  The  whites  are  so  called  by  the  Indians,  from  their  swords. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  57 

Me  surrounding  waste,  as  if  a  thousand  demons  opened 
their  throats  in  common  at  the  summons.  Weucha  relin- 
quished his  grasp,  and  uttered  a  cry  of  exultation. 

"  Now  !  "  shouted  Paul,  unable  to  control  his  impatience 
any  longer,  "now,  old  Ishmael,  is  the  time  to  show  the 
native  blood  of  Kentucky  !  Fire  low,  boys — level  into  the 
swales,  for  the  red  skins  are  settling  to  the  very  earth  ! " 

His  voice  was,  however,  lost,  or  rather  unheeded,  in  the 
midst  of  the  shrieks,  shouts,  and  yells  that  were,  by  this 
time,  bursting  from  fifty  mouths  on  every  side  of  him. 
The  guards  still  maintained  their  posts  at  the  side  of  the 
captives,  but  it  was  with  that  sort  of  difficulty  with  which 
steeds  are  restrained  at  the  starting-post,  when  expecting 
the  signal  to  commence  the  trial  of  speed.  They  tossed 
their  arms  wildly  in  the  air,  leaping  up  and  down  more 
like  exulting  children  than  sober  men,  and  continued  to 
utter  the  most  frantic  cries. 

In  the  midst  of  this  tumultuous  disorder  a  rushing  sound 
was  heard,  similar  to  that  which  might  be  expected  to 
precede  the  passage  of  a  flight  of  buffaloes,  and  then  came 
the  flocks  and  cattle  of  Ishmaei  in  one  confused  and  fright- 
ened drove. 

"  They  have  robbed  the  squatter  of  his  beasts  !  "  said 
the  attentive  trapper.  "The  reptiles  have  left  him  as 
hoofless  as  a  beaver  !  "  He  was  yet  speaking,  when  the 
whole  body  of  the  terrified  animals  rose  the  little  acclivity, 
and  swept  by  the  place  where  he  stood,  followed  by  a  band 
of  dusky  and  demon-like-looking  figures,  who  pressed 
madly  on  their  rear. 

The  impulse  was  communicated  to  the  Teton  horses, 
long  accustomed  to  sympathize  in  the  untutored  passions 
of  the  owners,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  tho  keepers 
were  enabled  to  restrain  their  impatience.  At  this  mo- 
ment, when  all  eyes  were  directed  to  the  passing  whirl- 
wind of  men  and  beasts,  the  trapper  caught  the  knife  from 
the  hands  of  his  inattentive  keeper,  with  a  power  that  his 
age  would  have  seemed  to  contradict,  and,  at  a  single 
blow,  severed  the  thong  of  hide  which  connected  the  whole 
of  the  drove.  The  wild  animals  snorted  with  joy  and  ter- 
ror, and,  tearing  the  earth  with  their  heels,  they  dashed 
away  into  the  broad  prairies,  in  a  dozen  different  directions. 

Weucha  turned  upon  his  assailant  with  the  ferocity  and 
agility  of  a  tiger.  He  felt  for  the  weapon  of  which  he 
had  been  so  suddenly  deprived,  fumbled  witb  impotent 


58  THE  PRAIRIE. 

haste  for  the  handle  of  his  tomahawk,  and  at  the  same 
moment  glanced  his  eyes  after  the  flying  cattle,  with  the 
longings  of  a  Western  Indian.  The  struggle  between  thirst 
for  vengeance  and  cupidity  was  severe  but  short.  The 
latter  quickly  predominated  in  the  bosom  of  one  whose 
passions  were  proverbially  grovelling ;  and  scarcely  a 
moment  intervened  between  the  flight  of  the  animals 
and  the  swift  pursuit  of  the  guards.  The  trapper  had 
continued  calmly  facing  his  foe,  during  the  instant  of 
suspense  that  succeeded  his  hardy  act ;  and  now  that 
Weucha  was  seen  following  his  companions,  he  pointed 
after  the  dark  train,  saying,  with  his  deep  and  nearly  in- 
audible laugh  : 

"Red-natur*  is  red-natur',  let  it  show  itself  on  a  prairie 
or  in  a  forest !  A  knock  on  the  head  would  be  the  small- 
est reward  to  him  who  would  take  such  a  liberty  with  a 
Christian  sentinel  ;  but  there  goes  the  Teton  after  his 
horses  as  if  he  thought  two  legs  as  good  as  four  in  such  a 
race  !  And  yet  the  imps  will  have  every  hoof  of  them 
afore  the  day  sets  in,  because  it's  reason  ag'in  instinct. 
Poor  reason,  I  allow  ;  but  still  there  is  a  great  deal  of  the 
man  in  the  Indian.  Ah's  me  !  your  Delawares  were  the 
red-skins  of  which  America  might  boast  ;  but  few  and 
scattered  is  that  mighty  people,  now  !  Well !  the  traveller 
may  just  make  his  pitch  where  he  is  ;  he  has  plenty  of 
water,  though  Natur'  has  cheated  him  of  the  pleasure  of 
stripping  the'arth.of  its  lawful  trees.  He  has  seen  the 
last  of  his  four-footed  creatures,  or  I  am  but  little  skilled 
in  Sioux  cunning." 

"  Had  we  not  better  join  the  party  of  Ishmael  ?"  said 
the  bee-hunter.  ''There  will  be  a  regular  fight  about  this 
matter,  or  the  old  fellow  has  suddenly  grown  chicken- 
hearted." 

"  No — no — no  !  "  hastily  exclaimed  Ellen. 

She  was  stopped  by  the  trapper,  who  laid  his  hand  gently 
on  her  mouth  as  he  answered  : 

"  Hist  ! — hist  ! — the  sound  of  voices  might  bring  us  into 
danger.  Is  your  friend,"  he  added,  turning  to  Paul,  "  a 
man  of  spirit  enough  ?" 

"Don't  call  the  squatter  a  friend  of  mine  !  "  interrupted 
the  youth.  "  I  never  yet  harbored  with  one  who  could  not 
show  hand  and  seal  for  the  land  which  fed  him." 

"Well — well.  Let  it  then  be  acquaintance.  Is  he  a  man 
to  maintain  his  own  stoutly,  by  dint  of  powder  and  lead." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  59 

•'  His  own  !  ay,  and  that  which  is  not  his  own,  too  !  Can 
you  tell  me,  old  trapper,  who  held  the  rifle  that  did  the 
deed  for  the  sheriff's  deputy,  that  thought  to  rout  the  un- 
lawful settlers  who  had  gathered  nigh  the  Buffalo  lick  in 
old  Kentucky  ?  I  had  lined  a  beautiful  swarm  that  very  day 
into  the  hollow  of  a  dead  beech,  and  there  lay  the  people's 
officer  at  its  roots,  with  a  hole  directly  through  the  *  grace 
of  God  which  he  carried  in  his  jacket  pocket  covering 
his  heart,  as  if  he  thought  a  bit  of  sheepskin  was  a  breast- 
plate against  a  squatter's  bullet !  Now,  Ellen,  you  needn't 
be  troubled  ;  for  it  never  strictly  was  brought  home  to 
him  ;  and  there  were  fifty  others  who  had  pitched  in  that 
neighborhood  with  just  the  same  authority  from  the  law." 

The  poor  girl  shuddered,  struggling  powerfully  to  sup- 
press the  sigh  which  arose  in  spite  of  her  efforts,  as  if  from 
the  very  bottom  of  her  heart. 

Thoroughly  satisfied  that  he  understood  the  character 
of  the  emigrants,  by  the  short  but  comprehensive  descrip- 
tion conveyed  in  Paul's  reply,  the  old  man  raised  no 
further  question  concerning  the  readiness  of  Ishmael  to 
revenge  his  wrongs,  but  rather  followed  the  train  of 
thought  which  was  suggested  to  his  experience  by  the  oc- 
casion : 

"  Each  one  knows  the  ties  which  bind  him  to  his  fellow- 
creatures  best,"  he  answered.  "  Though  it  is  greatly  to 
be  mourned  that  color,  and  property,  and  tongue,  and 
Taming,  should  make  so  wide  a  difference  in  those  who, 
after  all,  are  but  the  children  of  one  Father !  How- 
somever,"  he  continued,  by  a  transition  not  a  little  char- 
acteristic of  the  pursuits  and  feelings  of  the  man,  "as  this 
is  a  business  in  which  there  is  much  more  likelihood  of  a 
fight  than  need  for  a  sermon,  it  is  best  to  be  prepared  for 
what  may  follow.  Hush !  there  is  a  movement  below  ;  it 
is  an  equal  chance  that  we  are  seen." 

"  The  family  is  stirring,"  cried  Ellen,  with  a  tremor  that 
announced  nearly  as  much  terror  at  the  approach  of  her 
friends,  as  she  had  before  manifested  at  the  presence  of 
her  enemies.  "  Go,  Paul,  leave  me.  You,  at  least,  must  not 
be  seen  ! " 

"  If  I  leave  you,  Ellen,  in  this  desert,  before  I  see  you 
safe  in  the  care  of  old  Ishmael  at  least,  may  I  never  hear 
the  hum  of  another  bee,  or,  what  is  worse,  fail  in  sight  to 
line  him  to  his  hive  I  " 

"  You  forget  this  good  old  man.     He  will  not  leave  me, 


60  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Though  I  am  sure,  Paul,  we  have  parted  before,  where 
there  has  been  more  of  a  desert  than  this." 

"  Never !  These  Indians  may  come  whooping  back, 
and  then  where  are  you?  Half-way  to  the  Rocky  Moun* 
tains  before  a  man  can  fairly  strike  the  line  of  your  flight. 
What  think  you,  old  trapper  ?  How  long  may  it  be  be- 
fore these  Tetons,  as  you  call  them,  will  be  coming  for  the 
rest  of  old  Ishmael's  goods  and  chattels  ? " 

"No  fear  of  them,"  returned  the  old  man,  laughing  in 
his  own  peculiar  and  silent  manner :  "  I  warrant  me  the 
devils  will  be  scampering  after  their  beasts  these  six  hours 
yet  !  Listen !  you  may  hear  them  in  the  willow-bottoms 
at  this  very  moment  ;  ay,  your  real  Sioux  cattle  will  run 
like  so  many  long-legged  elks.  Hist !  crouch  again  into 
the  grass,  down  with  ye  both  ;  as  I'm  a  miserable  piece  of 
clay,  I  heard  the  clicking  of  a  gunlock  ! " 

The  trapper  did  not  allow  his  companions  time  to  hesi- 
tate, but,  dragging  them  both  after  him,  he  nearly  buried 
his  own  person  in  the  fog  of  the  prairie,  while  he  was 
speaking.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  senses  of  the  aged 
hunter  remained  so  acute,  and  that  he  had  lost  none  of  his 
readiness  of  action.  The  three  were  scarcely  bowed  to  the 
ground,  when  their  ears  were  saluted  with  the  well-known, 
sharp,  short  reports  of  the  Western  rifle,  and  instantly  the 
whizzing  of  the  ragged  lead  was  heard,  buzzing  within 
dangerous  proximity  of  their  heads. 

"Well  done,  young  chips!  well  done,  old  block!" 
whispered  Paul,  whose  spirits  no  danger  nor  situation 
could  entirely  depress.  "  As  pretty  a  volley  as  one  would 
wish  to  hear  on  the  wrong  end  of  a  rifle  !  What  d'ye  say, 
trapper  !  here  is  likely  to  be  a  three-cornered  war.  Shall 
I  give  'em  as  good  as  they  send  ?" 

"  Give  them  nothing  but  fair  words,"  returned  the  other, 
hastily,  "  or  you  are  both  lost." 

"  I'm  not  certain  it  would  much  mend  the  matter,  if  I 
were  to  speak  with  my  tongue  instead  of  the  piece,"  said 
Paul,  in  a  tone  half  jocular,  half  bitter. 

"  For  the  sake  of  heaven,  do  not  let  them  hear  you  !  " 
cried  Ellen.  "  Go,  Paul,  go  !  you  can  easily  quit  us  now." 

Several  shots  in  quick  succession,  each  sending  its  dan- 
gerous messenger  still  nearer  than  the  preceding  discharge. 
cut  short  her  speech,  no  less  in  prudence  than  in  terror. 

"  Tkis  must  end,"  said  the  trapper,  rising  with  the  dig- 
nity of  one  bent  only  on  the  importance  of  his  object.  "  I 


THE  PRAIRIE.  61 

know  not  what  need  ye  may  have,  children,  to  fear  those 
you  should  both  love  and  honor,  but  something  must  be 
done  to  save  your  lives.  A  few  hours  more  or  less  can 
never  be  missed  from  the  time  of  one  who  has  already 
numbered  so  many  days  ;  therefore,  I  will  advance.  Here 
is  a  clear  space  around  you.  Profit  by  it  as  you  need,  arid 
may  God  bless  and  prosper  each  of  you,  as  ye  deserve  !  " 

Without  waiting  for  any  reply  the  trapper  walked  boldly 
down  the  declivity  in  his  front,  taking  the  direction  of  the 
encampment,  neither  quickening  his  pace  in  trepidation 
nor  suffering  it  to  be  retarded  by  fear.  The  light  of  the 
moon  fell  brighter  for  a  moment  on  his  tall,  gaunt  form, 
and  served  to  warn  the  emigrants  of  his  approach.  In- 
different, however,  to  this  unfavorable  circumstance,  he 
held  his  way  silently  and  steadily  toward  the  copse,  until 
a  threatening  voice  met  him  with  the  challenge  of, 

"  Who  comes — friend  or  foe  ?  " 

"  Friend,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  one  who  has  lived  too  long 
to  disturb  the  close  of  life  with  quarrels." 

**  But  not  so  long  as  to  forget  the  tricks  of  his  youth," 
said  Ishmael,  rearing  his  huge  frame  from  beneath  the 
slight  covering  of  a  low  bush,  and  meeting  the  trapper  face 
to  face.  "  Old  man,  you  have  brought  this  tribe  of  red  devils 
upon  us,  and  to-morrow  you  will  be  sharing  the  booty." 

"What  have  you  lost  ?"  calmly  demanded  the  trapper. 

"  Eight  as  good  mares  as  ever  travelled  in  gears,  besides 
a  foal  that  is  worth  thirty  of  the  brightest  Mexicans  that 
bear  the  face  of  the  King  of  Spain.  Then  the  woman  has 
not  a  cloven  hoof  for  her  dairy  or  her  loom,  and  I  believe 
even  the  grunters,  foot-sore  as  they  be,  are  ploughing  the 
prairie.  And  now,  stranger,"  he  added,  dropping  the  butt 
of  his  rifle  on  the  hard  earth,  with  a  violence  and  a  clatter 
that  would  have  intimidated  one  less  firm  than  the  man  he 
addressed,  "  how  many  of  these  creatures  may  fall  to  your 
lot  ? " 

';  Horses  have  I  never  craved,  nor  even  used  ;  though 
few  have  journeyed  over  more  of  the  wide  lands  of  Amer- 
ica than  myself,  old  and  feeble  as  I  seem.  But  little  use 
is  there  for  a  horse  among  the  hills  and  woods  of  York — • 
that  is,  as  York  was,  but  as  I  greatly  fear  York  is  no  longer. 
As  for  woollen  covering  and  cow's-milk,  I  covet  no  such 
womanly  fashions  !  The  beasts  of  the  field  give  me  food 
and  raiment.  No,  I  crave  no  cloth  better  than  the  skin  of 
a  deer,  nor  any  meat  richer  than  its  flesh," 


6 a  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  sincere  manner  of  the  trappe/,  as  he  uttered  this 
simple  vindication,  was  not  entirely  thrown  away  on  the 
emigrant,  whose  dull  nature  was  gradually  quickening 
into  a  flame  that  might  speedily  have  burst  forth  with  dan- 
gerous violence.  He  listened  like  one  who  doubted, 
though  not  entirely  convinced  ;  and  he  muttered  between 
his  teeth  the  denunciation,  with  which  a  moment  before 
he  intended  to  precede  the  summary  vengeance  he  had 
certainly  meditated. 

"This  is  brave  talking,"  he  at  length  grumbled  ;  "but, 
to  my  judgment,  too  lawyer-like,  for  a  straightforward, 
fair-weather  and  foul-weather  hunter." 

"  I  claim  to  be  no  better  than  a  trapper,"  the  other  meek- 
ly answered. 

"  Hunter  or  trapper — there  is  little  difference.  I  have 
come,  old  man,  into  these  districts,  because  I  found  the 
law  sitting  too  tight  upon  me,  and  am  not  over-fond  of 
neighbors  who  can't  settle  a  dispute  without  troubling  a 
justice  arid  twelve  men  ;  but  I  didn't  come  to  be  robbed 
of  my  plunder,  and  then  to  say  thank'ee  to  the  man  who 
did  it  ! " 

"  He  who  ventures  far  into  the  prairie  must  abide  by  the 
ways  of  its  owners." 

"Owners!"  echoed  the  squatter!  "I  am  as  rightful 
an  owner  of  the  land  I  stand  on  as  any  governor  of  the 
States  !  Can  you  tell  me,  stranger,  where  the  law  or  the 
reason  is  to  be  found,  which  says  that  one  man  shall  have 
a  section,  or  a  town,  or  perhaps  a  county  to  his  use,  and 
another  have  to  beg  for  earth  to  make  his  grave  in  ?  This 
is  not  nature,  and  I  deny  that  it  is  law  !  that  is,  your  legal 
law." 

"  I  cannot  say  that  you  are  wrong,"  returned  the  trapper, 
whose  opinions  on  this  important  topic,  though  drawn 
from  very  different  premises,  were  in  singular  accordance 
with  those  of  his  companion,  "  and  I  have  often  thought 
and  said  as  much,  when  and  where  I  have  believed  my 
voice  could  be  heard.  But  your  beasts  are  stolen  by 
them  who  claim  to  be  masters  of  all  they  find  in  the  des- 
erts." 

"  They  had  better  not  dispute  that  matter  with  a  man 
who  knows  better,"  said  the  other,  in  a  portentous  voice, 
though  it  seemed  deep  and  sluggish  as  he  who  spoke.  "  I 
call  myself  a  fair  trader,  and  one  who  gives  to  his  chaps 
as  good  as  he  receives,  ^ou  saw  the  Indians  ?  " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  63 

"  I  did — they  held  me  a  prisoner,  while  they  stole  into 
your  camp." 

"  It  would  have  been  more  like  a  white  man  and  a 
Christian  to  let  me  have  known  as  much  in  better  season," 
retorted  Ishmael,  casting  another  ominous,  sidelong  glance 
at  the  trapper,  as  if  still  meditating  evil.  "  I  am  not  much 
given  to  call  every  man  I  fall  in  with  cousin,  but  color 
should  be  something,  when  Christians  meet  in  such  a  place 
as  this.  But  what  is  done,  is  done,  and  cannot  be  mended 
by  words.  Come  out  of  your  ambush,  boys  ;  here  is  no 
one  but  the  old  man  ;  he  has  eaten  of  my  bread,  and  should 
be  our  friend,  though  there  is  such  good  reason  to  suspect 
him  of  harboring  with  our  enemies." 

The  trapper  made  no  reply  to  the  harsh  suspicion  which 
the  other  did  not  scruple  to  utter  without  the  smallest  del- 
icacy, notwithstanding  the  explanations  and  denials  to 
which  he  had  just  listened.  The  summons  of  the  unnur- 
tured squatter  brought  an  immediate  accession  to  their 
party.  Four  or  five  of  his  sons  made  their  appearance 
from  beneath  as  many  covers,  where  they  had  been  posted, 
under  the  impression  that  the  figures  they  had  seen,  on 
the  swell  of  the  prairie,  were  a  part  of  the  Sioux  band. 
As  each  man  approached  and  dropped  his  rifle  into  the 
hollow  of  his  arm,  he  cast  an  indolent  but  inquiring  glance 
at  the  stranger,  though  none  of  them  expressed  the  least 
curiosity  to  know  whence  he  had  come  or  why  he  was 
there.  This  forbearance,  however,  proceeded  only  in  part 
from  the  sluggishness  of  their  common  temper  ;  for  long 
and  frequent  experience  in  scenes  of  a  similar  character 
had  taught  them  the  virtue  of  discretion.  The  trapper  en- 
dured their  sullen  scrutiny  with  the  steadiness  of  one  as 
practised  as  themselves,  and  with  the  entire  composure  of 
innocence.  Content  with  the  momentary  examination  he 
had  made,  the  eldest  of  the  group,  who  was  in  truth  the 
delinquent  sentinel  by  whose  remissness  the  wily  Mahtoree 
had  so  well  profited,  turned  toward  his  father,  and  said, 
bluntly  : 

"  If  this  man  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  party  I  saw  on  the 
upland  yonder,  we  haven't  altogether  thrown  away  our 
ammunition." 

"Asa,  you  are  right,"  said  the  father,  turning  suddenly 
on  the  trapper,  a  lost  idea  being  recalled  by  the  hint  of 
his  son — "  How  is  it,  stranger  ?  there  were  three  of  you 
Juat  now,  or  there  is  no  virtue  in  moonlight." 


64  TIIK  PRAIRIE, 

"  If  you  had  seen  the  Tetons  racing  across  the  prairies, 
like  so  many  black-looking  evil  ones,  on  the  heels  of  your 
cattle,  my  friend,  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to 
have  fancied  them  a  thousand." 

"  Ay,  for  a  town-bred  boy  or  a  skeary  woman  ;  though, 
for  that  matter,  there  is  old  Esther  ;  she  has  no  more  fear 
of  a  red-skin  than  of  a  sucking  cub  or  of  a  wolf-pup.  I'll 
warrant  ye,  had  your  thievish  devils  made  their  push  by 
the  light  of  the  sun,  the  good  woman  would  have  been 
smartly  at  work  among  them,  and  the  Siouxes  would  have 
found  she  was  not  given  to  part  with  her  cheese  and  her 
butter  without  a  price.  But  there'll  come  a  time,  stranger, 
right  soon,  when  justice  will  have  its  dues,  and  that,  too, 
without  the  help  of  what  is  called  the  law.  We  ar'  of  a  slow 
breed,  it  may  be  said,  and  it  is  often  said  of  us  ;  but  slow 
is  sure  ;  and  there  ar'  few  men  living  who  can  say  they 
ever  struck  a  blow  that  they  did  not  get  one  as  hard  in 
return  from  Ishmael  Bush." 

"  Then  has  Ishmael  Bush  followed  the  instinct  of  the 
beasts,  rather  than  the  principle  which  ought  to  belong 
to  his  kind,"  returned,  the  stubborn  trapper.  "I  have 
struck  many  a  blow  myself,  but  never  have  I  felt  the  same 
ease  of  mind  that  of  right  belongs  to  a  man  who  follows 
his  reason,  after  slaying  even  a  fawn  when  there  was  no 
call  for  his  meat  or  hide,  as  I  have  felt  at  leaving  a  Mingo 
unburied  in  the  woods,  when  following  the  trade  of  open 
and  honest  warfare." 

"  What !  you  have  been  a  soldier,  have  you,  trapper  ?  I 
made  a  forage  or  two  among  the  Cherokees,  when  I  was  a 
lad,  myself,  and  I  followed  Mad  Anthony,*  one  season, 
through  the  beeches  ;  but  there  was  altogether  too  much 
tattooing  and  regulating  among  his  troops  for  me  ;  so  I 
left  him,  without  calling  on  the  paymaster  to  settle  my  arrear- 
ages. Though,  as  Esther  afterward  boasted,  she  had  made 
such  use  of  the  pay-ticket  that  the  States  gained  no  great 
sum  by  the  oversight.  You  have  heard  of  such  a  man  as 
Mad  Anthony,  if  you  tarried  long  among  the  soldiers." 

"  I  fou't  my  last  battle,  as  I  hope,  under  his  orders,"  re- 
turned the  trapper,  a  gleam  of  sunshine  shooting  from  his 

*  Anthony  Wayne,  a  Pennsylvanian  distinguished  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, and  subsequently  against  the  Indians  of  the  West,  for  his  daring 
as  a  general,  by  which  he  gained  from  his  followers  the  title  of  Mad  An- 
thony.  General  Wayne  was  the  son  of  the  person  mentioned  in  the  life  of 
West  as  commanding  the  regiment  which  excited  his  military  ardor. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  65 

dim  eyes,  as  if  the  event  was  recollected  with  pleasure,  and 
then  a  sudden  shade  of  sorrow  succeeding,  as  though  he 
felt  a  secret  admonition  against  dwelling  on  the  violent 
scenes  in  which  he  had  so  often  been  an  actor.  "  I  was 
passing  from  the  States  on  the  sea-shore  into  these  far  re- 
gions, when  I  crossed  the  trail  of  his  army,  and  I  fell  in,  on  his 
rear,  just  as  a  looker-on  ;  but  when  they  got  to  blows,  the 
crack  of  my  rifle  was  heard  among  the  rest,  though,  to  my 
shame  it  may  be  said,  I  never  knew  the  right  of  the  quar- 
rel, as  well  as  a  man  of  three  score  and  ten  should  know 
the  reason  of  his  acts  afore  he  takes  mortal  life,  which  is  a 
gift  he  never  can  return  !  " 

"Come,  stranger,"  said  the  emigrant,  his  rugged  nature 
a  good  deal  softened  when  he  found  that  they  had  fought 
on  the  same  side  in  the  wild  warfare  of  the  West,  "  it  is  of 
small  account  what  may  be  the  ground-work  of  the  dis- 
turbance, when  it's  a  Christian  ag'in  a  savage.  We  shall 
hear  more  of  this  horse-stealing  to-morrow  ;  to-night  we 
can  do  no  wiser  or  safer  thing  than  to  sleep." 

So  saying,  Ishmael  deliberately  led  the  way  back  toward 
his  rifled  encampment,  and  ushered  the  man,  whose  life  a 
few  minutes  before  had  been  in  real  jeopardy  from  his  re- 
sentment, into  the  presence  of  his  family.  Here,  with  a 
very  few  words  of  explanation,  mingled  with  scarce  but 
ominous  denunciations  against  the  plunderers,  he  made  his 
wife  acquainted  with  the  state  of  things  on  the  prairie,  and 
announced  his  own  determination  to  compensate  himself 
for  his  broken  rest,  by  devoting  the  remainder  of  the  night 
to  sleep. 

The  trapper  gave  his  ready  assent  to  the  measure,  and 
adjusted  his  gaunt  form  on  the  pile  of  brush  that  was  of- 
fered him,  with  as  much  composure  as  a  sovereign  could 
resign  himself  to  sleep,  in  the  security  of  his  capital,  and 
surrounded  by  his  armed  protectors.  The  old  man  did  not 
close  his  eyes,  however,  until  he  had  assured  himself  that 
Ellen  Wade  was  among  the  females  of  the  family,  and  that 
her  relation,  or  lover,  whichever  he  might  be,  had  observed 
the  caution  of  keeping  himself  out  of  view  ;  after  which  he 
slept,  though  with  the  peculiar  watchfulness  of  one  long 
accustomed  to  vigilance,  even  in  the  hours  of  deepest  night 

5 


66  THE  PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

*'  He  is  too  picked,  too  spruce,  too  affected,  too  odd, 
As  it  were  too  peregrinate,  as  I  may  call  it." — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  Anglo-American  is  apt  to  boast,  and  not  without 
reason,  that  his  nation  may  claim  a  descent  more  truly 
honorable  than  that  of  any  other  people  whose  history  is 
to  be  credited.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  weaknesses 
of  the  original  colonists,  their  virtues  have  rarely  been  dis- 
puted. If  they  were  superstitious,  they  were  sincerely 
pious,  and  consequently  honest.  The  descendants  of  these 
simple  and  single-minded  provincials  have  been  content 
to  reject  the  ordinary  and  artificial  means  by  which  honors 
have  been  perpetuated  in  families,  and  have  substituted  a 
standard  which  brings  the  individual  himself  to  the  ordeal 
of  the  public  estimation,  paying  as  little  deference  as  may 
be  to  those  who  have  gone  before  him.  This  forbearance, 
self-denial,  or  common-sense,  or  by  whatever  term  it  may  be 
thought  proper  to  distinguish  the  measure,  has  subjected 
the  nation  to  the  imputation  of  having  an  ignoble  origin. 
Were  it  worth  the  inquiry,  it  would  be  found  that  more 
than  a  just  proportion  of  the  renowned  names  of  the 
mother-country  are,  at  this  hour,  to  be  found  in  her  ci-devant 
colonies  ;  and  it  is  a  fact  well  known  to  the  few  who  have 
wasted  sufficient  time  to  become  the  masters  of  so  unim- 
portant a  subject,  that  the  direct  descendants  of  many  a 
failing  line,  which  the  policy  of  England  has  seen  fit  to 
sustain  by  collateral  supporters,  are  now  discharging  the 
simple  duties  of  citizens  in  the  bosom  of  this  republic. 
The  hive  has  remained  stationary,  and  they  who  flutter 
around  the  venerable  straw  are  wont  to  claim  the  empty 
distinction  of  antiquity,  regardless  alike  of  the  frailty  of 
their  tenement  and  of  the  enjoyments  of  the  numerous  and 
vigorous  swarms  that  are  culling  the  fresher  sweets  of  a 
virgin  world.  But,  as  this  is  a  subject  which  belongs  rather 
to  the  politician  and  historian  than  to  the  humble  narrator 
of  the  home-bred  incidents  we  are  about  to  reveal,  we  must 
confine  our  reflections  to  such  matters  as  have  an  immediate 
relation  to  the  subject  of  the  tale. 

Although  the  citizen  of  the  United  States  may  claim  so 
just  an  ancestry,  he  is  far  from  being  exempt  from  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  67 

penalties  of  his  fallen  race.  Like  causes  are  well  known 
to  produce  like  effects.  That  tribute,  which  it  would  seem 
nations  must  ever  pay,  by  way  of  a  weary  probation, 
around  the  shrine  of  Ceres,  before  they  can  be  indulged 
in  her  fullest  favors,  is  in  some  measure  exacted,  in 
America,  from  the  descendant  instead  of  the  ancestor. 
The  march  of  civilization  with  us  has  a  strong  analogy  to 
that  of  all  coming  events,  which  are  known  to  "  cast  their 
shadows  before."  The  gradations  of  society,  from  that 
state  which  is  called  refined  to  that  which  approaches  as 
near  barbarity  as  connection  with  an  intelligent  people 
will  readily  allow,  are  to  be  traced  from  the  bosom  of  the 
States,  where  wealth,  luxury,  and  the  arts  are  beginning 
to  seat  themselves,  to  those  distant  and  ever-receding 
borders  which  mark  the  skirts  and  announce  the  approach 
of  the  nation,  as  moving  mists  precede  the  signs  of  the 
day. 

Here,  and  here  only,  is  to  be  found  that  widely  spread 
though  far  from  numerous  class  which  may  be  at  all 
likened  to  those  who  have  paved  the  way  for  the  intel- 
lectual progress  of  nations  in  the  Old  World.  The  re- 
semblance between  the  American  borderer  and  his  Eu- 
ropean prototype  is  singular,  though  not  always  uniform. 
Both  might  be  called  without  restraint — the  one  being- 
above,  the  other  beyond  the  reach  of  the  law — brave,  be- 
cause they  were  inured  to  danger — proud,  because  they 
were  independent — and  vindictive,  because  each  was  the 
avenger  of  his  own  wrongs.  It  would  be  unjust  to  the  bor- 
derer to  pursue  the  parallel  much  further.  He  is  irreligious, 
because  he  has  inherited  the  knowledge  that  religion  does 
not  exist  in  forms,  and  his  reason  rejects  mockery.  He  is 
not  a  knight,  because  he  has  not  the  power  to  bestow 
distinction  ;  and  he  has  not  the  power,  because  he  is  the 
offspring  and  not  the  parent  of  a  system.  In  what  manner 
these  several  qualities  are  exhibited,  in  some  of  the  most 
strongly  marked  of  the  latter  class,  will  be  seen  in  the 
course  of  the  ensuing  narrative. 

Ishmael  Bush  had  passed  the  whole  of  a  life  of  more  than 
fifty  years  on  the  skirts  of  society.  He  boasted  that  he 
had  never  dwelt  where  he  might  not  safely  fell  every  tree 
he  could  view  from  his  own  threshold  ;  that  the  law  had 
rarely  been  known  to  enter  his  clearing  ;  and  that  his  ears 
had  never  willingly  admitted  the  sound  of  a  church-belJ. 
His  exertions  seldom  exceeded  his  wants,  which  were  pe» 


68  THE  PRAIRIE. 

culiar  to  his  class,  and  rarely  failed  of  being  supplied.  Hft 
had  no  respect  for  any  learning,  except  that  of  the  leech  ; 
because  he  was  ignorant  of  the  application  of  any  other 
intelligence  than  such  as  met  the  senses.  His  deference 
to  this  particular  branch  of  science  had  induced  him  to 
listen  to  the  application  of  a  medical  man,  whose  thirst 
for  natural  history  had  led  him  to  the  desire  of  profiting 
by  the  migratory  propensities  of  the  squatter.  This  gen- 
tleman he  had  cordially  received  into  his  family,  or  rather 
under  his  protection,  and  they  had  journeyed  together 
thus  far  through  the  prairies,  in  perfect  harmony  ;  Ishmael 
often  felicitating  his  wife  on  the  possession  of  a  com- 
panion, who  would  be  so  serviceable  in  their  new  abode, 
wherever  it  might  chance  to  be,  until  the  family  were 
thoroughly  "  acclimated."  The  pursuits  of  the  naturalist 
frequently  led  him,  however,  for  days  at  a  time,  from  the 
direct  line  of  the  route  of  the  squatter,  who  rarely  seemed 
to  have  any  other  guide  than  the  sun.  Most  men  would 
have  deemed  themselves  fortunate  to  have  been  absent  on 
the  perilous  occasion  of  the  Sioux  inroad,  as  was  Obed 
Bat  (or,  as  he  was  fond  of  hearing  himself  called,  Battius), 
M.D.,  and  fellow  of  several  cisatlantic  learned  societies— 
the  adventurous  gentleman  in  question. 

Although  the  sluggish  nature  of  Ishmael  was  not  actual- 
ly awakened,  it  was  sorely  pricked  by  the  liberties  which 
had  just  been  taken  with  his  property.  He  slept,  however, 
for  it  was  the  hour  he  had  allotted  to  that  refreshment,  and 
because  he  knew  how  impotent  any  exertions  to  recover 
his  eifects  must  prove  in  the  darkness  of  midnight.  He 
also  knew  the  danger  of  his  present  position  too  well  to 
hazard  what  was  left  in  pursuit  of  that  which  was  lost. 
Much  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  prairie  were  known  to  love 
horses,  their  attachment  to  many  other  articles,  still  in  the 
possession  of  the  travellers,  was  equally  Avell  understood. 
It  was  a  common  artifice  to  scatter  the  herds,  and  to  profit 
by  the  confusion.  But  Mahtoree  had,  as  it  would  seem,  in 
this  particular,  undervalued  the  acuteness  of  the  man  he 
had  assailed.  The  phlegm  with  which  the  squatter  learned 
his  loss,  has  already  been  seen  ;  and  it  now  remains  to  ex- 
hibit the  results  of  his  more  matured  determinations. 

Though  the  encampment  contained  many  an  eye  that 
was  long  unclosed,  and  many  an  ear  that  listened  greedily 
to  catch  the  faintest  evidence  of  any  new  alarm,  it  lay  in 
deep  quiet  during  the  remainder  of  the  night.  Silence 


THE  PRAIRIE,  6g 

and  fatigue  finally  performed  their  accustomed  offices,  and 
before  morning  all  but  the  sentinels  were  again  buried  in 
sleep.  How  well  these  indolent  watchers  discharged  their 
duties  after  the  assault  has  never  been  known,  inasmuch  as 
nothing  occurred  to  confirm  or  to  disprove  their  subse 
quent  vigilance. 

Just  as  day,  however,  began  to  dawn,  and  a  gray  light 
was  falling  from  the  heavens  on  the  dusky  objects  of  the 
plain,  the  half-startled,  anxious,  and  yet  blooming  counte- 
nance of  Ellen  Wade  was  reared  above  the  confused  mass 
of  children,  among  whom  «he  had  clustered  on  her  stolen 
return  to  camp.  Arising  warily,  she  stepped  lightly  across 
the  recumbent  bodies,  and  proceeded  with  the  same  cau- 
tion to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  defences  of  Ishmael.  Here 
she  listened,  as  if  doubting  the  propriety  of  venturing  fur- 
ther. The  pause  was  only  momentary,  however  ;  and  long 
before  the  drowsy  eyes  of  the  sentinel,  who  overlooked  the 
spot  where  she  stood,  had  time  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her 
active  form,  it  had  glided  along  the  bottom,  and  stood  on 
the  summit  of  the  nearest  eminence. 

Ellen  now  listened  intently,  anxious  to  catch  some  other 
sound  than  the  breathings  of  the  morning  air,  which  faint- 
ly rustled  the  herbage  at  her  feet.  She  was  about  to  turn 
in  disappointment  from  the  inquiry,  when  the  tread  of  hu- 
man feet  making  their  way  through  the  matted  grass  met 
her  ear.  Springing  eagerly  forward,  she  soon  beheld  the 
outlines  of  a  figure  advancing  up  the  eminence,  on  the 
side  opposite  to  the  camp.  She  had  already  uttered  the 
name  of  Paul,  and  was  beginning  to  speak  in  the  hurried 
and  eager  voice  with  which  female  affection  is  apt  to  greet 
a  friend,  when,  drawing  back,  the  disappointed  girl  closed 
her  salutation  by  coldly  adding  : 

"  I  did  not  expect,  doctor,  to  meet  you  at  this  unusual 
hour." 

"All  hours  and  all  seasons  are  alike,  my  good  Ellen,  to 
the  genuine  lover  of  Nature,"  returned  a  small,  slightly 
made,  but  exceedingly  active  man,  dressed  in  an  odd  mix- 
ture of  cloth  and  skins,  a  little  past  the  middle  age,  and 
who  advanced  directly  to  her  side,  with  the  familiarity  of 
an  old  acquaintance  ;  "  and  he  who  does  not  know  how  to 
find  things  to  admire  by  this  gray  light,  is  ignorant  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  blessings  he  enjoys." 

"Very  true,"  said  Ellen,  suddenly  recollecting  the  ne- 
cessity of  accounting  for  her  own  appearance  abroad  at 


70  THE  PRAIRIE. 

that  unseasonable  hour ;  "  I  know  many  who  think  the 
earth  has  a  pleasanter  look  in  the  night  than  when  seen  by 
the  brightest  sunshine." 

"  Ah  !  Their  organs  of  sight  must  be  too  convex  !  But 
the  man  who  wishes  to  study  the  active  habits  of  the  feline 
race,  or  the  variety  of  the  albinos,  must  indeed  be  stirring 
at  this  hour.  I  dare  say  there  are  men  who  prefer  even 
looking  at  objects  by  twilight,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
they  see  better  at  that  time  of  the  day." 

"  And  is  this  the  cause  why  you  are  so  much  abroad  in 
the  night  ?"  » 

"  I  am  abroad  at  night,  my  good  girl,  because  the  earth 
in  its  diurnal  revolutions  leaves  the  light  of  the  sun  but 
half  the  time  on  any  given  meridian,  and  because  what  I 
have  to  do  cannot  be  performed  in  twelve  or  fifteen  con- 
secutive hours.  Now  have  I  been  off  two  days  from  the 
family  in  search  of  a  plant  that  is  known  to  exist  on  the 
tributaries  of  La  Platte,  without  seeing  even  a  blade  of 
grass  that  is  not  already  enumerated  and  classed." 

"You  have  been  unfortunate,  doctor,  but— 

"  Unfortunate  ! "  echoed  the  little  man,  sidling  nlgher 
to  his  companion,  and  producing  his  tablets  with  an  air  in 
which  exultation  struggled  strangely  with  an  affectation 
of  self-abasement.  "No,  no,  Ellen  ;  I  am  anything  but 
unfortunate  !  Unless,  indeed,  a  man  may  be  so  called 
whose  fortune  is  made,  whose  fame  may  be  said  to  be  es- 
tablished forever,  whose  name  will  go  down  to  posterity 
with  that  of  Buffon — Buffon  !  a  mere  compiler  ;  one  who 
flourishes  on  the  foundation  of  other  men's  labors.  No  ; 
pari  passu  with  Solander,  who  bought  his  knowledge 
with  pain  and  privations." 

"  Have  you  discovered  a  mine,  Dr.  Bat  ?  " 

"  More  than  a  mine  ;  a  treasure  coined,  and  fit  for  in- 
stant use,  girl.  Listen  !  I  was  making  the  angle  necessary 
to  intersect  the  line  of  your  uncle's  march  after  my  fruit- 
less search,  when  I  heard  sounds  like  the  explosion  pro- 
duced by  fire-arms- 


"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Ellen,  eagerly,  "  we  had  an  alarm- 


11  And  thought  I  was  lost,"  continued  the  man  of  science, 
too  much  bent  on  his  own  ideas  to  understand  her  inter- 
ruption. "  Little  danger  of  that  !  I  made  my  own  base, 
knew  the  length  of  the  perpendicular  by  calculation,  and 
to  draw  the  hypothenuse  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  work 
my  angle.  I  supposed  the  guns  were  fired  for  my  benefit 


THE  PRAIRIE.  >j\ 

and  changed  my  course  for  the  sounds — not  that  I  think 
the  senses  more  accurate,  or  even  as  accurate,  as  a  mathe- 
matical calculation,  but  I  feared  that  some  of  the  children 
might  need  my  services." 

"  They  are  all  happily— 

"  Listen,"  interrupted  the  other,  already  forgetting  his 
affected  anxiety  for  his  patients,  in  the  greater  importance 
of  the  present  subject.  "  I  had  crossed  a  large  tract  of 
prairie — for  sound  is  conveyed  far  where  there  is  little  ob- 
struction— when  I  heard  the  trampling  of  feet,  as  if  bisons 
were  beating  the  earth.  Then  I  caught  a  distant  view  of 
a  herd  of  quadrupeds,  rushing  up  and  down  the  swells — • 
animals  which  would  have  still  remained  unknown  and 
undescribed,  had  it  not  been  for  a  most  felicitous  accident \ 
One,  and  he  a  noble  specimen  of  the  whole,  was  running 
a  little  apart  from  the  rest.  The  herd  made  an  inclination 
in  my  direction,  in  which  the  solitary  animal  coincided, 
and  this  brought  him  within  fifty  yards  of  the  spot  where 
I  stood.  I  profited  by  the  opportunity,  and,  by  the  aid  of 
steel  and  taper,  I  wrote  his  description  on  the  spot.  I 
would  have  given  a  thousand  dollars,  Ellen,  for  a  single 
shot  from  the  rifle  of  one  of  the  boys  ! " 

"You  carry  a  pistol,  doctor,  why  didn't  you  use  it?" 
said  the  half-inattentive  girl,  anxiously  examining  the 
prairie,  but  still  lingering  where  she  stood,  quite  willing 
to  be  detained. 

"  Ay,  but  it  carries  nothing  but  the  most  minute  parti- 
cles of  lead,  adapted  to  the  destruction  of  the  larger  in- 
sects and  reptiles.  No,  I  did  better  than  to  attempt  wag- 
ing a  war  in  which  I  could  not  be  the  victor.  I  recorded 
the  event ;  noting  each  particular  with  the  precision  nec- 
essary to  science.  You  shall  hear,  Ellen,  for  you  are  a 
good  and  improving  girl  ;  arid  by  retaining  what  you  learn 
in  this  way  may  be  yet  of  great  service  to  learning,  should 
any  accident  occur  to  me.  Indeed,  my  worthy  Ellen,  mine 
is  a  pursuit  which  has  its  dangers  as  well  as  that  of  the 
warrior.  This  very  night,"  he  continued,  glancing  his 
eyes  behind  him,  "  this  awful  night,  has  the  principle  of 
life  itself  been  in  great  danger  of  extinction  !  " 

"  By  what  ? " 

"  By  the  monster  I  have  discovered.  It  approached  me 
often,  and,  ever  as  I  receded,  it  continued  to  advance. 
I  believe  nothing  but  the  little  lamp  I  carried  was  my 
protector.  I  kept  it  between  us  while  I  wrote,  making  it 


72  THE  PRAIRIE. 

serve  the  double  purpose  of  luminary  and  shield.  But 
you  shall  hear  the  character  of  the  beast,  and  you  may 
then  judge  of  the  risks  we  promoters  of  science  run  in  be 
half  of  mankind." 

The  naturalist  raised  his  tablets  to  the  heavens,  and  dis 
posed  himself  to  read  as  well  as  he  could,  by  the  dim  light 
they  yet  shed  upon  the  plain,  premising  with  saying  : 

"Listen,  girl,  and  you  shall  hear  with  what  a  treasure 
it  has  been  my  happy  lot  to  enrich  the  pages  of  natural 
history  ! " 

"  Is  it  then  a  creature  of  your  forming? "  said  Ellen, 
turning  away  from  her  fruitless  examination,  with  a  sud- 
den lighting  of  her  sprightly  blue  eyes,  that  showed  she 
knew  how  to  play  with  the  foible  of  her  learned  compan- 
ion. 

"  Is  the  power  to  give  life  to  inanimate  matter  the  gift 
of  man  ?  I  would  it  were  !  You  should  speedily  see  an 
Historia  Naturalis  Americana  that  would  put  the  sneering 
imitators  of  the  Frenchman,  De  Buffon.  to  shame  !  A  great 
improvement  might  be  made  in  the  formation  of  all  quad- 
rupeds ;  especially  those  in  which  velocity  is  a  virtue. 
Two  of  the  inferior  limbs  should  be  on  the  principle  of  the 
lever  ;  wheels  perhaps  as  they  are  now  formed  ;  though  I 
have  not  yet  determined  whether  the  improvement  might 
better  be  applied  to  the  anterior  or  posterior  members, 
inasmuch  as  I  am  yet  to  learn  whether  dragging  or  shov- 
ing requires  the  greatest  muscular  exertion.  A  natural 
exudation  of  the  animal  might  assist  in  overcoming  the 
friction,  and  a  powerful  momentum  be  obtained.  But  all 
this  is  hopeless — at  least  for  the  present,"  he  added,  rais- 
ing his  tablets  again  to  the  light,  and  reading  aloud  :  "  Oc- 
tober 6,  1805,  that's  merely  the  date,  which  I  dare  say  you 
know  better  than  I — mem.  Quadruped ;  seen  by  the  star- 
light, and  by  the  aid  of  a  pocket-lamp,  in  the  prairies  of 
North  America — see  journal  for  latitude  and  meridian. 
Genus — unknown  ;  therefore  named  after  the  discoverer, 
and  from  the  happy  coincidence  of  having  been  seen  in  the 
evening — VespertiKo  horribilis  Americanus.  Dimensions  (by 
estimation) — Greatest  length,  eleven  feet  ;  height,  six  feet  ; 
head,  erect  ;  nostrils,  expansive  ;  eyes,  expressive  and  fierce  ; 
teeth,  serrated  and  abundant ;  tail,  horizontal,  waving,  and 
slightly  feline  ;  feet,  large  and  hairy  ;  talons,  long,  curvated 
dangerous ;  ears,  inconspicuous  ;  horns,  elongated,  diverg^ 
ing,  and  formidable  ;  color,  plumbeous-ashy  with  fierjr 


THE  PRAIRIE.  73 

spots  ;  voice,  sonorous,  martial,  and  appalling  ;  habits,  greg« 
arious,  carnivorous,  fierce,  and  fearless.  There,"  exclaimed 
Obed,  when  he  had  ended  this  sententious  but  compre- 
hensive description,  "  there  is  an  animal,  which  will  be 
likely  to  dispute  with  the  lion  his  title  to  be  called  the 
king  of  the  beasts  !  " 

"  I  know  not  the  meaning  of  all  you  have  said,  Dr.  Bat- 
tius,"  returned  the  quick-witted  girl,  who  understood  the 
weakness  of  the  philosopher,  and  often  indulged  him  with 
a  title  he  loved  so  well  to  hear  ;  "but  I  shall  think  it  dan- 
gerous to  venture  far  from  the  camp  if  such  monsters  are 
prowling  over  the  prairies." 

"  You  may  well  call  it  prowling,"  returned  the  natural- 
ist, nestling  closer  to  her  side,  and  dropping  his  voice  to 
such  low  and  undignified  tones  of  confidence  as  conveyed 
a  meaning  still  more  pointed  than  he  had  intended.  "  I 
have  never  before  experienced  such  a  trial  of  the  nervous 
system  ;  there  was  a  moment,  I  acknowledge,  when  the /<?;-- 
titer  in  re  faltered  before  so  terrible  an  enemy ;  but  the 
love  of  natural  science  bore  me  up,  and  brought  me  off  in 
triumph." 

"You  speak  a  language  so  different  from  what  wre  use 
in  Tennessee,"  said  Ellen,  struggling  to  conceal  her  laugh- 
ter, a  that  I  hardly  know  whether  I  understand  your 
meaning.  If  I  am  right,  you  wish  to  say  you  were  chicken* 
hearted." 

"  An  absurd  simile  drawn  from  the  ignoranceof  the  for- 
mation of  the  biped.  The  heart  of  a  chicken  has  a  just 
proportion  to  its  other  organs,  and  the  domestic  fowl  is, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  a  gallant  bird.  Ellen,"  he  added,  with 
a  countenance  so  solemn  as  to  produce  an  impression  on 
the  attentive  girl,  "  I  was  pursued,  hunted,  and  in  a  danger 
that  I  scorn  to  dwell  on — what's  that  ? " 

Ellen  started,  for  the  earnestness  and  simple  sincerity 
of  her  companion's  manner  had  produced  a  certain  degree 
of  credulity  even  on  her  buoyant  mind.  Looking  in  the 
direction  indicated  by  the  doctor,  she  beheld,  in  fact,  a 
beast  coursing  over  the  prairie,  and  making  a  straight  and 
rapid  approach  to  the  spot  they  occupied.  The  day  was 
not  yet  sufficiently  advanced  to  enable  her  to  distinguish 
its  form  and  character,  though  enough  was  discernible  to 
induce  her  to  imagine  it  a  fierce  and  savage  animal. 

"It  comes  !  it  comes  !  "  exclaimed  the  doctor,  fumbling, 
by  a  sort  of  instinct,  for  his  tablets,  while  he  fairly  tottered 


74  THE  PRAIRIE. 

on  his  feet  under  the  powerful  efforts  he  made  to  maintain 
his  ground.  "  Now,  Ellen,  has  fortune  given  me  an  op- 
portunity to  correct  the  errors  made  by  starlight — hold — • 
ashy-plumbeous — no  ears— horns,  excessive."  His  voice 
and  hand  were  both  arrested  by  a  roar,  or  rather  a  shriek, 
from  the  beast,  that  was  sufficiently  terrific  to  appal  even 
a  stouter  heart  than  that  of  the  naturalist.  The  cries  of 
the  animal  passed  over  the  prairie  in  strange  cadences, 
and  then  succeeded  a  deep  and  solemn  silence,  that  was 
only  broken  by  an  uncontrolled  fit  of  merriment  from  the 
more  musical  voice  of  Ellen  Wade.  In  the  meantime  the 
naturalist  stood  like  a  statue  of  amazement,  permitting  a 
well-grown  ass,  against  whose  approach  he  no  longer 
offered  his  boasted  shield  of  light,  to  smell  about  his  per- 
son, without  comment  or  hindrance. 

"It  is  your  own  ass,"  cried  Ellen,  the  instant  she  found 
breath  for  words;  "your  own  patient,  hard-working 
hack!" 

The  doctor  rolled  his  eyes  from  the  beast  to  the  speaker, 
and  from  the  speaker  to  the. beast  ;  but  gave  no  audible 
expression  of  his  wonder. 

"Do  you  refuse  to  know  an  animal  that  has  labored  so 
long  in  your  service  ?"  continued  the  laughing  girl.  "  A 
beast  that  I  have  heard  you  say,  a  thousand  times,  has 
served  you  well,  and  whom  you  loved  like  a  brother  ? " 

"  Asinus  domesticus  !  "  ejaculated  the  doctor,  drawing  his 
breath  like  one  who  had  been  near  suffocation.  "  There  is 
no  doubt  of  the  genus  ;  and  I  will  always  maintain  that 
the  animal  is  not  of  the  species  Equus.  This  is  undeniably 
Asinus  himself,  Ellen  Wade  ;  but  this  is  not  the  Vespertilio 
hornbilis  of  the  prairie  !  Very  different  animals  I  can  as- 
sure you,  young  woman,  and  differently  characterized  in 
every  important  particular.  That,  carnivorous,"  he  con- 
tinued, glancing  his  eye  at  the  open  page  of  his  tablets  ; 
"  this  granivorous  ;  habits,  fierce,  dangerous  ;  habits,  patient, 
abstemious  ;  ears,  inconspicuous  ;  ears,  elongated  ;  horns, 
diverging,  etc.,  horns,  none  !  " 

He  was  interrupted  by  another  burst  of  merriment  from 
Ellen,  which  served  in  some  measure  to  recall  him  to  his 
recollection. 

"The  image  of  the  Vespertilio  was  on  the  retina,"  the 
astounded  inquirer  into  the  secrets  of  Nature  observed,  in 
a  manner  that  seemed  a  little  apologetic,  "and  I  was  silly 
enough  to  mistake  my  own  faithful  beast  for  the  monster 


T.fE  PRAIRIE.  7| 

Though  even  now  I  greatly  marvel  to  see  this  animal  run 
ning  at, large." 

Ellen  then  proceeded  to  explain  the  history  of  the  attack 
and  its  results.  She  described,  with  an  accuracy  that 
might  have  raised  suspicions  of  her  own  movements  in  the 
mind  of  one  less  simple  than  her  auditor,  the  manner  in 
which  the  beasts  burst  out  of  the  encampment,  and  the 
headlong  speed  with  which  they  had  dispersed  themselves 
over  the  open  plain.  Although  she  forbore  to  say  as  much 
in  terms,  she  so  managed  as  to  present  before  the  eyes  of 
her  listener  the  strong  probability  of  having  mistaken  the 
frightened  drove  for  savage  beasts,  and  then  terminated 
her  account  by  a  lamentation  for  their  loss,  and  some  very 
natural  remarks  on  the  helpless  condition  in  which  it  had 
left  the  family.  The  naturalist  listened  in  silent  wonder, 
neither  interrupting  her  narrative,  nor  suffering  a  single 
exclamation  of  surprise  to  escape  him.  The  keen-eyed 
girl,  however,  saw  that,  as  she  proceeded,  the  important 
leaf  was  torn  from  the  tablets,  in  a  manner  which  showed 
that  their  owner  had  got  rid  of  his  delusion  at  the  same 
instant.  From  that  moment  the  world  has  heard  no  more 
of  the  Vespertilio  horribilis  Americanns,  and  the  natural 
sciences  have  irretrievably  lost  an  important  link  in  that 
great  animated  chain  which  is  said  to  connect  earth  and 
heaven,  and  in  which  man  is  thought  to  be  so  familiarly 
complicated  with  the  monkey. 

When  Dr.  Bat  was  put  in  full  possession  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  inroad,  his  concern  immediately  took  a 
different  direction.  He  had  left  sundry  folios,  and  certain 
boxes  well  stored  with  botanical  specimens  and  defunct 
animals,  under  the  good  keeping  of  Ishmael,  and  it  im- 
mediately struck  his  acute  mind  that  marauders  as  subtle 
as  the  Sioux  would  never  neglect  the  opportunity  to  de- 
spoil him  of  these  treasures.  Nothing  that  Ellen  could 
say  to  the  contrary  served  to  appease  his  apprehensions, 
and  consequently  they  separated — he  to  relieve  his  doubts 
and  fears  together,  and  she  to  glide,  as  swiftly  and  silently 
as  she  had  just  before  passed  it,  into  the  still  and  solitary 
tent. 


76  THE  PRAIRIE. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

"  What !  fifty  of  my  followers,  at  a  clap !  " — KING  LEAR. 

« 

THE  day  had  now  fairly  opened  on  the  seemingly  inter- 
nimable  waste  of  the  prairie.  The  entrance  of  Obed  at 
such  a  moment  into  the  camp,  accompanied  as  it  was  by 
vociferous  lamentations  over  his  anticipated  loss,  did  not 
tail  to  rouse  the  drowsy  family  of  the  squatter.  Ishmael 
and  his  sons,  together  with  the  forbidding-looking  brother 
of  his  wife,  were  all  speedily  afoot,  and  then,  as  the  sun 
began  to  shed  his  light  on  the  place,  they  became  gradual- 
ly apprised  of  the  extent  of  their  loss. 

Ishmael  looked  round  upon  the  motionless  and  heavily- 
loaded  vehicles,  with  his  teeth  firmly  compressed,  cast  a 
glance  at  the  amazed  and  helpless  group  of  children,  which 
clustered  around  their  sullen  but  desponding  mother,  and 
walked  out  upon  the  open  land,  as  if  he  found  the  air  of  the 
encampment  too  confined.  He  was  followed  by  several  of 
the  men,  who  were  attentive  observers,  watching  the  dark 
expression  of  his  eyes  as  the  index  of  their  own  future 
movements.  The  whole  proceeded  in  profound  and  moody 
silence  to  the  summit  of  the  nearest  swell,  whence  they 
could  command  an  almost  boundless  view  of  the  naked 
plains.  Here  nothing  was  visible  but  a  solitary  buifalo, 
that  gleaned  a  meagre  subsistence  from  the  decaying  herb- 
age, at  no  great  distance,  and  the  ass  of  the  physician,  who 
profited  by  his  freedom  to  enjoy  a  meal  richer  than  com- 
mon. 

"  Yonder  is  one  of  the  creatures  left  by  the  villains  to 
mock  us,"  said  Ishmael,  glancing  his  eye  toward  the  latter, 
"and  that  the  meanest  of  the  stock.  This  is  a  hard  coun- 
try to  make  a  crop  in,  boys  ;  and  yet  food  must  be  found 
to  fill  many  hungry  mouths  !  " 

"  The  rifle  is  better  than  the  hoe  in  such  a  place  as  this,* 
returned  the  eldest  of  his  sons,  kicking  the  hard  and  thirsty 
soil  on  which  he  stood,  with  an  air  of  contempt.  "  It  is 
good  for  such  as  they  who  make  their  dinner  better  on 
beggars'  beans  than  hominy.  A  crow  would  shed  tears  ii 
obliged  by  its  errand  to  fly  across  the  district." 

"  What  say  you,  trapper  ? "  returned  the  father,  showing 
the  slight  impression  his  powerful  heel  had  made  on  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  77 

Compact  earth,  and  laughing  with  frightful  ferocity.  "  Is 
this  the  quality  of  land  a  man  would  choose  who  never 
troubles  the  county  clerk  with  title-deeds  ?  " 

"  There  is  richer  soil  in  the  bottoms,"  returned  the  old 
man  calmly,  "and  you  have  passed  millions  of  acres  to  get 
to  this  dreary  spot,  where  he  who  loves  to  till  the  'arth  might 
iiave  received  bushels  in  return  for  pints  and,  that,  too, 
at  the  cost  of  no  very  grievous  labor.  If  you  have  come 
in  search  of  land,  you  have  journeyed  hundreds  of  miles 
too  far,  or  as  many  leagues  too  little." 

"  There  is,  then,  a  better  choice  toward  the  other  ocean  ?" 
demanded  the  squatter,  pointing  in  the  direction  of  the 
Pacific. 

"  There  is,  and  I  have  seen  it  all,"  was  fhe  answer  of  the 
other,  who  dropped  his  rifle  to  the  earth,  and  stood  lean- 
ing on  its  barrel,  like  one  who  recalled  the  scenes  he  had 
witnessed  with  melancholy  pleasure.  "  I  have  seen  the 
waters  of  the  two  seas  !  On  one  of  them  I  was  born,  and 
raised  to  be  a  lad  like  yonder  tumbling  boy.  America  has 
grown,  my  men,  since  the  days  of  my  youth,  to  be  a  coun- 
try larger  than  I  once  had  thought  the  world  itself  to 
be.  Near  seventy  years  I  dwelt  in  York,  province  and  State 
together.  You've  been  in  York,  'tis  like  ? " 

"Not  I — not  I;  I  never  visited  the  towns;  but  often 
have  heard  the  place  you  speak  of  named.  'Tis  a  wide 
clearing  there,  I  reckon." 

"Too  wide  !  too  wide  !  They  scourge  the  very  'arth 
with  their  axes.  Such  hills  and  hunting-grounds  as  I  have 
seen  stripped  of  the  gifts  of  the  Lord,  without  remorse  or 
chame  !  I  tarried  till  the  mouths  of  my  hounds  were  deaf- 
en'ed  by  the  blows  of  the  chopper,  and  then  I  came  West 
in  search  of  quiet.  It  was  a  grievous  journey  that  I  made  ; 
a  grievous  toil  to  pass  through  falling  timber,  and  to 
breathe  the  thick  air  of  smoky  clearings  week  after  week, 
as  I  did  !  'Tis  a  far  country  too,  that  State  of  York,  from 
this  !  " 

"  It  lies  ag'in  the  outer  edge  of  old  Kentuck,  I  reckon  ; 
though  what  the  distance  may  be  I  never  knew." 

"A  gull  would  have  to  fan  a  thousand  miles  of  air  to 
find  the  Eastern  sea.  And  yet  it  is  no  mighty  reach  to 
hunt  across,  when  shade  and  game  are  plenty  !  The  time 
has  been  when  I  followed  the  deer  in  the  mountains  of  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson,  and  took  the  beaver  on  the  streams 
of  the  upper  lakes,  in  the  same  season  ;  but  my  eye  wa? 


y»  THE  PRAIRIE. 

quick  and  certain  at  that  day,  and  my  limbs  were  like  the 
legs  of  a  moose  !  The  dam  of  Hector,"  dropping  his  look 
kindly  to  the  aged  hound  that  crouched  at  his  feet,  "was 
then  a  pup,  and  apt  to  open  on  the  game  the  moment  she 
struck  the  scent.  She  gave  me  a  deal  of  trouble,  that  slut, 
she  did  ! " 

"  Your  hound  is  old,  stranger,  and  a  rap  on  the  head 
would  prove  a  mercy  to  the  beast." 

"  The  dog  is  like  his  master,"  returned  the  trapper,  with 
out  appearing  to  heed  the  brutal  advice  the  other  gave, 
"  and  will  number  his  days  when  his  work  among  the  game 
is  over,  and  not  before.  To  my  eye  things  seem  ordered 
to  meet  each  other  in  this  creation.  'Tis  not  the  swiftest 
running  deer  that  always  throws  off  the  hounds,  nor  the 
biggest  arm  that  holds  the  truest  rifle.  Look  around 
you,  men  ;  what  will  the  Yankee  choppers  say,  when  they 
have  cut  their  path  from  the  Eastern  to  the  Western  waters, 
and  find  that  a  hand,  which  can  lay  the  'arth  bare  at  a 
blow,  has  been  here  and  swept  the  country,  in  very  mockery 
of  their  wickedness  ?  They  will  turn  on  their  tracks  like 
a  fox  that  doubles,  and  then  the  rank  smell  of  their  own 
footsteps  will  show  them  the  madness  of  their  waste. 
Howsomever,  these  are  thoughts  that  are  more  likely  to 
rise  in  him  who  has  seen  the  folly  of  eighty  seasons,  than 
to  Ueach  wisdom  to  men  still  bent  on  the  pleasures  of  their 
kind  !  You  have  need,  yet,  of  a  stirring  time,  if  you  think 
to  escape  the  craft  and  hatred  of  the  burnt-wood  Indians. 
They  claim  to  be  the  lawful  owners  of  this  country,  and 
seldom  leave  a  white  more  than  the  skin  he  boasts  of  when 
once  they  get  the  power,  as  they  always  have  the  will,  to 
do  him  harm." 

"Old  man,"  said  Ishmael,  sternly,  "  to  which  people  do 
you  belong  ?  You  have  the  color  and  speech  of  a  Chris- 
tian, while  it  seems  that  your  heart  is  with  the  red-skins." 

"To  rne  there  is  little  difference  in  nations.  The  peo- 
ple I  loved  most  are  scattered  as  the  sands  of  the  dry  river- 
beds fly  before  the  fall  hurricanes,  and  life  is  too  short  to 
make  use  and  custom  with  strangers  as  one  can  do  with 
such  as  he  has  dwelt  among  for  years.  Still  I  am  a  man 
without  the  cross  of  Indian  blood  ;  and  what  is  due  from 
a  warrior  to  his  nation,  is  owing  by  me  to  the  people  of 
the  States  ;  though  little  need  have  they,  with  their  militU 
and  their  armed  boats,  of  help  from  a  single  arm  of  four- 
score." 


THE  PkAIRlE.  79 

"  Since  you  own  your  kin,  I  may  ask  a  simple  question. 
Where  are  the  Siouxes  who  have  stolen  my  cattle  ? " 

"  Where  is  the  herd  of  buffaloes,  which  was  chased  by 
the  panther  across  this  plain  no  later  than  the  morning 
of  yesterday  !  It  is  as  hard — 

"Friend,"  said  Dr.  Battius,  who  had  hitherto  been  an  at- 
tentive listener,  but  who  now  felt  a  sudden  impulse  to  min- 
gle in  the  discourse,  "  I  am  grieved  when  I  find  a  venator 
or  hunter  of  your  experience  and  observation  following 
the  current  of  vulgar  error.  The  animal  you  describe  is 
in  truth  a  species  of  the  Bos  ferus  (or  Bos  sylvestris,  as  he 
has  been  happily  called  by  the  poets)  ;  but,  though  of 
close  affinity,  it  is  altogether  distinct  from  the  common 
bubulus.  Bison  is  the  better  word  ;  and  I  would  suggest  the 
necessity  of  adopting  it  in  the  future,  when  you  shall  have 
occasion  to  allude  to  the  species." 

"  Bison  or  buffalo,  it  makes  but  little  matter.  The  crea- 
ture is  the  same,  call  it  by  what  name  you  wrill,  and 

"  Pardon  me,  venerable  venator  ;  as  classification  is 
the  very  soul  of  natural  sciences,  the  animal  or  vegetable 
must  of  necessity  be  characterized  by  the  peculiarities  of 
its  species,  which  is  always  indicated  by  the  name ' 

"  Friend,"  said  the  trapper,  a  little  positively,  "would 
the  tail  of  a  beaver  make  the  worse  dinner  for  calling 
it  a  mink  ;  or  could  you  eat  of  the  wolf  with  relish,  be- 
cause some  bookish  man  had  given  it  the  name  of  veni- 
son ?" 

As  these  questions  were  put  with  no  little  earnestness 
and  some  spirit,  there  was  every  probability  that  a  hot 
discussion  would  have  succeeded  between  two  men,  of 
whom  one  was  so  purely  practical  and  the  other  so  much 
given  to  theory,  had  not  Ishmael  seen  fit  to  terminate  the 
dispute,  by  bringing  into  view  a  subject  that  was  much 
more  important  to  his  own  immediate  interests. 

"  Beavers'  tails  and  minks'  flesh  may  do  to  talk  about 
before  a  maple  fire  and  a  quiet  hearth,"  interrupted  the 
squatter,  without  the  smallest  deference  to  the  interested 
feelings  of  the  disputants;  "but  something  more  than 
foreign  words,  or  words  of  any  sort,  is  now  needed.  Tell 
me,  trapper,  where  are  your  Siouxes  skulking  ? " 

"  It  would  be  as  easy  to  tell  you  the  colors  of  the  hawk 
that  is  floating  beneath  yonder  white  cloud  !  When  a  red- 
skin strikes  his  blow,  he  is  not  apt  to  wait  until  he  is  paid 
for  the  evil  deed  in  lead." 


8o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

11  Will  the  beggarly  savages  believe  they  have  enough 
when  they  find  themselves  masters  of  all  the  stock  ? " 

"  Natur'  is  much  the  same,  let  it  be  covered  by  what 
skin  it  may.  Do  you  ever  find  your  longings  after  riches 
less  when  you  have  made  a  good  crop  than  before  you 
were  master  of  a  kernel  of  corn  ?  If  you  do,  you  differ 
from  what  the  experience  of  a  long  life  tells  me  is  the  com- 
mon cravings  of  man." 

"  Speak  plainly,  old  stranger,"  said  the  squatter,  strik- 
ing the  butt  of  his  rifle  heavily  on  the  earth,  his  dull  ca- 
pacity finding  no  pleasure  in  a  discourse  that  was  conducted 
in  so  obscure  allusions  ;  "I  have  asked  a  simple  question, 
and  one  I  know  well  that  you  can  answer." 

"You  are  right,  you  are  right.  I  can  answer,  for  I  have 
too  often  seen  the  disposition  of  my  kind  to  mistake  it, 
when  evil  is  stirring.  When  the  Siouxes  have  gathered  in 
the  beasts,  and  have  made  sure  that  you  are  not  upon  their 
heels,  they  will  be  back  nibbling  like  hungry  wolves  to 
take  the  bait  they  have  left  ;  or,  it  may  be,  they'll  show 
the  temper  of  the  great  bears  that  are  found  at  the  falls 
of  the  Long  River,  and  strike  at  once  with  the  paw,  with 
out  stopping  to  nose  their  prey." 

"You  have  then  seen  the  animals  you  mention!"  ex- 
claimed Dr.  Battius,  who  had  now  been  thrown  out  of  the 
conversation  quite  as  long  as  his  impatience  could  well 
brook,  and  who  approached  the  subject  with  his  tablets 
ready  opened,  as  a  book  of  reference.  "  Can  you  tell  me 
if  what  you  encountered  was  of  the  species  Ursus  horribilis 
—with  the  ears  rounded— -front,  arquated— <?)tfj,  destitute  of 
the  remarkable  supplemental  lid — with  six  incisores,  one 
false,  and  four  perfect  molares " 

"Trapper,  go  on,  for  we  are  engaged  in  reasonable  dis- 
course," interrupted  Ishmael.  "You  believe  we  shall  see 
more  of  the  robbers  ?  " 

"  Nay,  nay  ;  I  do  not  call  them  robbers,  for  it  is  the 
usage  of  their  people,  and  what  may  be  called  the  prairie 
law." 

"  I  have  come  five  hundred  miles  to  find  a  place  where 
no  man  can  ding  the  words  of  the  law  in  my  ears,"  said 
Ishmael,  fiercely,  "and  I  am  not  in  a  humor  to  stand 
quietly  at  a  bar  while  a  red-skin  sits  in  judgment  I  tel] 
you,  trapper,  if  another  Sioux  is  seen  prowling  around  my 
camp,  wherever  it  may  be,  he  shall  feel  the  contents  of  old 
Kcntuck,"  slapping  his  rifle  in  a  manner  that  could  not 


THF  PRAIRIE.  Si 

be  easily  misconstrued,  "though  he  wore  the  medal  oi 
Washington*  himself.  I  call  the  man  a  robber  who  takes 
that  which  is  not  his  own." 

"The  Teton,  and  the  Pawnee,  and  the  Konza,  and  men 
of  a  dozen  other  tribes  claim  to  own  these  naked  fields." 

"  Natur'  gives  them  the  lie  in  their  teeth.  The  air,  the 
water,  and  the  ground  are  free  gifts  to  man,  and  no  one  has 
the  power  to  portion  them  out  in  parcels.  Man  must 
drink,  and  breathe,  and  walk — and  therefore  each  has  a 
right  to  his  share  of  'arth.  Why  do  not  the  surveyors  of 
trie  States  set  their  compasses  and  run  their  lines  over  our 
heads  as  well  as  beneath  our  feet  ?  Why  do  they  not 
cover  their  shining  sheep-skins  with  big  words,  giving  to 
the  landholder,  or  perhaps  he  should  be  called  airholder, 
so  many  rods  of  heaven,  with  the  use  of  such  a  star  for  a 
boundary-mark  and  such  a  cloud  to  turn  a  mill?" 

As  the  squatter  uttered  his  wild  conceit,  he  laughed 
from  the  very  bottom  of  his  chest  in  scorn.  The  deriding 
but  frightful  merriment  passed  from  the  mouth  of  one  of 
his  ponderous  sons  to  that  of  the  other,  until  it  had  made 
the  circuit  of  the  whole  family. 

"  Come,  trapper,"  continued  Ishmael,  in  a  tone  of  better 
humor,  like  a  man  who  feels  that  he  has  triumphed, 
"  neither  of  us,  I  reckon,  has  ever  had  much  to  do  with 
title-deeds,  or  county  clerks,  or  blazed  trees,  therefore  we 
tvill  not  waste  words  on  fooleries.  You  are  a  man  that  has 
tarried  long  in  this  clearing  ;  and  now  I  ask  your  opinion, 
face  to  face  without  fear  or  favor,  if  you  had  the  lead  in 
my  business,  what  would  you  do  ?  " 

The  old  man  hesitated,  and  seemed  to  give  the  required 
advice  with  deep  reluctance.  As  every  eye,  however,  was 
fastened  on  him,  and,  whichever  way  he  turned  his  face, 
he  encountered  a  look  riveted  on  the  lineaments  of  his 
own  working  countenance,  he  answered  in  a  low,  melan- 
choly tone  : 

<£  I  have  seen  too  much  mortal  blood  poured  out  in 
empty  quarrels  to  wish  even  to  hear  an  angry  rifle  again. 
Ten  weary  years  have  I  sojourned  alone  on  these  naked 
plains,  waiting  for  my  hour,  and  not  a  blow  have  I  struck 
ag'in  an  enemy  more  humanized  than  the  grizzly  bear." 

"  Ursus  horribilis"  muttered  the  doctor. 

*  The  American  Government  creates  chiefs  among  the  Western  tribes, 
*nd  decorates  them  with  silver  medals  bearing  the  impression  of  the  dif- 
ferent President?,  That  of  Washington  is  the  most  prized. 


52  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  speaker  paused  at  the  sound  of  the  other's  voice, 
but.  perceiving  it  was  no  more  than  a  sort  of  mental  ejac- 
uiation,  he  continued  in  the  same  strain  : 

"  More  humanized  than  the  grizzly  bear,  or  the  panther 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  unless  the  beaver,  which  is  a 
wise  and  knowing  animal,  may  be  so  reckoned.  What 
would  I  advise  ?  Even  the  female  buffalo  will  fight  for 
her  young ! " 

"  It  never,  then,  shall  be  said  that  Ishmael  Bush  has 
less  kindness  for  his  children  than  the  bear  for  her  cubs  !  " 

"  And  yet  this  is  but  a  naked  spot  for  a  dozen  men  to 
make  head  in,  ag'in  five  hundred." 

"Ay,  it  is  so,"  returned  the  squatter,  glancing  his  eye 
toward  his  humble  camp  ;  "  but  something  might  be  done 
with  the  wagons  and  the  cotton-wood." 

The  trapper  shook  his  head  incredulously,  and  pointed 
across  the  rolling  plain  in  the  direction  of  the  west,  as  he 
answered  : 

"  A  rifle  would  send  a  bullet  from  these  hills  into  your 
very  sleeping-cabins  ;  nay,  arrows  from  the  thicket  in  your 
rear  would  keep  you  all  burrowed,  like  so  many  prairie- 
dogs  ;  it  wouldn't  do,  it  wouldn't  do.  Three  long  miles 
from  this  spot  is  a  place  where,  as  I  have  often  thought  in 
passing  across  the  desert,  a  stand  might  be  made  for  days 
and  weeks  together,  if  there  were  hearts  and  hands  ready 
to  engage  in  the  bloody  work." 

Another  low,  deriding  laugh  passed  among  the  young 
men,  announcing,  in  a  manner  sufficiently  intelligible,  their 
readiness  to  undertake  a  task  even  more  arduous.  The 
squatter  himself  eagerly  seized  the  hint  which  had  been 
so  reluctantly  extorted  from  the  trapper,  who,  by  some 
singular  process  of  reasoning  had  evidently  persuaded 
himself  that  it  was  his  duty  to  be  strictly  neutral.  A  few 
direct  and  pertinent  inquiries  served  to  obtain  the  little 
additional  information  that  was  necessary,  in  order  to  make 
the  contemplated  movement ;  and  then  Ishmael,  who  was, 
f>n  emergencies,  as  terrifically  energetic  as  he  was  sluggish 
in  common,  set  about  effecting  his  object  without  delay. 

Notwithstanding  the  industry  and  zeal  of  all  engaged, 
the  task  was  one  of  great  labor  and  difficulty.  The  loaded 
vehicles  were  to  be  drawn  by  hand  across  a  wide  distance 
of  plain,  without  track,  or  guide  of  any  sort,  expect  that 
which  the  trapper  had  furnished  by  communicating  his 
Knowledge  of  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  Ir  ao 


THE  PRAIRIE.  83 

complishing  this  object,  the  gigantic  strength  of  the  men 
was  taxed  to  the  utmost,  nor  were  the  females  or  the  chil- 
dren spared  a  heavy  proportion  of  the  toil.  While  the 
sons  distributed  themselves  about  the  heavily  loaded  wag- 
ons, and  drew  them  by  main  strength  up  the  neighboring 
swell,  their  mother  and  Ellen,  surrounded  by  the  amazed 
group  of  little  ones,  followed  slowly  in  the  rear,  bending 
under  the  weight  of  such  different  articles  as  were  suited 
to  their  several  strengths. 

Ishmael  himself  superintended  and  directed  the  whole, 
occasionally  applying  his  colossal  shoulder  to  some  lag- 
ging vehicle  until  he  saw  that  the  chief  difficulty,  that  of 
gaining  the  level  of  their  intended  route,  was  accomplished. 
Then  he  pointed  out  the  required  course,  cautioning  his 
sons  to  proceed  in  such  a  manner  that  they  should  not 
lose  the  advantage  they  had  with  so  much  labor  obtained, . 
and,  beckoning  to  the  brother  of  his  wife,  they  returned 
together  to  the  empty  camp. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  movement,  which  occu- 
pied an  hour  of  time,  the  trapper  had  stood  apart,  leaning 
on  his  rifle,  with  the  aged  hound  slumbering  at  his  feet,  a 
silent  but  attentive  observer  of  all  that  passed.  Occasion- 
ally a  smile  lighted  his  hard,  muscular,  but  wasted  features 
like  a  gleam  of  sunshine  flitting  across  a  ragged  ruin,  and 
betrayed  the  momentary  pleasure  he  found  in  witnessing 
from  time  to  time  the  vast  power  the  youths  discovered. 
Then,  as  the  train  drew  slowly  up  the  ascent,  a  cloud  of 
thought  and  sorrow  threw  all  into  the  shade  again,  leaving 
the  expression  of  his  countenance  in  its  usual  state  of  quiet 
melancholy.  As  vehicle  after  vehicle  left  the  place  of  the 
encampment,  he  noted  the  change  with  increasing  atten- 
tion ;  seldom  failing  to  cast  an  inquiring  look  at  the  little 
neglected  tent,  which,  with  its  proper  wagon,  still  re^ 
mained  as  before,  solitary  and  apparently  forgotten.  The 
summons  of  Ishmael  to  his  gloomy  associate  had,  however, 
as  it  would  now  seem,  this  hitherto  neglected  portion  of 
his  effects  for  its  object. 

First  casting  a  cautious  and  suspicious  glance  on  every 
side  of  him,  the  squatter  and  his  companion  advanced  to 
the  little  wagon,  and  caused  it  to  enter  within  the  folds  of 
the  cloth  much  in  the  manner  that  it  had  been  extricated 
the  preceding  evening.  They  both  then  disappeared  be- 
hind the  drapery,  and  many  moments  of  suspense  suc- 
ceeded, during  which  the  old  man,  secretly  urged  by  a 


l$4  THE  PRAIRIE. 

burning  desire  to  know  the  meaning  of  so  much  mystery, 
insensibly  drew  nigh  to  the  place,  until  he  stood  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  proscribed  spot.  The  agitation  of  the 
cloth  betrayed  the  nature  of  the  occupation  of  those  whom 
it  concealed,  though  their  work  was  conducted  in  rigid  si- 
lence. It  would  appear  that  long  practice  had  made  each 
of  the  two  acquainted  with  his  particular  duty  ;  for  neither 
sign  nor  direction  of  any  sort  was  necessary  from  Ishmael, 
in  order  to  apprise  his  surly  associate  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  was  to  proceed.  In  less  time  than  has  been  con- 
sumed in  relating  it,  the  interior  portion  of  the  arrange- 
ment was  completed,  when  the  men  reappeared  without 
the  tent.  Too  busy  with  his  occupation  to  heed  the  pre- 
sence of  the  trapper,  Ishmael  began  to  release  the  folds 
of  the  cloth  from  the  ground,  and  to  dispose  of  them  in 
such  a  manner  around  the  vehicle  as  to  form  a  sweeping 
train  to  the  new  form  the  little  pavilion  had  now  as- 
sumed. The  arched  roof  trembled  with  the  occasional 
movement  of  the  light  vehicle  which,  it  was  apparent, 
once  more  supported  its  secret  burden.  Just  as  the  work 
was  ended,  the  scowling  eye  of  Ishmaoi's  assistant  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  figure  of  the  attentive  observer  of  their 
movements.  Dropping  the  shaft,  which  he  had  already 
lifted  from  the  ground,  preparatory  to  occupying  the  place 
that  was  usually  filled  by  an  animal  less  reasoning  and  per- 
haps less  dangerous  than  himself,  he  bluntly  exclaimed  : 

"  I  am  a  fool,  as  you  often  say.  But  look  for  yourself. 
If  that  man  is  not  an  enemy,  I  will  disgrace  father  and 
mother,  call  myself  an  Indian,  and  go  hunt  with  the 
Siouxes !  " 

The  cloud,  as  it  is  about  to  discharge  the  subtile  light- 
ning, is  not  more  dark  nor  threatening  than  the  look  with 
which  Ishmael  greeted  the  intruder.  He  turned  his  head 
on  every  side  of  him,  as  if  seeking  some  engine  sufficiently 
terrible  to  annihilate  the  offending  trapper  at  a  blow  ;  and 
then,  possibly  recollecting  the  further  occasion  he  might 
have  for  his  counsel,  he  forced  himself  to  say,  with  an 
appearance  of  moderation  that  nearly  choked  him  : 

"  Stranger,  I  did  believe  this  prying  into  the  concerns  of 
others  was  the  business  of  women  in  the  towns  and  set- 
tlements, and  not  the  manner  in  which  men,  who  are  used  to 
live  where  each  has  room  for  himself,  deal  with  the  secrets 
of  their  neighbors.  To  what  lawyer  or  sheriff  do  you  cal- 
culate to  sell  your  news *  " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  85 

"I  hold  but  little  discourse,  except  with  one,  and  then 
chiefly  of  ray  own  affairs,"  returned  the  old  man,  without 
the  least  observable  apprehension,  and  pointing  impos- 
ingly upward  ;  "  a  Judge  and  Judge  of  all.  Little  does 
he  need  knowledge  from  my  hands,  and  but  little  will 
your  wish  to  keep  anything  secret  from  him  profit  you, 
even  in  this  desert." 

The  mounting  tempers  of  his  untutored  listeners  were 
rebuked  by  the  simple,  solemn  manner  of  the  trapper. 
Ishmael  stood  sullen  and  thoughtful  ;  while  his  companion 
stole  a  furtive  and  involuntary  glance  at  the  placid  sky, 
which  spread  so  wide  and  blue  above  his  head,  as  if  he  ex- 
pected to  see  the  Almighty  eye  itself  beaming  from  the 
heavenly  vault.  But  impressions  of  a  serious  character 
are  seldom  lasting  on  minds  long  indulged  in  forgetful- 
ness.  The  hesitation  of  the  squatter  was  consequently  of 
short  duration.  The  language,  however,  as  well  as  the 
firm  and  collected  air  of  the  speaker,  were  the  means  of 
preventing  much  subsequent  abuse,  if  not  violence. 

"  It  would  be  showing  more  of  the  kindness  of  a 
friend  and  comrade,"  Ishmael  returned,  in  a  tone  suffi- 
ciently sullen  to  betray  his  humor,  though  it  was  no  longer 
threatening,  "  had  your  shoulder  been  put  to  the  wheel  of 
one  of  yonder  wagons,  instead  of  edging  itself  in  here, 
where  none  are  wanted  but  such  as  are  invited." 

"I  can  put  the  little  strength  that  is  left  me,"  returned 
lie  trapper,  "to  this,  as  well  as  to  another  of  your  loads." 

"Do  you  take  us  for  boys?"  exclaimed  Ishmael,  laugh- 
ing half  in  ferocity  and  half  in  derision,  applying  his 
powerful  strength  at  the  same  time  to  the  little  vehicle, 
which  rolled  over  the  grass  with  as  much  seeming  facility 
as  if  it  were  drawn  by  its  usual  team. 

The  trapper  paused,  and  followed  the  departing  wagon 
with  his  eye,  marvelling  greatly  as  to  the  nature  of  its 
concealed  contents,  until  it  had  also  gained  the  summit  of 
the  eminence,  and  in  its  turn  disappeared  behind  the  swell 
of  the  land.  Then  he  turned  to  gaze  at  the  desolation  of 
the  scene  around  him.  The  absence  of  human  forms 
would  have  scarce  created  a  sensation  in  the  bosom  of  one 
so  long  accustomed  to  solitude,  had  not  the  site  of  the  de- 
serted camp  furnished  such  strong  memorial  of  its  recent 
visitors,  and,  as  the  old  man  was  quick  to  detect,  of  their 
waste  also.  He  cast  his  eye  upward,  with  a  shake  of  the 
head,  at  the  vacant  spot  in  the  heavens  which  had  so  lately 


86  THE  PRAIRIE. 

been  filled  by  the  branches  of  those  trees  that  now  lay 
stripped  of  their  verdure,  worthless  and  deserted  logs  at 
his  feet. 

"Ay,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "I  might  have  know'd 
it  !  Often  have  I  seen  the  same  before  ;  and  yet  I  brought 
them  to  the  spot  myself,  and  have  now  sent  them  to  the 
only  neighborhood  of  their  kind  within  many  long  leagues 
of  the  spot  where  I  now  stand.  This  is  man's  wish,  and 
pride,  and  waste,  and  sinfulness  !  He  tames  the  beasts  of 
the  field  to  feed  his  idle  wants,  and  having  robbed  the 
brutes  of  their  natural  food,  he  teaches  them  to  strip  the 
'arth  of  its  trees  to  quiet  their  hunger." 

A  rustling  in  the  low  bushes  which  still  grew,  for  some 
distance,  along  the  swale  that  formed  the  thicket  on  which 
the  camp  of  Ishmael  had  rested,  caught  his  ear  at  the  mo- 
ment, and  cut  short  the  soliloquy.  The  habits  of  so  many 
years  spent  in  the  wilderness  caused  the  old  man  to  bring  his 
rifle  to  a  poise,  with  something  like  the  activity  and  prompt- 
itude of  his  youth  ;  but,  suddenly  recovering  his  recollec- 
tion, he  dropped  it  into  the  hollow  of  his  arm  again,  and 
resumed  his  air  of  melancholy  resignation. 

"  Come  forth,  come  forth  !  "  he  said  aloud  ;  "be  ye  bird 
or  be  ye  beast,  ye  are  safe  from  these  old  hands.  I  have 
eaten  and  I  have  drunk  :  why  should  I  take  life,  when  my 
wants  call  for  no  sacrifice  ?  It  would  not  be  long  afore 
the  birds  will  peck  at  eyes  that  shall  not  see  them,  and 
perhaps  light  on  my  very  bones  ;  for  if  things  like  these 
are  only  made  to  perish,  why  am  I  to  expect  to  live  for- 
ever ?  Come  forth,  come  forth  ;  you  are  safe  from  harm 
at  these  weak  hands." 

"  Thank  you  for  the  good  word,  old  trapper !  "  cried 
Paul  Hover,  springing  actively  forward  from  his  place  of 
concealment.  "  There  was  an  air  about  you,  when  you 
threw  forward  the  muzzle  of  your  piece,  that  I  did  not  like  ; 
for  it  seemed  to  say  that  you  were  master  of  all  the  rest 
of  the  motions." 

"  You  are  right,  you  are  right !  "  cried  the  trapper, 
laughing  with  inward  self-complacency  at  the  recollection 
of  his  former  skill.  "The  day  has  been  when  few  men 
knew  the  virtues  of  a  long  rifle,  like  this  I  carry,  better 
than  myself,  old  and  useless  as  I  now  seem.  You  are 
right,  young  man  ;  and  the  time  was  when  it  was  danger- 
ous to  move  a  leaf  within  ear-shot  of  my  stand  ;  or,"  he 
added,  dropping  his  voice  and  looking  serious,  "  for  a  red 


THE  PRAIRIE.  87 

Mingo  to  show  an  eyeball  from  his  ambushment.  You 
have  heard  of  the  red  Mingoes  ?  " 

"I  have  heard  of  minks,"  said  Paul,  taking  the  old  man 
by  the  arm,  and  gently  urging  him  toward  the  thicket  as 
he  spoke  ;  while  at  the  same  time  he  cast  quick  and  un- 
easy glances  behind  him  in  order  to  make  sure  that  he 
was  not  observed — "  of  your  common  black  minks,  but 
none  of  any  other  color." 

"  Lord  !  Lord  !  "  continued  the  trapper,  shaking  his 
head,  and  still  laughing  in  his  deep  but  quiet  manner  ; 
"the  boy  mistakes  a  brute  for  a  man  !  Though  a  Mingo 
is  little  better  than  a  beast  ;  or,  for  that  matter,  he  is  worse 
when  rum  and  opportunity  are  placed  before  his  eyes. 
There  was  that  accursed  Huron  from  the  upper  lakes,  that 
I  knocked  from  his  perch  among  the  rocks  in  the  hills, 
back  of  the  Hori " 

His  voice  was  lost  in  the  thicket,  into  which  he  had  suf- 
fered himself  to  be  led  by  Paul  while  speaking,  too  much 
occupied  by  thoughts  which  dwelt  on  scenes  and  acts  that 
had  taken  place  half  a  century  earlier  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  to  offer  the  smallest  resistance. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"Now  they  are  clapper-clawing  one  another;  I'll  go  look  on.  That 
dissembling  abominable  varlet,  Diomed,  has  got  that  same  scurvy,  doting, 
foolish  young  knave  in  his  helm." — TROILUS  AND  CRESSIDA. 

IT  is  necessary,  in  order  that  the  thread  of  the  narra- 
tive should  not  be  spun  to  a  length  which  might  fatigue 
the  reader,  that  he  should  imagine  a  week  to  have  inter- 
vened between  the  scene  with  which  the  preceding  chap- 
ter closed  and  the  events  with  which  it  is  our  intention  to 
resume  its  relation  in  this.  The  season  was  on  the  point 
of  changing  its  character  :  the  verdure  of  summer  giving 
place  more  rapidly  to  the  brown  and  party-colored  livery 
of  the  fall.*  The  heavens  were  clothed  in  driving  clouds, 
piled  in  vast  masses  one  above  the  other,  which  whirled 
violently  in  the  gusts  ;  opening,  occasionally,  to  admit 
transient  glimpses  of  the  bright  and  glorious  sight  of  the 

*  The  Americans  call  the  autumn  the  "fall,"  from  the  fall  of  the  leaf. 


88  THE  PRAIRIE. 

heavens  dwelling  in  a  magnificence  by  far  too  grand  and 
durable  to  be  disturbed  by  the  fitful  efforts  of  the  lowei 
world.  Beneath,  the  wind  swept  across  the  wild  and 
naked  prairies  with  a  violence  that  is  seldom  witnessed  in 
any  section  of  the  continent  less  open.  It  would  have 
been  easy  to  have  imagined,  in  the  ages  of  fable,  that  the 
god  of  the  winds  had  permitted  his  subordinate  agents  to 
escape  from  their  den,  and  that  they  now  rioted  in  wan- 
tonness across  wastes  where  neither  tree,  nor  work  of 
man,  nor  mountain,  nor  obstacle  of  any  sort,  opposed  it- 
self to  their  gambols. 

Though  nakedness  might,  as  usual,  be  given  as  the  per- 
vading character  of  the  spot  whither  it  is  now  necessary 
to  transfer  the  scene  of  the  tale,  it  was  not  entirely  with- 
out the  signs  of  human  life.  Amid  the  monotonous  rolling 
of  the  prairie,  a  single  naked  and  ragged  rock  arose  on 
the  margin  of  a  little  water-course  which  found  its  way, 
after  winding  a  vast  distance  through  the  plains,  into  one 
of  the  numerous  tributaries  of  the  Father  of  Rivers.  A 
swale  of  low  land  lay  near  the  base  of  the  eminence,  and, 
as  it  was  still  fringed  with  a  thicket  of  alders  and  sumach, 
it  bore  the  signs  of  having  once  nurtured  a  feeble  growth 
of  wood.  The  trees  themselves  had  been  transferred, 
however,  to  the  summit  and  crags  of  the  neighboring 
rocks.  On  this  elevation  the  signs  of  man,  to  which  the 
allusion  just  made  applies,  were  to  be  found. 

Seen  from  beneath,  there  were  visible  a  breastwork  of 
logs  and  stones,  intermingled  in  such  a  manner  as  to  save 
all  unnecessary  labor,  a  few  low  roofs  made  of  bark  and 
boughs  of  trees,  an  occasional  barrier,  constructed  like  the 
defences  on  the  summit,  and  placed  on  such  points  of  the 
acclivity  as  were  easier  of  approach  than  the  general  face 
of  the  eminence  ;  and  a  little  dwelMng  of  cloth,  perched  on 
the  apex  of  a  small  pyramid  that  shot  up  on  one  angle  of 
the  rock,  the  white  covering  ot  which  glimmered  from  a 
distance  like  a  spot  of  snow,  or,  to  make  the  simile  more 
suitable  to  the  rest  of  the  subject,  like  a  spotless  and  care- 
fully guarded  standard,  which  was  to  be  protected  by  the 
dearest  blood  of  those  who  defended  the  cifndel  beneath. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  this  rude  and  character- 
istic fortress  was  the  place  where  Ishmael  Bush  had  taken 
refuge,  after  the  robbery  of  his  flocks  and  herds. 

On  the  day  to  which  the  narrative  is  advanced,  the 
squatter  was  standing  near  the  base  of  the  rocks,  leaning 


THE  PRAIRIE.  8g 

on  his  rifle,  and  regarding  the  sterile  soil  that  supported 
him  with  a  look  in  which  contempt  and  disappointment 
were  strongly  blended. 

u  Tis  time  to  change  our  natur's,"  he  observed  to  the 
brother  of  his  wife,  who  was  rarely  far  from  his  elbow  ; 
"and  to  become  ruminators,  instead  of  people  used  to  the 
fare  of  Christians  and  free  men.  I  reckon,  Abiram,  you 
could  glean  a  living  among  the  grasshoppers  ;  you  ar'  an 
active  man,  and  might  out-run  the  nimblest  skipper  of 
them  all." 

"The  country  will  never  do,"  returned  the  other,  who 
relished  but  little  the  forced  humor  of  his  kinsman  ;  "and 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  a  lazy  traveller  makes  a  long 
journey." 

"  Would  you  have  me  draw  a  cart  at  my  heels,  across 
this  desert,  for  weeks — ay,  months?"  retorted  Ishmael, 
who,  like  all  of  his  class,  could  labor  with  incredible  efforts 
on  emergencies,  but  who  too  seldom  exerted  continued  in- 
dustry on  any  occasion  to  brook  a  proposal  that  offered  so 
little  repose.  "  It  may  do  for  your  people,  who  live  in 
settlements,  to  hasten  on  to  their  houses ;  but,  thank 
Heaven  !  my  farm  is  too  big  for  its  owner  ever  to  want  a 
resting-place." 

"  Since  you  like  the  plantation,  then,  you  have  only  to 
make  your  crop." 

"  That  is  easier  said  than  done,  on  this  corner  of  the  es- 
tate. I  tell  you,  Abiram,  there  is  need  of  moving,  for 
more  reasons  than  one.  You  know  I'm  a  man  that  very 
seldom  enters  into  a  bargain,  but  who  always  fulfils  his 
agreements  better  than  your  dealers  in  wordy  contracts, 
written  on  rags  of  paper.  If  there's  one  mile,  there  ar'  a 
hundred  still  needed  to  make  up  the  distance  for  which 
you  have  my  honor." 

As  he  spoke,  the  squatter  glanced  his  eye  upward  at  the 
little  tenement  of  cloth,  which  crowned  the  summit  of  his 
ragged  fortress.  The  look  was  understood  and  answered 
by  the  other  ;  and  by  some  secret  influence,  which  op- 
erated either  through  their  interests  or  feelings,  it  served 
to  re-establish  that  harmony  between  them  which  had  just 
been  threatened  with  something  like  a  momentary  breach. 

"  I  know  it  and  feel  it  in  every  bone  of  my  body.  But 
I  remember  the  reason  why  I  have  set  myself  on  this  ac- 
cursed journey  too  well,  to  forget  the  distance  between  me 
and  the  end.  Neither  you  nor  I  will  ever  be  the  better 


90  THE  PRAIRIE. 

for  what  we  have  done,  unless  we  thoroughly  finish  what 
is  so  well  begun.  Ay,  that  is  the  doctrine  of  the  whole 
world,  I  judge  ;  I  heard  a  travelling  preacher,  who  was 
skirting  it  down  the  Ohio,  a  time  since,  say,  if  a  man 
should  live  up  to  the  faith  for  a  hundred  years,  and  then 
fall  from  his  work  a  single  day,  he  would  find  the  settle- 
ment was  to  be  made  for  the  finishing  blow  that  he  had 
put  to  his  job,  and  that  all  the  bad,  and  none  of  the  goodl 
would  come  into  the  final  account." 

"And  you  believed  the  hungry  hypocrite  ?" 

"Who  said  that  I  believed  it  ?"  retorted  Abiram,  with  a 
bullying  look,  that  betrayed  how  much  his  fears  had  dwelt 
on  the  subject  he  affected  to  despise.  "  Is  it  believing  to 

tell  what  a  roguish ?  And  yet,  Ishmael,  the  man  might 

have  been  honest  after  all  !  He  told  us  that  the  world 
was,  in  truth,  no  better  than  a  desert,  and  there  was  but 
one  hand  that  could  lead  the  most  learned  man  through 
all  its  crooked  windings.  Now,  if  this  be  true  of  the  whole, 
it  may  be  true  of  a  part." 

"  Abiram,  out  with  your  grievances  like  a  man,"  inter- 
rupted the  squatter,  with  a  hoarse  laugh.  "You  want  to 
pray !  But  of  what  use  will  it  be,  according  to  your  own 
doctrine,  to  serve  God  five  minutes  and  the  devil  an  hour? 
Harkee,  friend  ;  I'm  not  much  of  a  husbandman,  but  this 
I  know  to  my  cost :  that  to  make  a  right  good  crop,  even 
on  the  richest  bottom,  there  must  be  hard  labor  ;  and  your 
snufBers  liken  the  'arth  to  a  field  of  corn,  and  the  men 
who  live  on  it  to  its  yield.  Now  I  tell  you,  Abiram,  that 
you  are  no  better  than  a  thistle  or  a  mullein  ;  yea,  ye  ar'  a 
wood  of  too  open  a  pore  to  be  good  even  to  burn." 

The  malign  glance  which  shot  from  the  scowling  eye  of 
Abiram  announced  the  angry  character  of  his  feelings  ; 
but,  as  the  furtive  look  quailed  immediately  before  the  un- 
moved, steady  countenance  of  the  squatter,  it  also  betrayed 
how  much  the  bolder  spirit  of  the  latter  had  obtained  the 
mastery  over  his  craven  nature. 

Content  with  his  ascendency,  which  was  too  apparent, 
and  had  been  often  exerted  on  similar  occasions,  to  leave 
him  in  any  doubt  of  its  extent,  Ishmael  coolly  continued 
the  discourse,  by  adverting  more  directly  to  his  future 
plans. 

"  You  will  own  the  justice  of  paying  every  one  in  kind," 
he  said.  "  I  have  been  robbed  of  my  stock,  and  I  have  3 
scheme  to  make  myself  as  good  as  before,  by  taking  hoof 


THE  PRAIRIE.  91 

for  hoof  ;  or,  for  that  matter,  when  a  man  is  put  to  the 
trouble  of  bargaining  for  both  sides,  he  is  a  fool  if  he  don't 
pay  himself  something  in  the  way  of  commission." 

As  the  squatter  made  this  declaration,  in  a  tone  which 
was  a  little  excited  by  the  humor  of  the  moment,  four  or 
five  of  his  lounging  sons,  who  had  been  leaning  against 
the  foot  of  the  rock,  came  forward  with  the  indolent  step 
so  common  to  the  family. 

"  I  have  been  calling  Ellen  Wade,  who  is  on  the  rock 
keeping  the  lookout,  to  know  if  there  is  anything  to  be 
seen,"  observed  the  eldest  of  the  young  men  ;  "  and  she 
shakes  her  head,  for  an  answer.  Ellen  is  sparing  of  her 
words  for  a  woman,  and  might  be  taught  manners,  at  least, 
without  spoiling  her  good  looks." 

Ishmael  cast  his  eyes  upward  to  the  place  where  the 
offending  but  unconscious  girl  was  holding  her  anxious 
watch.  She  was  seated  at  the  edge  of  the  uppermost  crag, 
by  the  side  of  the  little  tent,  and  at  least  two  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  plain.  Little  else  was  to  be  distin- 
guished, at  that  distance,  but  the  outline  of  her  form,  her 
fair  hair  streaming  in  the  gusts  beyond  her  shoulders,  and 
the  steady  and  seemingly  unchangeable  look  that  she  riv- 
eted on  some  remote  point  of  the  prairie. 

"  What  is  it,  Nell  ? "  cried  Ishmael,  lifting  his  powerful 
voice  a  little  above  the  rushing  of  the  element.  "  Have 
you  got  a  glimpse  of  anything  bigger  than  a  burrowing 
barker  ? " 

The  lips  of  the  attentive  Ellen  parted  ;  she  rose  to  the 
utmost  height  her  small  stature  admitted,  seeming  still  to 
regard  the  unknown  object  ;  but  her  voice,  if  she  spoke  at 
all,  was  not  sufficiently  loud  to  be  heard  amid  the  wind. 

"  It  ar'  a  fact  that  the  child  sees  something  more  un- 
common than  a  buffalo  or  a  prairie-dog!"  continued 
Ishmael  : — "  Why,  Nell,  girl,  ar'  ye  deaf  ?  Nell,  I  say  ! — 
I  hope  it  is  an  army  of  red-skins  she  has  in  her  eye  ;  for  I 
should  relish  the  chance  to  pay  them  for  their  kindness, 
under  the  favor  of  these  logs  and  rocks  !  " 

As  the  squatter  accompanied  his  vaunt  with  correspond- 
ing gestures,  and  directed  his  eyes  to  the  circle  of  his 
equally  confident  sons  while  speaking,  he  drew  their  gaze 
from  Ellen  to  himself  ;  but  now,  when  they  turned  to- 
gether to  note  the  succeeding  movements  of  their  female 
sentinel,  the  place  which  had  so  lately  been  occupied  by 
her  form  was  vacant. 


92  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  As  I  am  a  sinner,"  exclaimed  Asa,  usually  one  of  the 
most  phlegmatic  of  the  youths,  "  the  girl  is  blown  away  by 
the  wind  !  " 

Something  like  a  sensation  was  exhibited  among  them, 
which  might  have  denoted  that  the  influence  of  the  laugh- 
ing blue  eyes,  flaxen  hair,  and  glowing  cheeks  of  Ellen, 
had  not  been  lost  on  the  dull  natures  of  the  young  men, 
and  looks  of  amazement,  mingled  slightly  with  concern, 
passed  from  one  to  the  other  as  they  gazed,  in  dull  wonder, 
at  the  point  of  the  naked  rock. 

"  It  might  well  be  !  "  added  another  ;  "  she  sat  on  a 
slivered  stone,  and  I  have  been  thinking  of  telling  her  she 
was  in  danger  for  more  than  an  hour." 

"  Is  that  a  ribbon  of  the  child,  dangling  from  the  corner 
of  the  hill  below  ?"  cried  Ishmael  ;  "  ha  !  who  is  moving 
about  the  tent  ?  Have  I  not  told  you  all " 

"  Ellen  !  'tis  Ellen  !  "  interrupted  the  whole  body  of  his 
sons  in  a  breath,  and  at  that  instant  she  reappeared,  to  put 
an  end  to  their  different  surmises,  and  to  relieve  more  than 
one  sluggish  nature  from  its  unwonted  excitement.  As 
Ellen  issued  from  beneath  the  folds  of  the  tent,  she  ad- 
vanced with  a  light  and  fearless  step  to  her  former  giddy 
stand,  and  pointed  toward  the  prairie,  appearing  to  speak 
in  an  eager  and  rapid  voice  to  some  invisible  auditor. 

"  Nell  is  mad  ! "  said  Asa,  half  in  contempt,  and  yet  not 
a  little  in  concern.  "  The  girl  is  dreaming  with  her  eyes 
open  ;  and  thinks  she  sees  some  of  them  fierce  creatur's, 
with  hard  names,  with  which  the  doctor  fills  her  ears." 

"  Can  it  be  that  the  child  has  found  a  scout  of  the 
Siouxes?"  said  Ishmael,  bending  his  look  toward  the 
plain  ;  but  a  low,  significant  whisper  from  Abiram  drew 
his  eyes  quickly  upward  again,  where  they  were  turned 
just  in  time  to  perceive  that  the  cloth  of  the  tent  was 
agitated  by  a  motion  very  evidently  different  from  the 
quivering  occasioned  by  the  wind.  "  Let  her,  if  she 
dare  !  "  the  squatter  muttered  in  his  teeth.  "Abiram,  they 
know  my  temper  too  well  to  play  the  prank  with  me ! " 

"  Look  for  yourself !  If  the  curtain  is  not  lifted,  I  can 
see  no  better  than  the  owl  by  daylight." 

Ishmael  struck  the  breech  of  his  rifle  violently  on  the 
earth,  and  shouted,  in  a  voice  that  might  easily  have  been 
heard  by  Ellen,  had  not  her  attention  still  continued  rapt 
on  the  object  which  so  unaccountably  attracted  her  eyes  in 
ihe  distance. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  93 

"  Nell ! "  continued  the  squatter,  "  away  with  you,  fool ; 
Will  you  bring  down  punishment  on  your  own  head  ? 
Why,  Nell ! — She  has  forgotten  her  native  speech  ;  let  us 
see  if  she  can  understand  another  language." 

Ishmael  threw  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and  at  the  next 
moment  it  was  pointed  upward  at  the  summit  of  the  rock. 
Before  time  was  given  for  a  word  of  remonstrance,  it  had 
sent  forth  its  contents,  in  its  usual  streak  of  bright  flame. 
Ellen  started  like  the  frightened  chamois,  and,  uttering  a 
piercing  scream,  she  darted  into  the  tent  with  a  swiftness 
that  left  it  uncertain  whether  terror  or  actual  injury  had 
been  the  penalty  of  her  offence. 

The  action  of  the  squatter  was  too  sudden  and  unex- 
pected to  admit  of  prevention  ;  but,  the  instant  it  was 
done,  his  sons  manifested,  in  an  unequivocal  manner,  the 
temper  with  which  they  witnessed  the  desperate  measure. 
Angry  and  fierce  glances  were  interchanged,  and  a 
murmur  of  disapprobation  was  uttered  by  the  whole  in 
common. 

"  What  has  Ellen  done,  father,"  said  Asa,  with  a  degree 
of  spirit  which  was  the  more  striking  from  being  unusual, 
"  that  she  should  be  shot  at  like  a  straggling  deer  or  a 
hungry  wolf  ?  " 

"  Mischief,"  deliberately  returned  the  squatter  ;  but  with 
a  cool  expression  of  defiance  in  his  eye,  that  showed  how 
little  he  was  moved  by  the  ill-concealed  humor  of  his  chil- 
dren. "Mischief,  boy — mischief!  Take  you  heed  that 
the  disorder  don't  spread  !  " 

"  It  would  need  a  different  treatment  in  a  man  than  in 
yon  screaming  girl." 

"  Asa,  you  ar'  a  man>  as  you  have  often  boasted ;  but 
remember,  I  am  your  father,  and  your  better." 

"  I  know  it  well  ;  and  what  sort  of  a  father  ? " 

"  Harkee.  boy ;  I  more  than  half  believe  that  your 
drowsy  head  let  in  the  Siouxes.  Be  modest  in  speech, 
my  watchful  son,  or  you  may  hav^  to  answer  yet  for  the 
mischief  your  own  bad  conduct  has  brought  upon  us." 

"  I'll  stay  no  longer,  to  be  hectored  Mke  a  child  in  petti- 
coats. You  talk  of  law,  as  if  you  knew  of  none,  and  yet 
you  keep  me  down  as  though  I  had  not  life  and  wants  of 
my  own.  I'll  stay  no  longer  to  be  treated  like  one  of  your 
meanest  cattle  !  " 

"  The  world  is  wide,  my  gallant  boy,  and  there's  many  a 
noble  plantation  on  it,  without  a  tenant.  Go  ;  you  have 


94  THE  PRAIRIE. 

title-deeds  signed  and  sealed  to  your  hand.  Few  fathers 
portion  their  children  better  than  Ishmael  Bush  ;  you  will 
say  that  for  me  at  least,  when  you  get  to  be  a  wealthy 
landholder." 

"  Look  !  father,  look ! "  exclaimed  several  voices  at  once, 
seizing  with  avidity  an  opportunity  to  interrupt  a  dialogue 
which  threatened  to  become  more  violent. 

"  Look  !  "  repeated  Abiram,  in  a  voice  which  sounded 
hollow  and  warning  ;  "  if  you  have  time  for  anything  but 
quarrels,  Ishmael,  look  ! " 

The  squatter  turned  slowly  from  his  offending  son, 
and  cast  an  eye  that  still  lowered  with  deep  resentment 
upward  ;  but  which,  the  instant  it  caught  a  view  of  the 
object  that  now  attracted  the  attention  of  all  around  him, 
changed  its  expression  to  one  of  astonishment  and  dis- 
may. 

A  female  stood  on  the  spot  from  which  Ellen  had  been 
so  fearfully  expelled.  Her  person  was  of  the  smallest 
size  that  is  believed  to  comport  with  beauty,  and  which 
poets  and  artists  have  chosen  as  the  beau  ideal  of  female 
loveliness.  Her  dress  was  of  a  dark  and  glossy  silk,  and 
fluttered  like  gossamer  around  her  form.  Long,  flowing, 
and  curling  tresses  of  hair,  still  blacker  and  more  shining 
than  her  robe,  fell  at  times  about  her  shoulders,  complete- 
ly enveloping  the  whole  of  her  delicate  bust  in  their  ring- 
lets ;  or  at  others  streaming  in  the  wind.  The  elevation 
at  which  she  stood  prevented  a  close  examination  of  the 
lineaments  of  a  countenance  which,  however,  it  might  be 
seen  was  youthful,  and,  at  the  moment  of  her  unlooked- 
for  appearance,  eloquent  with  feeling.  So  young,  indeed, 
did  this  fair  and  fragile  being  appear,  that  it  might  be 
doubted  whether  the  age  of  childhood  was  entirely  passed. 
One  small  and  exquisitely  moulded  hand  was  pressed  on 
her  heart,  while  with  the  other  she  made  an  impressive 
gesture,  which  seemed  to  invite  Ishmael,  if  further  vio- 
lence was  meditated,  to  direct  it  against  her  bosom. 

The  silent  wonder  with  which  the  group  of  borderers 
gazed  upward  at  so  extraordinary  a  spectacle  was  only 
interrupted  as  the  person  of  Ellen  was  seen  emerging  with 
timidity  from  the  tent,  as  if  equally  urged  by  apprehen- 
sions in  behalf  of  herself,  and  the  fears  which  she  felt  on 
account  of  her  companion,  to  remain  concealed  and  to 
advance.  She  spoke,  but  her  words  were  unheard  by  those 
below,  and  unheeded  by  her  to  whom  they  were  addressed 


THE  PRAIRIE.  95 

The  latter,  however,  as  if  content  with  the  offer  she  had 
made  of  herself  as  a  victim  to  the  resentment  of  Ishmael, 
now  calmly  retired,  and  the  spot  she  had  so  lately  occupied 
became  vacant,  leaving  a  sort  of  stupid  impression  on  the 
spectators  beneath,  not  unlike  that  which  it  might  be  sup- 
posed would  have  been  created  had  they  just  been  gazing 
at  some  supernatural  vision. 

More  than  a  minute  of  profound  silence  succeeded,  dur- 
ing which  the  sons  of  Ishmael  still  continued  gazing  at  the 
naked  rock  in  stupid  wonder.  Then,  as  eye  met  eye,  an 
expression  of  novel  intelligence  passed  from  one  to  the 
other,  indicating  that  to  them,  at  least,  the  appearance  of 
this  extraordinary  tenant  of  the  pavilion  was  as  unexpected 
as  it  was  incomprehensible.  At  length  Asa,  in  right  of 
his  years,  and  moved  by  the  rankling  impulse  of  the  recent 
quarrel,  took  on  himself  the  office  of  interrogator.  Instead, 
however,  of  braving  the  resentment  of  his  father,  of  whose 
fierce  nature,  when  aroused,  he  had  had  too  frequent  evi- 
dence to  excite  it  wantonly,  he  turned  upon  the  cowering 
person  of  Abiram,  observing  with  a  sneer  : 

"  This,  then,  is  the  beast  you  were  bringing  into  the 
prairies  for  a  decoy  !  I  know  you  to  be  a  man  who  seldom 
troubles  truth  when  anything  worse  may  answer,  but  I 
never  knew  you  to  outdo  yourself  so  thoroughly  before. 
The  newspapers  of  Kentuck  have  called  you  a  dealer  in 
black  flesh  a  hundred  times,  but  little  did  they  reckon  that 
you  drove  the  trade  into  white  families." 

"  Who  is  a  kidnapper  ? "  demanded  Abiram,  with  a  blus- 
tering show  of  resentment.  "  Am  I  to  be  called  to  account 
for  every  lie  they  put  in  print  throughout  the  States  ? 
Look  to  your  own  family,  boy  ;  look  to  yourselves.  The 
very  stumps  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  cry  out  agin  ye. 
Ay,  my  tonguey  gentleman,  I  have  seen  father  and  mother 
and  three  children,  yourself  for  one,  published  on  the  logs 
and  stubs  of  the  settlements,  with  dollars  enough  for  re- 
ward to  have  made  an  honest  man  rich,  for — 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  back-handed  but  violent  blow 
on  the  mouth  that  caused  -him  to  totter,  and  which  left  the 
impression  of  its  weight  in  the  starting  blood  and  swell- 
ing lips. 

"  Asa,"  said  the  father,  advancing  with  a  portion  of  that 
dignity  with  which  the  hand  of  Nature  seems  to  have  in- 
vested the  parental  character,  "  you  have  struck  the  brother 
of  your  mother !  " 


96  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"I  have  struck  the  abuserof  the  whole  family,"  returned 
the  angry  youth  ;  "  and,  unless  he  teaches  his  tongue  a 
wiser  language,  he  had  better  part  with  it  altogether  as  the 
unruly  member.  I'm  no  great  performer  with  the  knife, 
but  on  an  occasion  could  make  out,  myself,  to  cut  off  a 
slande " 

"  Boy,  twice  have  you  forgotten  yourself  to-day.  Be 
careful  that  it  does  not  happen  the  third  time.  When  the 
law  of  the  land  is  weak,  it  is  right  the  law  of  Nature  should 
be  strong.  You  understand  me,  Asa  ;  and  you  know  me. 
As  for  you,  Abiram,  the  child  has  done  you  wrong,  and  it 
is  my  place  to  see  you  righted.  Remember,  I  tell  you 
justice  shall  be  done;  it  is  enough.  But  you  have  said 
hard  things  ag'in  me  and  my  family.  If  the  hounds  of  the 
law  have  put  their  bills  on  the  trees  and  stumps  of  the 
clearing,  it  was  for  no  act  of  dishonesty,  as  you  know,  but 
because  we  maintain  the  rule  that  'arth  is  common  prop- 
erty. No,  Abiram  ;  could  I  wash  my  hands  of  things  done 
by  your  advice,  as  easily  as  I  can  of  the  things  done  by  the 
whisperings  of  the  devil,  my  sleep  would  be  quieter  at 
night,  and  none  who  bear  my  name  need  blush  to  hear  it 
mentioned.  Peace,  Asa,  and  you  too,  man  ;  enough  has 
been  said.  Let  us  all  think  well  before  anything  is  added 
that  may  make  what  is  already  so  bad  still  more  bitter." 

Ishmael  waved  his  hand  with  authority,  as  he  ended, 
and  turned  away  with  the  air  of  one  who  felt  assured  that 
those  he  had  addressed  would  not  have  the  temerity  to 
dispute  his  commands.  Asa  evidently  struggled  with  him- 
self to  compel  the  required  obedience,  but  his  heavy  na- 
ture quietly  sank  into  its  ordinary  repose,  and  he  soon  ap- 
peared again  the  being  he  really  was — dangerous  only  at 
moments,  and  one  whose  passions  were  too  sluggish  to  be 
long  maintained  at  the  point  of  ferocity.  Not  so  with 
Abiram.  While  there  was  an  appearance  of  a  personal 
conflict  between  him  and  his  colossal  nephew,  his  mien 
had  expressed  the  infallible  evidences  of  engrossix>£  appre- 
hension ;  but  now  that  the  authority  as  well  2.5  gigantic 
strength  of  the  father  were  interposed  between  him  and 
his  assailant,  his  countenance  changed  from  paleness  to  a 
livid  hue,  that  bespoke  how  deeply  the  injury  he  had  re- 
ceived rankled  in  his  breast.  Like  Asa.  however,  he  ac- 
quiesced in  the  decision  of  the  squatter  ;  and  the  appear- 
ance, at  least,  of  harmony  was  restored  again  among  a  set 
of  beings  who  were  restrained  by  no  obligations  more 


JHE  PRAIRIE.  97 

powerful  than  the  frail  web  of  authority  with  which  Ish- 
mael  had  been  able  to  envelop  his  children. 

One  effect  of  the  quarrel  had  been  to  divert  the  thoughts 
of  the  young  men  from  their  recent  visitor.  With  the  dis- 
pute that  succeeded  the  disappearance  of  the  fair  stranger, 
all  recollection  of  her  existence  appeared  to  have  vanished. 
A  few  ominous  and  secret  conferences,  it  is  true,  were  held 
apart,  during  which  the  direction  of  the  eyes  of  the  dif- 
ferent speakers  betrayed  their  subject ;  but  these  threaten- 
ing symptoms  soon  disappeared,  and  the  whole  party  was 
again  seen  broken  into  its  usual  listless,  silent,  and  loung- 
ing groups. 

"  I  will  go  upon  the  rocks,  boys,  and  look  abroad  for 
the  savages,"  said  Ishmael,  shortly  after,  advancing  toward 
them  with  a  mien  which  he  intended  should  be  conciliat- 
ing at  the  same  time  that  it  was  authoritative.  "  If  there  is 
nothing  to  fear,  we  will  go  out  on  the  plain  ;  the  day  is 
too  good  to  be  lost  in  words,  like  women  in  the  towns 
wrangling  over  their  tea  and  sugared  cakes." 

Without  waiting  for  approbation  or  dissent,  the  squatter 
advanced  to  the  base  of  the  rock,  which  formed  a  sort  of 
perpendicular  wall,  nearly  twenty  feet  high,  around  the 
whole'acclivity.  Ishmael,  however,  directed  his  footsteps 
to  a  point  where  an  ascent  might  be  made  through  a  nar- 
row cleft,  which  he  had.  taken  the  precaution  to  fortify 
with  a  breastwork  of  cotton-wood  logs,  and  which,  in  its 
turn,  was  defended  by  a  chevaux-de frise  of  the  branches 
of  the  same  tree.  Here  an  armed  man  was  usually  kept, 
as  at  the  key  of  the  whole  position,  and  here  one  of  the 
young  men  now  stood,  indolently  leaning  against  the  rock, 
ready  to  protect  the  pass,  if  it  should  prove  necessary, 
until  the  whole  party  could  be  mustered  at  the  several 
points  of  defence. 

From  this  place  the  squatter  found  the  ascent  still  dif- 
ficult, partly  by  nature,  and  partly  by  artificial  impediments, 
until  he  reached  a  sort  of  terrace,  or,  to  speak  more  prop- 
erly, the  plain  of  the  elevation,  where  he  had  established 
the  huts  in  which  the  whole  family  dwelt.  These  tene- 
ments were,  as  already  mentioned,  of  that  class  which  are 
so  often  seen  on  the  borders,  and  such  as  belonged  to  the 
infancy  of  architecture  ;  being  simply  formed  of  logs,  bark, 
and  poles.  The  area  on  which  they  stood  contained  sev- 
eral hundred  square  feet,  and  was  sufficiently  elevated 
above  the  plain  greatly  to  lessen,  if  not  to  remove,  all  dan- 


93  THE  PR  A 1X1  fr. 

ger  from  Indian  missiles.  Here  Ishmael  believed  he  might 
leave  his  infants  in  comparative  security,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  their  spirited  mother  ;  and  here  he  now  found 
Esther  engaged  at  her  ordinary  domestic  employments, 
surrounded  by  her  daughters,  and  lifting  her  voice,  in  de- 
clamatory censure,  as  one  or  another  of  the  idle  fry  in- 
curred her  displeasure,  and  far  too  much  engrossed  with 
the  tempest  of  her  own  conversation  to  know  anything  of 
the  violent  scene  which  had  been  passing  below. 

"  A  fine  windy  place  you  have  chosen  for  the  camp,  Ish- 
mael ! "  she  commenced,  or  rather  continued,  by  merely 
diverting  the  attack  from  a  sobbing  girl  of  ten,  at  her  elbow, 
to  her  husband.  "  My  word  !  if  I  haven't  to  count  the 
young  ones  every  ten  minutes,  to  see  they  are  not  flying 
away  among  the  buzzards  or  the  ducks.  Why  do  ye  all 
keep  hovering  round  the  rock,  like  lolloping  reptiles  in 
the  spring,  when  the  heavens  are  beginning  to  be  alive 
with  birds,  man  ?  D'ye  think  mouths  can  be  filled,  and 
hunger  satisfied,  by  laziness  and  sleep  ? " 

"You'll  have  your  say,  Esther,"  said  the  husband,  using 
the  provincial  pronunciation  of  America  for  the  name,  and 
regarding  his  noisy  companions  with  a  look  of  habitual 
tolerance  rather  than  of  affection.  "But  the  birds  you 
shall  have,  if  your  own  tongue  don't  frighten  them  to  take 
too  high  a  flight.  Ay,  woman,"  he  continued,  standing  on 
the  very  spot  whence  he  had  so  rudely  banished  Ellen, 
which  he  had  by  this  time  gained,  "  and  buffalo,  too,  if  my 
eye  can  tell  the  animal  at  the  distance  of  a  Spanish  league." 

"  Come  down  ;  come  down,  and  be  doing,  instead  of  talk- 
ing. A  talking  man  is  no  better  than  a  barking  dog. 
Nell  shall  hang  out  the  cloth,  if  any  of  the  red-skins  show 
themselves,  in  time  to  give  you  notice.  But,  Ishmael, 
what  have  you  been  killing,  my  man  ? — for  it  was  your 
rifle  I  heard  a  few  minutes  agone,  unless  I  have  lost  my 
skill  in  sounds." 

"  Pooh  !  'twas  to  frighten  the  hawk  you  see  sailing 
above  the  rock." 

"  Hawk,  indeed !  at  your  time  of  day  to  be  shooting  at 
hawks  and  buzzards,  with  eighteen  open  mouths  to  feed. 
Look  at  the  bee,  and  at  the  beaver,  my  good  man,  and  learn 
to  be  a  provider.  Why,  Ishmael !  I  believe  my  soul,"  she 
continued,  dropping  the  tow  she  was  twisting  on  a  distaff, 
"  the  man  is  in  that  tent  ag'in  !  More  than  half  his  time 
is  spent  about  the  worthless,  good-for-nothine — 


THE  PRAIRIE.  -ft 

The  sudden  reappearance  of  her  husband  closed  the 
mouth  of  the  wife,  and,  as  the  former  descended  to  the 
place  where  Esther  had  resumed  her  employment,  she  was 
content  to  grumble  forth  her  dissatisfaction,  instead  of  ex- 
pressing  it  in  more  audible  terms. 

The  dialogue  that  now  took  place  between  the  affec- 
tionate pair  was  sufficiently  succinct  and  expressive.  The 
woman  was  at  first  a  little  brief  and  sullen  in  her  answers, 
but  care  for  her  family  soon  rendered  her  more  complai- 
sant. As  the  purport  of  the  conversation  was  merely  an 
engagement  to  hunt  during  the  remainder  of  the  day,  in 
order  to  provide  the  chief  necessary  of  life,  we  shall  not 
stop  to  record  it. 

With  this  resolution,  then,  the  squatter  descended  to  the 
plain  and  divided  his  forces  into  two  parts,  one  of  which 
was  to  remain  as  a  guard  with  the  fortress,  and  the  other  to 
accompany  him  to  the  field.  He  warily  included  Asa  and 
Abiram  in  his  own  party,  well  knowing  that  no  authority 
short  of  his  own  was  competent  to  repress  the  fierce  dis- 
position of  his  headlong  son,  if  fairly  awakened.  When 
these  arrangements  were  completed,  the  hunters  sallied 
forth,  separating  at  no  great  distance  from  the  rock,  in 
order  to  form  a  circle  about  the  distant  hereof  buffaloes. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"  Priscian  a  little  scratched  ; 
'Twill  serve." — LOVE'S  LABOR'S  LOST. 

HAVING  made  the  reader  acquainted  with  the  manner  in 
which  Ishmael  Bush  had  disposed  of  his  family,  under 
circumstances  that  might  have  proved  so  embarrassing  to 
most  other  men,  we  shall  again  shift  the  scene  a  few  short 
miles  from  the  place  last  described,  preserving,  however, 
the  due  and  natural  succession  of  time.  At  the  very  mo- 
ment that  the  squatter  and  his  sons  departed  in  the  man- 
ner mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter,  two  men  were 
intently  occupied  in  a  swale  that  lay  along  the  borders  of 
a  little  run,  just  out  of  cannon-shot  from  the  encampment, 
discussing  the  merits  of  a  savory  bison's  hump,  that  had 
been  prepared  tor  their  palates  with  the  utmost  attention 
to  the  particular  merits  of  that  description  of  food.  The 


ioo  THE  PRAIRIE. 

choice  morsel  had  been  judiciously  separated  from  tha 
adjoining  and  less  worthy  parts  of  the  beast,  and,  enve- 
loped in  the  hairy  coating  provided  by  Nature,  it  had  duly 
undergone  the  heat  of  the  customary  subterraneous  oven, 
and  was  now  laid  before  its  proprietors  in  all  the  culinary 
glory  of  the  prairies.  So  far  as  richness,  delicacy,  and 
wildness  of  flavor,  and  substantial  nourishment  were  corf- 
cerned,  the  viand  might  well  have  claimed  a  decided  supe« 
riority  over  the  meretricious  cookery  and  labored  com. 
pounds  of  the  most  renowned  artist  ;  though  the  service 
of  the  dainty  was  certainly  achieved  in  a  manner  far  from 
artificial.  It  would  appear  that  the  two  fortunate  mortals, 
to  whose  happy  lot  it  fell  to  enjoy  a  meal  in  which  health 
and  appetite  lent  so  keen  a  relish  to  the  exquisite  food  of 
the  American  deserts,  were  far  from  being  insensible  of 
the  advantage  they  possessed. 

The  one  to  whose  knowledge  in  the  culinary  art  the 
other  was  indebted  for  his  banquet,  seemed  the  least  dis- 
posed of  the  two  to  profit  by  his  own  skill.  He  ate,  it  is 
true,  and  with  a  relish  ;  but  it  was  always  with  the  moder- 
ation with  which  age  is  apt  to  temper  the  appetite.  No 
such  restraint,  however,  was  imposed  on  the  inclination 
of  his  companion.  In  the  very  flower  of  his  days  and  in 
the  vigor  of  manhood,  the  homage  that  he  paid  to  the 
work  of  his  more  aged  friend's  hands  was  of  the  most  pro- 
found and  engrossing  character.  As  one  delicious  morsel 
succeeded  another  he  rolled  his  eyes  toward  his  companion, 
and  seemed  to  express  that  gratitude  which  he  had  not 
speech  to  utter,  in  looks  of  the  most  benignant  nature. 

"Cut  more  into  the  heart  of  it,  lad,"  said  the  trapper, 
for  it  was  the  venerable  inhabitant  of  those  vast  wastes  who 
had  served  the  bee-hunter  with  the  banquet  in  question  ; 
"  cut  more  into  the  centre  of  the  piece  ;  there  you  will 
find  the  genuine  riches  of  natur'  ;  and  that  without  need 
from  spices,  or  any  of  your  biting  mustard,  to  give  it  a 
foreign  relish." 

"  If  I  had  but  a  cup  of  metheglin,"  said  Paul,  stopping 
to  perform  the  necessary  operation  of  breathing,  "  I  should 
swear  this  was  the  strongest  meal  that  was  ever  placed  be- 
fore the  mouth  of  man  ! " 

"Ay,  ay,  well  you  may  call  it  strong!"  returned  the 
other  laughing  after  his  peculiar  manner,  in  pure  satis- 
faction at  witnessing  the  infinite  contentment  of  his  com- 
panion "  strong  it  is,  and  string  it  makes  him  who  eats 


THE  PRAIRIE.  101 

it ! — Here,  Hector,"  tossing  the  patient  hound,  who  was 
watching  his  eye  with  a  wistful  look,  a  portion  of  the  meat, 
"  you  have  need  of  strength,  my  friend,  in  your  old  days 
as  well  as  your  master.  Now,  lad,  there  is  a  dog  that  has 
eaten  and  slept  wiser  and  better,  ay,  and  that  of  richer 
food,  than  any  king  of  them  all,  and  why  ?  because  he  has 
used  and  not  abused  the  gifts  of  his  Maker.  He  was  made 
a  hound,  and  like  a  hound  has  he  feasted.  Them  did  He 
create  men  ;  but  they  have  eaten  like  famished  wolves  !  A 

food  and  prudent  dog  has  Hector  proved,  and  never  have 
found  one  of  his  breed  false  in  nose  or  friendship.  Do 
you  know  the  difference  between  the  cookery  of  the  wil- 
derness and  that  which  is  found  in  the  settlements  ?  No  ! 
I  see  plainly  you  don't,  by  your  appetite  ;  then  I  will  tell 
you.  The  one  follows  men,  the  other  Natur'.  One  thinks 
he  can  add  to  the  gifts  of  the  Creator,  while  the  other  is 
humble  enough  to  enjoy  them  ;  therein  lies  the  secret." 

"  I  tell  you,  trapper,"  said  Paul,  who  was  very  little  edi- 
fied by  the  morality  with  which  his  associate  saw  fit  to 
season  their  repast,  "that  every  day  while  we  are  in  this 
place,  and  they  are  likely  to  be  many,  I  will  shoot  a  buffalo 
and  you  shall  cook  his  hump  !  " 

"  I  cannot  say  that,  I  cannot  say  that.  The  beast  is 
good,  take  him  in  what  part  you  will,  and  it  was  to  be  food 
for  man  that  he  was  fashioned  ;  but  I  cannot  say  that  I 
will  be  a  witness  and  a  helper  to  the  waste  of  killing  one 
daily." 

"  The  devil  a  bit  of  waste  shall  there  be,  old  man.  If 
they  all  turn  out  as  good  as  this,  I  will  engage  to  eat  them 
clean  myself,  even  to  the  hoofs.  How  now,  who  comes 
here  !  some  one  with  a  long  nose,  I  will  answer  ;  and  one 
that  has  led  him  on  a  true  scent,  if  he  is  following  the  trail 
of  a  dinner." 

The  individual  who  interrupted  the  conversation,  and 
who  had  elicited  the  foregoing  remark  of  Paul,  was  seen 
advancing  along  the  margin  of  the  run  with  a  deliberate 
pace,  in  a  direct  line  for  the  two  revellers.  As  there  was 
nothing  formidable  nor  hostile  in  his  appearance,  the  bee 
hunter,  instead  of  suspending  his  operations,  rather  in- 
creased his  efforts,  in  a  manner  which  would  seem  to  imply 
that  he  doubted  whether  the  hump  would  suffice  for  the 
proper  entertainment  of  all  who  were  now  likely  to  par- 
take of  the  delicious  morsel.  With  the  trapper,  however, 
the  case  was  different.  His  more  tempered  appetite  was 


102  THE  PRAIRIE. 

already  satisfied,  and  he  faced  the  new-comer  with  a  look 
of  cordiality  that  plainly  evinced  how  very  opportune  he 
considered  his  arrival. 

"  Come  on,  friend,"  he  said,  waving  his  hand,  as  he  ob- 
served the  stranger  to  pause  a  moment,  apparently  in 
doubt.  "  Come  on,  I  say  ;  if  hunger  be  your  guide,  it 
has  led  you  to  a  fitting  place.  Here  is  meat,  and  this 
youth  can  give  you  corn,  parched  till  it  be  whiter  than 
the  upland  snow ;  come  on,  without  fear.  We  are  not 
ravenous  beasts,  eating  of  each  other,  but  Christian  men, 
receiving  thankfully  that  which  the  Lord  hath  seen  fit  to 
give." 

"  Venerable  hunter,"  returned  the  doctor,  for  it  was  no 
other  than  the  naturalist  on  one  of  his  daily  exploring  ex- 
peditions, "  I  rejoice  greatly  at  this  happy  meeting  ;  we 
are  lovers  of  the  same  pursuits,  and  should  be  friends." 

"  Lord,  Lord  ! "  said  the  old  man,  laughing,  without 
much  deference  to  the  rules  of  decorum,  in  the  philoso- 
phers face,  "  it  is  the  man  who  wanted  to  make  me  believe 
that  a  name  could  change  the  natur'  of  a  beast !  Come, 
friend,  you  are  welcome,  though  your  notions  are  a  little 
blinded  with  reading  too  many  books.  Sit  ye  down,  and, 
after  eating  of  this  morsel,  tell  me,  if  you  can,  the  name 
of  the  creatur'  that  has  bestowed  on  you  its  flesh  for  a 
meal?" 

The  eyes  of  Dr.  Battius  (for  we  deem  it  decorous  to  give 
the  good  man  the  appellation  he  most  preferred) — the  eyes 
of  Dr.  Battius  sufficiently  denoted  the  satisfaction  with 
which  he  listened  to  this  proposal.  The  exercise  he  had 
taken,  and  the  sharpness  of  the  wind,  proved  excellent 
stimulants  ;  and  Paul  himself  had  hardly  been  in  better 
plight  to  do  credit  to  the  trapper's  cookery,  than  was  the 
lover  of  nature,  when  the  grateful  invitation  met  his  ears. 
Indulging  in  a  small  laugh,  which  his  exertions  to  repress 
reduced  nearly  to  a  simper,  he  took  the  indicated  seat  by 
the  old  man's  side,  and  made  the  customary  dispositions  to 
commence  his  meal  without  further  ceremony. 

"  I  should  be  ashamed  of  my  profession,"  he  said,  swal- 
lowing a  morsel  of  the  hump  with  evident  delight,  slyly 
endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to  distinguish  the  peculiar- 
•ities  of  the  singed  and  defaced  skin,  "  I  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  my  profession,  were  there  beast  or  bird,  on  the 
continent  of  America,  that  I  could  not  tell  by  some  one  of 
the  many  evidences  which  science  has  enlisted  in  her  cause* 


THE  PRAIRIE.  103 

This — then — the  food  is  nutritious  and  savory — a  mouth- 
ful of  your  corn,  friend,  if  you  please  ? " 

Paul,  who  continued  eating  with  increasing  industry, 
looking  askant  not  unlike  a  dog  when  engaged  in  the  same 
agreeable  pursuit,  threw  him  his  pouch,  without  deeming 
it  at  all  necessary  to  suspend  his  own  labors. 

"  You  were  saying,  friend,  that  you  have  many  ways  of 
telling  the  creatur'  ? "  observed  the  attentive  trapper. 

"  Many — many  and  infallible.  Now,  the  animals  that 
^re  carnivorous  are  known  by  their  incisores." 

"  Their  what  ?  "  demanded  the  trapper. 

"The  teeth  with  which  Nature  has  furnished  them  for 
defence,  and  in  order  to  tear  their  food.  Again — 

"Look  you  then  for  the  teeth  of  this  creatur'/'  inter- 
rupted the  trapper,  who  was  bent  on  convicting  a  man  who 
had  presumed  to  enter  into  competition  with  himself,  in 
matters  pertaining  to  the  wilds,  of  gross  ignorance  ;  "turn 
the  piece  round  and  find  your  insideovers." 

The  doctor  complied,  and  of  course  without  success  : 
though  he  profited  by  the  occasion  to  take  another  fruit- 
less glance  at  the  wrinkled  hide. 

"  Well,  friend,  do  you  find  the  things  you  need,  before 
you  can  pronounce  the  creatur'  a  duck  or  a  salmon  ? " 

"  I  apprehend  the  entire  animal  is  not  here  ?" 

"  You  may  well  say  as  much,"  cried  Paul,  who  was  now 
compelled  to  pause  from  pure  repletion  ;  "I  will  answer 
for  some  pounds  of  the  fellow,  weighed  by  the  truest  steel- 
yards west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Still  you  make  out  to  keep 
soul  and  body  together  with  what  is  left,"  reluctantly  eying 
a  piece  large  enough  to  feed  twenty  men,  but  which  he  felt 
compelled  to  abandon  from  satiety  ;  "  cut  in  nigher  to  the 
heart,  as  the  old  man  says,  and  you  will  find  the  riches  of 
the  piece." 

"The  heart !  "  exclaimed  the  doctor,  inwardly  delighted 
to  learn  there  was  a  distinct  organ  to  be  submitted  to  his 
inspection.  •  "  Ay,  let  me  see  the  heart — it  will  at  once  de- 
termine the  character  of  the  animal — certes  this  is  not  the 
cor — ay,  sure  enough  it  is — the  animal  must  be  of  the 
order  Bellwz,  from  its  obese  habits  !  " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  long  and  hearty,  but  still  a 
noiseless  fit  of  merriment  from  the  trapper,  which  was 
considered  so  ill-timed  by  the  offended  naturalist,  as  to 
produce  an  instant  cessation  of  speech,  if  not  a  stagnation 
of  ideas. 


104  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Listen  to  his  beasts'  habits  and  belly  orders,"  said  th& 
old  man,  delighted  with  the  evident  embarrassment  of  his 
rival  ;  "  and  then  he  says  it  is  not  the  core  !  Why,  man, 
you  are  further  from  the  truth  than  you  are  from  the  set- 
tlements, with  all  your  bookish  laming  and  hard  words, 
wThich  I  have,  once  for  all,  said  cannot  be  understood  by 
any  tribe  or  nation  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Beastly 
habits  or  no  beastly  habits,  the  creatur's  are  to  be  seen 
cropping  the  prairies  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  the  piece 
in  your  hand  is  the  core  of  as  juicy  a  buffalo-hump  as 
stomach  need  crave  !  " 

11  My  aged  companion,"  said  Obed,  struggling  to  keep 
down  a  rising  irascibility  that  he  conceived  would  ill  com- 
port with  the  dignity  of  his  character,  "  your  system  is  er- 
roneous, from  the  premises  to  the  conclusion  ;  and  your 
classification  so  faulty,  as  to  confound  the  distinctions  of 
science.  The  buffalo  is  not  gifted  with  a  hump  at  all ;  nor 
is  his  flesh  savory  and  wholesome,  as  I  must  acknowledge 
it  would  seem  the  subject  before  us  may  well  be  character- 
ized  " 

"  There  I'm  dead  against  you,  and  clearly  with  the  trap- 
per," interrupted  Paul  Hover.  "  The  man  who  denies 
that  buffalo-beef  is  good,  should  scorn  to  eat  it  !  "  * 

The  doctor,  whose  observation  of  the  bee-hunter  had 
hitherto  been  exceedingly  cursory,  stared  at  the  new 
speaker  with  a  look  which  denoted  something  like  recog- 
nition. 

*'  The  principal  characteristics  of  your  countenance, 
friend,"  he  said,  "are  familiar  ;  either  you,  or  some  other 
specimen  of  your  class,  is  known  to  me." 

"I  am  the  man  you  met  in  the  woods  east  of  the  big 
river,  and  whom  you  tried  to  persuade  to  line  a  yellow 
hornet  to  his  nest  ;  as  if  my  eye  was  not  too  true  to  mis- 
take any  other  animal  for  a  honey-bee,  in  a  clear  day  ?  We 
tarried  together  a  week,  as  you  may  remember  ;  you  at 
your  toads  and  lizards,  and  I  at  my  high  holes  and  hollow 
trees  ;  and  a  good  job  we  made  of  it  between  us !  I  filled 
my  tubs  with  the  sweetest  honey  I  ever  sent  to  the  settle- 
ments, besides  housing  a  dozen  hives  ;  and  your  bag  was 
near  bursting  with  a  crawling  museum.  I  never  was  bold 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  tell  the  reader  that  the  animal  so  often  al- 
luded to  in  this  book,  and  which  is  vulgarly  called  the  buffalo,  is  in  truth 
the  bison  ;  hence  so  many  contrc-temps  between  the  men  of  the  prairiei 
and  the  men  of  science. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  105 

enough  to  put  the  question  to  your  face,  stranger,  but  I 
reckon  you  are  a  keeper  of  curiosities  ? "  * 

"  Ay  !  that  is  another  of  their  wanton  wickednesses  !  "  ex 
claimed  the  trapper.  "  They  slay  the  buck  and  the  moose, 
and  the  wild-cat,  and  all  the  beasts  that  range  the  woods, 
and  stuffing  them  with  worthless  rags,  and  placing  eyes  o{ 
glass  into  their  heads,  they  set  them  up  to  be  stared  at, 
and  call  them  the  creatur's  of  the  Lord  ;  as  if  any  mortal 
effigy  could  equal  the  works  of  His  hand !  " 

"  I  know  you  well  !  "  returned  the  doctor,  on  whom  the 
plaint  of  the  old  man  produced  no  visible  impression.  "  I 
know  you,"  offering  his  hand  cordially  to  Paul  ;  "  it  was  a 
„ prolific  week,  as  my  herbal  and  catalogues  shall  one  day 
prove.  Ay,  I  remember  you  well,  young  man.  You  are 
of  the  class,  mammalia  ;  order,  primates  ;  genus,  homo  ; 
species,  Kentucky."  Pausing  to  smile  at  his  own  humor, 
the  naturalist  proceeded  :  "  Since  our  separation,  I  have 
journeyed  far,  having  entered  into  a  compactum  or  agree- 
ment with  a  certain  man  named  Ishmael " 

"  Bush  !  "  interrupted  the  impatient  and  reckless  Paul. 
"  By  the  Lord,  trapper,  this  is  the  very  bloodletter  that 
.Ellen  told  me  of  !  " 

"  Then  Nelly  has  not  done  me  credit  for  what  I  trust  I 
deserve,"  returned  the  single-minded  doctor,  "  for  I  am 
not  of  the  phlebotomizing  school  at  all ;  greatly  preferring 
the  practice  which  purifies  the  blood  instead  of  abstract- 
ing it." 

"It  was  a  blunder  of  mine,  good  stranger;  the  girl 
called  you  a  skilful  man." 

"  Therein  she  may  have  exceeded  my  merits,"  Dr. 
Battius  continued,  bowing  with  sufficient  meekness.  "  But 
Ellen  is  a  good,  and  a  kind,  and  a  spirited  girl,  too. 
A  kind  and  a  sweet  girl  I  have  ever  found  Nelly  Wade 
to  be  !  " 

"The  devil  you  have  ! "  cried  Paul,  dropping  the  morsel 
he  was  sucking,  from,  sheer  reluctance  to  abandon  the 

*  The  pursuit  of  a  bee-hunter  is  not  uncommon  on  the  skirts  of  Ameri- 
can society,  though  it  is  a  little  embellished  here.  When  the  bees  are 
seen  sucking  the  flowers,  their  pursuer  contrives  to  capture  one  or  two. 
He  then  chooses  a  proper  spot,  and,  suffering  one  to  escape,  the  insect  in- 
variably takes  its  flight  toward  the  hive.  Changing  his  ground  to  a  greater 
or  less  distance,  according  to  circumstances,  the  bee-hunter  then  permits 
another  to  escape.  Having  watched  the  courses  of  the  bees,  which  is  tech« 
nically  called  lining,  he  is  enabled  to  calculate  the  intersecting  angle  of  the 
two  lines,  which  is  the  hive. 


106  THE  PRAIRIE. 

hump,  and  casting  a  fierce  and  direct  look  into  the  verj 
teeth  of  the  unconscious  physician.  "  I  reckon,  stranger, 
you  have  a  mind  to  bag  Ellen,  too !  " 

"  The  riches  of  the  whole  vegetable  and  animal  world 
would  not  tempt  me  to  harm  a  hair  of  her  head  !  I  love  the 
childe,  with  what  may  be  called  amor  naturalis — or  rather 
pater nus — the  affection  of  a  father." 

"  Ay — that,  indeed,  is  more  befitting  the  difference  in 
your  years,"  Paul  coolly  rejoined,  stretching  forth  his 
hand  to  regain  the  rejected  morsel.  "You  would  be  no 
better  than  a  drone,  at  your  time  of  day,  with  a  young 
hive  to  feed  and  swarm." 

"  Yes,  there  is  reason,  because  there  is  natur',  in  what 
he  says,"  observed  the  trapper  ;  "but,  friend,  you  have 
said  you  were  a  dweller  in  the  camp  of  one  Ishmael 
Bush?" 

"  True  ;  it  is  in  virtue  of  a  compactum " 

"  I  know  but  little  of  the  virtue  of  packing,  though  I 
follow  trapping,  in  my  old  age,  for  a  livelihood.  They  tell 
me  that  skins  are  well  kept  in  the  new  fashion  ;  but  it  is 
long  since  I  have  left  off  killing  more  than  I  need  for  food 
and  garments.  I  was  an  eye-witness,  myself,  of  the  mail' 
ner  in  which  the  Siouxes  broke  into  your  encampment, 
and  drove  off  the  cattle  ;  stripping  the  poor  man  you  call 
Ishmael  of  his  smallest  hoofs,  counting  even  the  cloven 
feet." 

"  A  sinus  excepted,"  muttered  the  doctor,  who  by  this 
time  was  discussing  his  portion  of  the  hump,  in  utter  for- 
getf ulness  of  all  its  scientific  attributes — "asinus  domesticus 
Americanus  excepted." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  so  many  of  them  are  saved, 
though  I  know  not  the  value  of  the  animals  you  name  ; 
which  is  nothing  uncommon,  seeing  how  long  it  is  that  I 
have  been  out  of  the  settlements.  But  can  you  tell  me 
friend,  what  the  traveller  carries  under  the  white  cloth  he 
guards  with  teeth  as  sharp  as  a  wolf  that  quarrels  for  the 
carcass  the  hunter  has  left  ?" 

"  You've  heard  of  it !  "  exclaimed  the  other,  dropping 
the  morsel  he  was  conveying  to  his  mouth  in  manifest 
surprise. 

"  Nay,  I  have  heard  nothing  ;  but  I  have  seen  the  cloth, 
and  had  like  to  have  been  bitten  for  no  greater  crime  than 
wishing  to  know  what  it  covered." 

"  Bitten !  then,  after  all,  the  animal  must  be  carnivor- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  107 

oust  It  is  too  tranquil  for  the  Ur'sus  hortidus ;  if  it  were 
the  Cants  'latrans,  the  voice  would  betray  it.  Nor  would 
Nelly  Wade  be  so  familiar  with  any  of  the  genus  Fera. 
Venerable  hunter  !  the  solitary  animal  confined  in  that 
wagon  by  day,  and  in  the  tent  at  night,  has  occasioned  me 
more  perplexity  of  mind  than  the  whole  catalogue  of 
quadrupeds  besides  ;  and  for  this  plain  reason  :  I  did  not 
know  how  to  class  it." 

"  You  think  it  a  ravenous  beast  ?  " 

"  I  know  it  to  be  a  quadruped  :  your  own  danger  proves 
it  to  be  carnivorous." 

During  this  broken  explanation  Paul  Hover  had  sat 
silent  and  thoughtful,  regarding  each  speaker  with  deep 
attention.  But,  suddenly  moved  by  the  manner  of  the 
doctor,  the  latter  had  scarcely  time  to  utter  his  positive 
assertion,  before  the  young  man  bluntly  demanded : 

"And  pray,  friend,  what  may  you  call  a  quadruped  ?" 

"  A  vagary  of  Nature,  wherein  she  has  displayed  less  of 
her  infinite  wisdom  than  is  usual  ?  Could  rotary  levers 
be  substituted  for  two  of  the  limbs,  agreeably  to  the  im- 
provement in  my  new  order  of  phalangacrura,  which 
might  be  rendered  into  the  vernacular  as  lever-legged, 
there  would  be  a  delightful  protection  and  harmony  in  the 
construction.  But  as  the  quadruped  is  now  formed,  I 
call  it  a  mere  vagary  of  Nature  ;  no  other  than  a  vagary." 

"  Harkee,  stranger!  in  Kentucky  we  are  but  small 
dealers  in  dictionaries.  Vagary  is  as  hard  a  word  to  turn 
into  English  as  quadruped." 

"  A  quadruped  is  an  animal  with  four  legs — a  beast." 

"A  beast!  Do  you  then  reckon  that  Ishmael  Bush 
travels  with  a  beast  caged  in  that  wagon  ? " 

"  I  know  it ;  and  lend  me  your  ear — not  literally,  friend," 
observing  Paul  to  start  and  look  surprised  ;  "but  figura- 
tively— through  its  functions,  and  you  shall  hear.  I  have 
already  made  known  that,  in  virtue  of  a  compactum,  I 
journey  with  the  aforesaid  Ishmael  Bush  ;  but  though  I 
am  bound  to  perform  certain  duties  while  the  journey 
lasts,  there  is  no  condition  which  says  that  the  journey 
shall  be  sempiternum,  or  eternal.  Now,  though  this  re- 
gion may  scarcely  be  said  to  be  wedded  to  science,  being 
to  all  intents  a  virgin  territory  as  respects  the  inquirer 
into  natural  history,  still  it  is  greatly  destitute  of  the  treas- 
ures of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  I  should,  therefore,  have 
tarried  some  hundreds  of  miles  more  to  the  eastward,  were 


lo8  THE  PRAIRIE. 

it  not  for  the  inward  propensity  that  I  feel  to  have  the 
beast  in  question  inspected  and  suitably  described  and 
classed.  For  that  matter,"  he  continued,  dropping  his 
voice  like  one  who  imparts  an  important  secret,  "I  am  not 
without  hopes  of  persuading  Ishmael  to  let  me  dissect  it." 

"You  have  seen  the  creature  ?" 

"  Not  with  the  organs  of  sight  ;  but  with  much  more  in 
fallible  instruments  of  vision  ;  the  conclusions  of  reason, 
and  the  deductions  of  scientific  premises.  I  have  watched 
the  habits  of  the  animal,  young  man,  and  can  fearlessly 
pronounce,  by  evidence  that  would  be  thrown  away  on  or- 
dinary observers,  that  it  is  of  vast  dimensions,  inactive, 
possibly  torpid,  of  voracious  appetite,  and,  as  it  now  ap- 
pears by  the  direct  testimony  of  this  venerable  hunter, 
ferocious  and  carnivorous  !  " 

"I  should  be  better  pleased,  stranger,"  said  Paul,  on 
whom  the  doctor's  description  was  making  a  very  sensible 
impression,  "to  be  sure  the  creature  was  a  beast  at  all." 

"  As  to  that,  if  I  wanted  evidence  of  a  fact  which  is  abun- 
dantly apparent  by  the  habits  of  the  animal,  I  have  the 
word  of  Ishmael  himself.  A  reason  can  be  given  for  my 
smallest  deductions.  I  am  not  troubled,  young  man,  with 
a  vulgar  and  idle  curiosity,  but  all  my  aspirations  after 
knowledge,  as  I  humbly  believe,  are,  first,  for  the  advance- 
ment of  learning,  and,  secondly,  for  the  benefit  of  my 
fellow-creatures.  I  pined  greatly  in  secret  to  know  the 
contents  of  the  tent,  which  Ishmael  guarded  so  carefully, 
and  which  he  had  covenanted  that  I  should  swear  (jurare 
per  deos)  not  to  approach  nigher  than  a  defined  number  of 
cubits  for  a  definite  period  of  time.  Your  jusjurandum, 
or  oath,  is  a  serious  matter,  and  not  to  be  dealt  in  lightly  . 
but  as  my  expedition  depended  on  complying,  I  consented 
to  the  act,  reserving  to  myself  at  all  times  the  power  ol 
distant  observation.  It  is  now  some  ten  days  since  Ish- 
mael, pitying  the  state  in  which  he  saw  me,  a  humble 
lover  of  science,  imparted  the  fact  that  the  vehicle  con- 
tained a  beast,  which  he  was  carrying  into  the  prairies  as 
a  decoy,  by  which  he  intends  to  entrap  others  of  the  same 
genus,  or  perhaps  species.  Since  then  my  task  has  been 
reduced  simply  to  watch  the  habits  of  the  animal,  and  to 
record  the  results.  When  we  reach  a  certain  distance, 
where  these  beasts  are  said  to  abound,  I  am  to  have  the 
liberal  examination  of  the  specimen." 

Paul  continued  to  listen,  in  the  most  profound  silence; 


THE  PRAIRIE.  109 

<int:J  df.  ,/,»ctor  concluded  his  singular  but  characteristic 
explanation  ;  then  the  incredulous  bee-hunter  shook  his 
head,  and  saw  fit  to  reply  by  saying : 

"  Stranger,  old  Ishmael  has  burrowed  you  in  the  very 
bottom  of  a  hollow  tree,  where  your  eyes  will  be  of  no 
more  use  than  the  sting  of  a  drone.  I,  too,  know  some- 
thing of  that  very  wagon,  and  I  may  say  that  I  have  lined 
the  squatter  down  into  a  flat  lie.  Harkee,  friend  ;  do  you 
think  a  girl  like  Ellen  Wade  would  become  the  companion 
of  a  wild  beast  ?  " 

"  Why,  not  ?  why  not  ?  "  repeated  the  naturalist  ;  "  Nelly 
has  a  taste,  and  often  listens  with  pleasure  to  the  treasures 
that  I  am  sometimes  compelled  to  scatter  in  this  desert. 
Why  should  she  not  study  the  habits  of  any  animal,  even 
though  it  were  a  rhinoceros  ? " 

"Softly,  softly,"  returned  the  equally  positive,  and, 
though  less  scientific,  certainly  on  this  subject  better  in- 
structed bee-hunter  ;  "  Ellen  is  a  girl  of  spirit,  and  one, 
too,  that  knows  her  own  mind,  or  I'm  much  mistaken  ;  but, 
with  all  her  courage  and  brave  looks,  she  is  no  better  than 
a  woman  after  all.  Haven't  I  often  had  the  girl  crying " 

"  You  are  an  acquaintance,  then,  of  Nelly's  ? " 

"  The  devil  a  bit.  But  I  know  woman  is  woman  ;  and 
all  the  books  in  Kentucky  couldn't  make  Ellen  Wade  go 
into  a  tent  alone  with  a  ravenous  beast ! " 

"It  seems  to  me,"  the  trapper  calmly  observed,  "that 
there  is  something  dark  and  hidden  in  this  matter.  I  am 
a  witness  that  the  traveller  likes  none  to  look  into  the  tenf, 
and  I  have  proof  more  sure  than  what  either  of  you  can 
lay  claim  to,  that  the  wagon  does  not  carry  the  cage  of  a 
beast.  Here  is  Hector,  come  of  a  breed  with  noses  as 
true  and  faithful  as  a  hand  that  is  all-powerful  has 
made  any  of  their  kind,  and,  had  there  been  a  beast  in 
the  place,  the  hound  would  long  since  have  told  it  to  his 
master." 

"  Do  you  pretend  to  oppose  a  dog  to  a  man  ?  brutality 
to  learning  ?  instinct  to  reason  ? "  exclaimed  the  doctor,  in 
some  heat.  "  In  what  manner,  pray,  can  a  hound  distin- 
guish the  habits,  species,  or  even  the  genus  of  an  animal, 
like  reasoning,  learned,  scientific,  triumphant  man  ?  " 

"  In  what  manner !  "  coolly  repeated  the  veteran  woods- 
man. "  Listen  ;  and  if  you  believe  that  a  schoolmaster 
can  make  a  quicker  wit  than  the  Lord,  you  shall  be  made 
to  see  how  much  you're  mistaken.  Do  you  not  hear  some- 


llo  THE  PRAIRIE. 

thing  move  in  the  brake  ?  it  has  been  cracking  the  twigs 
these  five  minutes.  Now  tell  me  what  the  creatur'  is  ? " 

"  I  hope  nothing  ferocious ! "  exclaimed  the  Doctor, 
who  still  retained  a  lively  impression  of  his  rencontre  with 
the  Vespertilio  horribilis.  "  You  have  rifles,  friends  ;  would 
it  not  be  prudent  to  prime  them  ?  for  this  fowling-piece  of 
mine  is  little  to  be  depended  on." 

"  There  may  be  reason  in  what  he  says,"  returned  the 
trapper,  so  far  complying  as  to  take  his  piece  from  the  place 
where  it  had  lain  during  the  repast,  and  raising  its  muzzle 
in  the  air.  "Now  tell  me  the  name  of  the  creatur'  !  " 

"  It  exceeds  the  limits  of  earthly  knowledge  !  Buffon 
himself  could  not  tell  whether  the  animal  was  a  quadruped, 
or  of  the  order  serpens  !  a  sheep,  or  a  tiger  !  " 

"  Then  was  your  Buffon  a  fool  to  my  Hector!  Here, 
pup  !  What  is  it,  dog  ?  shall  we  run  it  down,  pup,  or  shall 
we  let  it  pass  ?  " 

The  hound,  which  had  already  manifested  to  the  ex- 
perienced trapper,  by  the  tremulous  motion  of  his  ears, 
his  consciousness  of  the  proximity  of  a  strange  animal, 
lifted  his  head  from  his  forepaws  and  slightly  parted  his 
lips,  as  if  about  to  show  the  remnants  of  his  teeth.  But, 
suddenly  abandoning  his  hostile  purpose,  he  snuffed  the 
air  a  moment,  gaped  heavily,  shook  himself,  and  peaceably 
resumed  his  recumbent  attitude. 

"  Now,  Doctor,"  cried  the  trapper,  triumphantly,  "  I  am 
well  convinced  there  is  neither  game  nor  ravenous  beast  in 
the  thicket ;  and  that  I  call  substantial  knowledge'to  a  man 
who  is  too  old  to  be  a  spendthrift  of  his  strength,  and  yet 
who  would  not  wish  to  be  a  meal  for  a  panther  !  " 

The  dog  interrupted  his  master  by  a  growl,  but  still  kept 
his  head  crouched  to  the  earth. 

"It  is  a  man !  "  exclaimed  the  trapper,  rising.  "It  is  a 
man,  if  I  am  a  judge  of  the  creatur's  ways.  There  is  but 
little  said  atwixt  the  hound  and  me,  but  we  seldom  mis- 
take each  other's  meaning  !  " 

Paul  Hover  sprang  to  his  feet  like  lightning ;  and,  throw- 
ing forward  his  rifle,  he  cried  in  a  voice  of  menace  : 

"  Come  forward  if  a  friend  ;  if  an  enemy,  stand  ready 
for  the  worst !  " 

*4  A  friend,  a  white  man,  and,  I  hope,  a  Christian,"  re- 
turned a  voice  from  the  thicket ;  which  opened  at  the  same 
instant,  and  at  the  next  the  speaker  made  his  appearance 


THE  PRAIRIE.  m 


CHAPTER  X. 

"Go  apart,  Adam,  and  thou  shall  hear 

How  he  will  shake  me  up." — As  You  LIKE  IT. 

IT  is  well  known  that,  even  long  before  the  immense 
regions  of  Louisiana  changed  their  masters  for  the  second, 
and,  it  is  hoped,  to  be  for  the  last  time,  its  unguarded 
territory  was  by  no  means  safe  from  the  inroads  of  white 
adventurers.  The  semi-barbarous  hunters  from  the  Canadas, 
the  same  description  of  population,  a  little  more  enlight- 
ened, from  the  States,  and  the  metifs  or  half-breeds,  who 
claimed  to  be  ranked  in  the  class  of  white  men,  were  scat- 
tered among  the  different  Indian  tribes,  or  gleaned  a  scanty 
livelihood  in  solitude,  amid  the  haunts  of  the  beaver  and 
the  bison  ;  or,  to  adopt  the  popular  nomenclature  of  the 
country — of  the  buffalo.* 

It  was,  therefore,  no  unusual  thing  for  strangers  to 
encounter  each  other  in  the  endless  wastes  of  the  west. 
By  signs  which  an  unpractised  eye  would  pass  unobserved, 
a  borderer  knew  when  one  of  his  fellows  was  in  his  vicinity, 
and  he  avoided  or  approached  the  intruder  as  best  com- 
ported with  his  feelings  or  his  interests.  Generally  these 
interviews  were  pacific  ;  for  the  whites  had  a  common 
enemy  to  dread,  in  the  ancient  and  perhaps  more  lawful 
occupants  of  the  country  ;  but  instances  were  not  rare  in 
which  jealousy  and  cupidity  had  caused  them  to  termi- 
nate in  scenes  of  the  most  violent  and  ruthless  treachery. 
The  meeting  of  two  hunters  on  the  American  Desert,  as 
we  find  it  convenient  sometimes  to  call  this  region,  was 
consequently  somewhat  in  the  suspicious  and  wary  man- 
ner in  which  two  vessels  draw  together  in  a  sea  that  is 
known  to  be  infested  with  pirates.  While  neither  party 
is  willing  to  betray  its  weakness  by  exhibiting  distrust, 
neither  is  disposed  to  commit  itself  by  any  acts  of  con.fi- 
dence,  from  which  it  may  be  difficult  to  recede. 

Such  was,  in  some  degree,  the  character  of  the  present 

*  In  addition  to  the  scientific  distinctions  which  mark  the  two  species, 
it  may  be  added,  with  due  reference  to  Dr.  Battius,  that  a  much  more  im- 
portant particular  is  the  fact  that,  while  the  former  of  these  animals  ii 
delicious  and  nourishing  food,  the  latter  is  scarcely  edible. 


112  THE  PRAIRIE. 

interview.  The  stranger  drew  nigh  deliberate 1y  ;  keeping 
his  eyes  steadily  fastened  on  the  movements  of  the  other 
party,  while  he  purposely  created  little  difficulties  to  im- 
pede an  approach  which  might  prove  too  hasty.  On  the 
other  hand,  Paul  stood  playing  with  the  lock  of  his  rifle, 
too  proud  to  let  it  appear  that  three  men  could  manifest 
any  apprehension  of  a  solitary  individual,  and  yet  too  pru- 
dent to  omit,  entirely,  the  customary  precautions.  The 
principal  reason  of  the  marked  difference  which  the  two 
legitimate  proprietors  of  the  banquet  made  in  the  recep- 
tions of  their  guests,  was  to  be  explained  by  the  entire 
difference  which  existed  in  their  respective  appearances. 

While  the  exterior  of  the  naturalist  was  decidedly  pa- 
cific, not  to  say  abstracted,  that  of  the  newcomer  was  distin- 
guished by  an  air  of  vigor,  and  a  front  and  step  which  it 
would  not  have  been  difficult  to  have  at  once  pronounced 
to  be  military. 

He  wore  a  forage-cap  of  fine  blue  cloth,  from  which  de- 
pended a  soiled  tassel  in  gold,  and  which  was  nearly  buried 
in  a  mass  of  exuberant,  curling,  jet-black  hair.  Around 
his  throat  he  had  negligently  fastened  a  stock  of  black  silk. 
His  body  was  enveloped  in  a  hunting-shirt  of  dark  green, 
trimmed  with  the  yellow  fringes  and  ornaments  that  were 
sometimes  seen  among  the  border-troops  of  the  Confed^ 
eracy.  Beneath  this,  however,  were  visible  the  collar  and 
lappels  of  a  jacket,  similar  in  color  and  cloth  to  the  cap. 
His  lower  limbs  were  protected  by  buckskin  leggings,  and 
his  feet  by  the  ordinary  Indian  moccasins.  A  richly  orna- 
mented and  exceedingly  dangerous  straight  dirk  was  stuck 
in  a  sash  of  red  silk  net-work  ;  another  girdle,  or  rather 
belt,  of  uncolored  leather  contained  a  pair  of  the  smallest- 
sized  pistols,  in  holsters  nicely  made  to  fit,  and  across  his 
shoulder  was  thrown  a  short,  heavy  military  rifle  ;  its  horn 
and  pouch  occupying  the  usual  places  beneath  his  arms. 
At  his  back  he  bore  a  knapsack,  marked  by  the  well-known 
initials  that  have  since  gained  for  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  the  good-humored  and  quaint  appellation 
of  -Uncle  Sam. 

"  I  come  in  amity,"  the  stranger  said,  like  one  too  much 
accustomed  to  the  sight  of  arms  to  be  startled  at  the  ludb 
crously  belligerent  attitude  which  Dr.  Battius  had  seen  fit 
to  assume — "  I  come  as  a  friend  ;  and  am  one  whose  pur- 
suits and  wishes  will  not  at  all  interfere  with  your  own." 

"  Harkee,  stranger,"  said    Paul    Hover,  bluntly;    "do 


THh  PRAIRIE.  113 

you  understand  lining  a  bee  from  this  open  place  into  a 
wood,  distant,  perhaps  a  dozen  miles  ?  " 

"  The  bee  is  a  bird  I  have  never  been  compelled  to  seek," 
returned  the  other,  laughing  ;  "  though  I  have,  too,  been 
something  of  a  fowler  in  my  time." 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  exclaimed  Paul,  thrusting  forth 
nis  hand  frankly,  and  with  the  true  freedom  of  manner 
that  marks  an  American  borderer.  "  Let  us  cross  fingers. 
You  and  I  will  never  quarrel  about  the  comb,  since  you 
set  so  little  store  by  the  honey.  And  now,  if  your  stomach 
has  an  empty  corner,  and  you  know  how  to  relish  a  genu- 
ine dew-drop  when  it  falls  into  your  very  mouth,  there 
lies  the  exact  morsel  to  put  into  it.  Try  it,  stranger  ;  and 
having  tried  it,  if  you  don't  call  it  as  snug  a  fit  as  you  have 

made  since How  long  are  you  from  the  settlements, 

pray  ? " 

"  'Tis  many  weeks,  and  I  fear  it  may  be  as  many  more 
before  I  can  return.  I  will,  however,  gladly  profit  by 
your  invitation,  for  I  have  fasted  since  the  rising  of  yester- 
day's sun,  and  I  know  too  well  the  merits  of  a  bison's 
hump  to  reject  the  food." 

"  Ah  !  you  are  acquainted  with  the  dish.  Well,  therein 
you  have  the  start  of  me,  in  setting  out,  though  I  think  I 
may  say  we  could  now  start  on  equal  ground.  I  should 
be  the  happiest  fellow  between  Kentucky  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  if  I  had  a  snug  cabin,  near  some  old  wood  that 
was  filled  with  hollow  trees,  just  stich  a  hump  every  day 
as  that  for  dinner,  a  load  of  fresh  straw  for  hives,  and 
little  El " 

"Little  what?"  demanded  the  stranger,  evidently 
amused  with  the  communicative  and  frank  disposition  of 
the  bee-hunter. 

"  Something  that  I  shall  have  one  day,  and  which  con- 
cerns nobody  so  much  as  myself,"  returned  Paul,  picking 
the  flint  of  his  rifle,  and  beginning  very  cavalierly  to 
whistle  an  air  well  known  on  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

During  this  preliminary  discourse  the  stranger  had  taken 
his  seat  by  the  side  of  the  hump,  and  was  already  making 
a  serious  inroad  on  its  relics.  Dr.  Battius,  however, 
watched  his  movements  with  a  jealousy  still  more  striking 
than  the  cordial  reception  which  the  open-hearted  Paul 
had  just  exhibited. 

But  the  doubts,  or  rather  apprehensions,  of  the  natural- 
8 


H4  THE  PRAIRIE. 

list  were  of  a  character  altogether  different  from  the  con- 
fidence of  the  bee-hunter.  He  had  been  struck  with  the. 
stranger's  using  the  legitimate  instead  of  the  perverted 
name  of  the  animal  off  which  he  was  making  his  repast ; 
and,  as  he  had  been  among  the  foremost  himself  to  profit 
by  the  removal  of  the  impediments  which  the  policy  of 
Spain  had  placed  in  the  way  of  all  explorers  of  her  trans- 
atlantic dominions,  whether  bent  on  the  purposes  of  com- 
merce, or,  like  himself,  on  the  more  laudable  pursuits  of 
science,  he  had  a  sufficiency  of  every-day  philosophy  to 
feel  that  the  same  motives  which  had  so  powerfully  urged 
himself  to  his  present  undertaking  might  produce  a  like 
result  on  the  mind  of  some  other  student  of  Nature.  Here, 
then,  was  the  prospect  of  an  alarming  rivalry,  which  bade 
fair  to  strip  him  of  at  least  a  moiety  of  the  just  rewards  of 
all  his  labors,  privations,  and  dangers.  Under  these  views 
of  his  character,  therefore,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that 
the  native  meekness  of  the  naturalist's  disposition  was  a 
little  disturbed,  arid  that  he  watched  the  proceedings  of 
the  other  with  such  a  degree  of  vigilance  as  he  believed 
best  suited  to  detect  his  sinister  designs. 

"This  is  truly  a  delicious  repast,"  observed  the  uncon- 
scious young  stranger,  for  both  young  and  handsome  he 
was  fairly  entitled  to  be  considered  ;  "  either  hunger  has 
given  a  peculiar  relish  to  the  viand  or  the  bison  may  lay 
claim  to  be  the  finest  of  the  ox  family  !  " 

"  Naturalists,  sir,  are  apt,  when  they  speak  familiarly, 
to  give  the  cow  the  credit  of  the  genus,"  said  Dr.  Battius, 
swelling  with  secret  distrust,  and  clearing  his  throat  before 
speaking,  much  in  the  manner  that  a  duellist  examines  the 
point  of  the  weapon  he  is  about  to  plunge  into  the  body  of 
his  foe.  "  The  figure  is  more  perfect  ;  as  the  bos,  meaning 
the  ox,  is  unable  to  perpetuate  his  kind  ;  and  the  bos,  in 
its  most  extended  meaning,  or  vacca,  is  altogether  the  noble 
animal  of  the  two." 

The  doctor  uttered  this  opinion  with  a  certain  air,  that 
he  intended  should  express  his  readiness  to  come,  at  once, 
to  any  of  the  numerous  points  of  difference  which  he 
doubted  not  existed  between  them  ;  and  he  now  awaited 
the  blow  of  his  antagonist,  intending  that  his  next  thrust 
should  be  still  more  vigorous.  But  the  young  stranger 
appeared  much  better  disposed  to  partake  of  the  gooa 
cheer  with  which  he  had  been  providentially  provided, 
than  to  take  up  the  cudgels  of  argument  on  this  or  am; 


THE  PRAIRIE.  lij 

other  of  the  knotty  points  which  are  so  apt  to  tarnish  the 
'lovers  of  science  with  the  materials  of  a  mental  joust. 

"  I  dare  say  you  are  very  right,  sir,"  he  replied,  with 
A  most  provoking  indifference  to  the  importance  of  the 
points  he  conceded.  "  I  dare  say  you  are  quite  right ;  and 
that  vacca  would  have  been  the  better  word." 

"  Pardon  me,  sir  ;  you  are*giving  a  very  wrong  construc- 
tion to  my  language,  if  you  suppose  I  include,  without 
many  and  particular  qualifications,  the  Bibulus  Americanus 
in  the  family  of  the  vacca.  For,  as  you  well  know,  sir — or, 
as  I  presume  I  should  say,  doctor — you  have  the  medical 
diploma,  no  doubt  ?  " 

"You  give  me  credit  for  an  honor  I  cannot  claim,"  in 
terrupted  the  other. 

"  An  under-graduate  ! — or  perhaps  your  degrees  have 
been  taken  in  some  other  of  the  liberal  sciences  ?" 

"Still  wrong,  I  do  assure  you." 

"  Surely,  young  man,  you  have  not  entered  on  this  im- 
portant— I  may  say,  this  awful  service,  without  some  evi- 
dence of  your  fitness  for  the  task  !  some  commission  by 
which  you  can  assert  an  authority  to  proceed,  or  by  which 
you  may  claim  an  affinity  and  a  communion  with  your  fel- 
low-workers in  the  same  beneficent  pursuits  !  " 

"  I  know  not  by  what  means,  or  for  what  purposes,  you 
have  made  yourself  master  of  my  objects!"  exclaimed 
the  youth,  reddening  and  rising  with  a  quickness  which 
manifested  how  little  he  regarded  the  grosser  appetites, 
when  a  subject  nearer  his  heart  was  approached  "  Still, 
sir,  your  language  is  incomprehensible.  That  pursuit, 
which  in  another  might  perhaps  be  justly  called  beneficent, 
is,  in  me,  a  dear  and  cherished  duty  ;  though  why  a  com- 
mission  should  be  demanded  or  needed  is,  I  confess,  no 
Jess  a  subject  of  surprise." 

"  It  is  customary  to  be  provided  with  such  a  document," 
returned  the  doctor,  gravely  ;  "  and  on  all  suitable  occa- 
sions,  to  produce  it,  in  order  that  congenial  and  friendly 
minds  may  at  once  reject  unworthy  suspicions,  and,  step- 
ping over  what  may  be  called  the  elements  of  discourse, 
come  at  once  to  those  points  which  are  desiderata  to  both." 

"It  is  a  strange  request !  "  the  youth  muttered,  turning 
his  frowning  eye  from  one  to  the  other,  as  if  examining  the 
characters  of  his  companions,  with  a  view  to'  weigh  their 
physical  powers.  Then,  putting  his  hand  into  his  bosom, 
tie  drew  forth  a  small  box,  and,  extending  it  with  an  air  of 


Ii6  THE  PRAIRIE. 

dignity  toward  the  doctor,  lie  continued  :  "  You  will  find 
by  this,  sir,  that  I  have  some  right  to  travel  in  a  country 
which  is  now  the  property  of  the  American  States." 

"  What  have  we  here  ?  "  exclaimed  the  naturalist,  open- 
ing the  folds  of  a  large  parchment.  "  Why,  this  is  the 
sign-manual  of  the  philosopher  Jefferson  !  The  seal  of 
state  !  Countersigned  by  the  minister  of  war !  Why,  this 
is  a  commission  creating  Duncan  Uncas  Middleton  a  cap- 
tain of  artillery ! " 

"  Of  whom  ?  of  whom  ?  "  repeated  the  trapper,  who  had 
sat  regarding  the  stranger,  during  the  whole  discourse,  with 
eyes  that  seemed  greedily  to  devour  each  lineament.  How 
is  the  name  ?  did  you  call  him  Uncas  ? — Uncas !  Was  it 
Uncas  ?  " 

"  Such  is  my  name,"  returned  the  youth,  a  little  haughti- 
ly. "  It  is  the  appellation  of  a  native  chief,  that  both  my 
uncle  and  myself  bear  with  pride  ;  for  it  is  the  memorial 
of  an  important  service  done  my  family  by  a  warrior  in  the 
old  wars  of  the  provinces." 

"  Uncas  !  did  ye  call  him  Uncas  ?  "  repeated  the  trapper, 
approaching  the  youth  and  parting  the  dark  curls  which 
clustered  over  his  brow  without  the  slightest  resistance  on 
the  part  of  their  wondering  owner.  "  Ah  !  my  eyes  are 
old,  and  not  so  keen  as  when  I  was  a  warrior  myself  ;  but 
I  can  see  the  look  of  the  father  in  the  son  !  I  saw  it  when 
he  first  came  nigh  ;  but,  so  many  things  have  since  passed 
before  my  failing  sight,  that  I  could  not  name  the  place 
where  I  had  met  his  likeness  !  Tell  me,  lad,  by  what  name 
is  your  father  known  ?  " 

"  He  was  an  officer  of  the  States  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  of  my  own  name  of  course  ;  my  mother's 
brother  was  called  Duncan  Uncas  Heyward." 

"  Still  Uncas  !  still  Uncas  !  "  echoed  the  other,  trembling 
with  eagerness.  "  And  his  father  ?  " 

"  Was  called  the  same,  without  the  appellation  of  the 
native  chief.  It  was  to  him  and  to  my  grandmother,  that 
the  service  of  which  I  have  just  spoken  was  rendered." 

"I  know'd  it !  I  know'd  it ! "  shouted  the  old  man,  in 
his  tremulous  voice,  his  rigid  features  working  powerfully 
as  if  the  names  the  other  mentioned  awakened  some  long- 
dormant  emotions  connected  with  the  events  of  an  anteri- 
or age.  **  I  know'd  it !  son  or  grandson,  it  is  all  the  same 
it  is  the  blood,  and  'tis  the  look  !  Tell  me,  is  he  they  caU 
Duncan,  without  the  Uncas — is  he  living  ?  " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  117 

The  young  man  shook  his  head  sorrowfully,  as  he  re* 
plied  in  the  negative. 

"  He  died  full  of  days  and  honors.  Beloved,  happy,  and 
bestowing  happiness  !  " 

"  Full  of  days  !  "  repeated  the  trapper,  looking  down  at 
his  own  meagre  but  still  rmiscular  hands.  "  Ah  !  he  lived 
in  the  settlements,  and  was  wise  only  after  their  fashions. 
But  you  have  often  seen  him  ;  and  you  have  heard  him  dis- 
course of  Uncas,  and  of  the  wilderness  ?" 

"  Often !  he  was  then  an  officer  of  the  king  ;  but,  when 
the  war  took  place  between  the  crown  and  her  colonies, 
my  grandfather  did  not  forget  his  birthplace,  but  threw  off 
the  empty  allegiance  of  names,  and  was  true  to  his  proper 
country  ;  he  fought  on  the  side  of  liberty." 

''There  was  reason  in  it,  and,  what  is  better,  there  was 
natur'  !  Come,  sit  ye  down,  and  tell  me  what  your  grand'- 
ther  used  to  speak  when  his  mind  dwelt  on  the  wonders 
of  the  wilderness." 

The  youth  smiled,  no  less  at  the  importunity  than  at  the 
interest  manifested  by  the  old  man  ;  but,  as  he  found  there 
was  no  longer  the  least  appearance  of  any  violence  being 
contemplated,  he  unhesitatingly  complied. 

"  Give  it  all  to  the  trapper,  by  rule,  and  by  figures  of 
speech,"  said  Paul,  very  coolly  taking  his  seat  on  the  other 
side  of  the  young  soldier.  "  It  is  the  fashion  of  old  age  to 
relish  these  ancient  traditions,  and  for  that  matter  I  can 
say  that  I  don't  dislike  to  listen  to  them  myself." 

Middleton  smiled  again,  and  perhaps  with  a  slight  air  of 
derision  ;  but,  good-naturedly  turning  to  the  trapper,  he 
continued  : 

"  It  is  a  long,  and  might  prove  a  painful  story.  Blood- 
shed and  all  the  horrors  of  Indian  cruelty  and  of  Indian 
warfare  are  fearfully  mingled  in  the  narrative." 

"  Ay,  give  it  all  to  us,  stranger,"  continued  Paul  ;  "we 
are  used  to  these  matters  in  Kentuck,  and  I  must  say  I 
think  a  story  none  the  worse  for  having  a  few  scalps 
in  it." 

"  But  he  told  you  of  Uncas,  did  he  ? "  resumed  the  trap- 
per, without  regarding  the  slight  interruption  of  the  bee- 
hunter,  which  amounted  to  no  more  than  a  sort  of  by-play 
"  And  what  thought  he  and  said  he  of  the  lad,  in  his  par* 
lor,  with  the  comforts  and  ease  of  the  settlements  at  his 
elbow  ? " 

"  I  doubt  not  he  used  a  language  similar  to  that  he  would 


n8  THE  PRAIRIE. 

have  adopted  in  the  woods,  and  had  he  stood  face  to  faca 
with  his  friend " 

"  Did  he  call  the  savage  his  friend  ;  the  poor,  naked, 
painted  warrior  ?  He  was  not  too  proud,  then,  to  call  the 
Indian  his  friend  ?  " 

"He  even  boasted  of  the  connection  ;  and,  as  you  have 
already  heard,  bestowed  a  name  on  his  first-born,  which  is 
likely  to  be  handed  down  as  an  heirloom  among  the  rest 
of  his  descendants." 

"It  was  well  done !  like  a  man  ;  ay !  and  like  a  Christian, 
too  !  He  used  to  say  the  Delaware  was  swift  of  foot — did 
he  remember  that  ?  " 

"  As  the  antelope  !  Indeed,  he  often  spoke  of  him  by  the 
appellation  of  Le  Cerf  Agile,  a  name  he  had  obtained  by 
his  activity." 

"  And  bold,  and  fearless,  lad  !  "  continued  the  trapper, 
looking  into  the  eyes  of  his  companion,  with  a  wistfulness 
that  bespoke  the  delight  he  received  in  listening  to  the 
praises  of  one  whom  it  was  so  very  evident  he  had  once 
tenderly  loved. 

"  Brave  as  a  blooded  hound  !  Without  fear.  He  always 
quoted  Uncas  and  his  father,  who  from  his  wisdom  was 
called  the  Great  Serpent,  as  models  of  heroism  and  con- 
stancy." 

"  He  did  them  justice  !  he  did  them  justice  !  Truer  men 
were  not  to  be  found  in  tribe  or  nation,  be  their  skins  of 
what  color  they  might.  I  see  your  grand'ther  was  just,  and 
did  his  duty,  too,  by  his  offspring !  'Twas  a  perilous  time 
he  had  of  it,  among  them  hills,  and  nobly  did  he  play  his 
own  part !  Tell  me,  lad,  or  officer,  I  should  say — since  of- 
ficer you  be — was  this  all  ?" 

"  Certainly  not  ;  it  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  fearful  tale,  full 
of  moving  incidents  and  the  memories  both  of  my  grand- 
father and  my  grandmother " 

"Ah  !"  exclaimed  the  trapper,  tossing  a  hand  into  the 
air  as  his  whole  countenance  lighted  with  the  recollections 
the  name  revived.  "  They  called  her  Alice  !  Elsie  or 
Alice  ;  'tis  all  the  same.  A  laughing,  playful  child  she  was, 
when  happy  ;  and  tender  and  weeping  in  her  misery  !  Her 
hair  was  shining  and  yellow,  as  the  coat  of  the  young  fawn, 
and  her  skin  clearer  than  the  purest  water  that  drips  from 
the  rock.  Well  do  I  remember  her  !  I  remember  her 
right  well !  " 

The  lip  of  the  youth  slightly  curled,  and  he  regarded  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  11$ 

old  man  with  an  expression  which  might  easily  have  been 
construed  into  a  declaration  that  such  were  not  his  own 
recollections  of  his  venerable  and  revered  ancestor,  though 
it  would  seem  he  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  say  as  much 
in  words.  He  was  content  to  answer  : 

"  They  both  retained  impressions  of  the  dangers  they  had 
passed  by,  far  too  vivid  easily  to  lose  the  recollection  ot 
any  of  their  fellow-actors." 

The  trapper  looked  aside,  and  seemed  to  struggle  with 
some  deeply  innate  feeling  ;  then,  turning  again  toward 
his  companion,  though  his  honest  eyes  no  longer  dwelt 
with  the  same  open  interest  as  before,  on  the  countenance 
of  the  other,  he  continued  : 

"  Did  he  tell  you  of  them  all?  Were  they  all  red-skins, 
but  himself  and  the  daughters  of  Munroe  ?" 

"  No.  There  was  a  white  man  associated  with  the  Dela- 
wares.  A  scout  of  the  English  army,  but  a  native  of  the 
provinces." 

"A  drunken,  worthless  vagabond,  like  most  of  his  color 
who  harbor  with  the  savages,  I  warrant  you  ! " 

"Old  man,  your  gray  hairs  should  caution  you  against 
slander.  The  man  I  speak  of  was  of  great  simplicity  of 
mind,  but  of  sterling  worth.  Unlike  most  of  those  who 
live  a  border  life,  he  united  the  better  instead  of  the  worst 
qualities  of  the  two  people.  He  was  a  man  endowed  with 
the  choicest  and  perhaps  rarest  gift  of  Nature — that  of 
distinguishing  good  from  evil.  His  virtues  were  those  of 
simplicity,  because  such  were  the  fruits  of  his  habits,  as 
were  indeed  his  very  prejudices.  In  courage  he  was  the 
equal  of  his  red  associates ;  in  warlike  skill,  being  better 
instructed,  their  superior.  '  In  short,  he  was  a  noble  shoot 
from  the  stock  of  human  nature,  which  never  could  attain 
its  proper  elevation  and  importance,  for  no  other  reason 
than  because  it  grew  in  the  forest ; '  such,  old  hunter,  were 
the  very  words  of  my  grandfather,  when  speaking  of  the 
man  you  imagine  so  worthless  !  " 

The  eyes  of  the  trapper  had  sunk  to  the  earth,  as  the 
stranger  delivered  this  character  in  the  ardent  tones  of 

fenerous  youth.  He  played  with  the  ears  of  his  hound, 
ngered  his  own  rustic  garment,  and  opened  and  shut  the 
pan  of  his  rifle,  with  hands  that  trembled  in  a  manner  that 
tyould  have  implied  their  total  unfitness  to  wield  the 
weapon.  When  the  other  had  concluded,  he  hoarsely 
added  : 


120  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Your  grand'ther  didn't,  then,  entirely  forget  the  white 
man  ? " 

"  So  far  from  that,  there  are  already  three  among  us  who 
have  also  names  derived  from  that  scout." 

"A  name,  did  you  say?"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  start- 
ing ;  "what,  the  name  of  the  solitary,  unl'arned  hunter? 
Do  the  great,  and  the  rich,  and  the  honored,  and,  what  is 
better  still,  the  just,  do  they  bear  his  very,  actual  name  ?" 

"  It  is  borne  by  my  brother,  and  by  two  of  my  cousins, 
whatever  may  be  their  titles  to  be  described  by  the  terms 
you  have  mentioned." 

11  Do  you  mean  the  actual  name  itself;  spelt  with  the 
very  same  letters,  beginning  with  an  N  and  ending  with 
an  L?" 

"  Exactly  the  same,"  the  youth  smilingly  replied.  "  No. 
no,  we  have  forgotten  nothing  that  was  his.  I  have  at 
this  moment  a  dog  brushing  a  deer,  not  far  from  this,  who 
is  come  of  a  hound  that  very  scout  sent  as  a  present  after 
his  friends,  and  which  was  of  the  stock  he  always  used 
himself ;  a  truer  breed,  in  nose  and  foot,  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  wide  Union." 

"  Hector  !  "  said  the  old  man,  struggling  to  conquer  an 
emotion  that  nearly  suffocated  him  ;  and  speaking  to  his 
hound  in  the  sort  of  tones  he  would  have  used  to  a  child, 
"do  you  hear  that,  pup  !  your  kin  and  blood  are  in  the 
prairies  !  A  name — it  is  wonderful !  very  wonderful  ! " 

Nature  could  endure  no  more.  Overcome  by  a  flood  of 
unusual  and  extraordinary  sensations,  and  stimulated  by 
tender  and  long-dormant  recollections,  strangely  and  un. 
expectedly  revived,  the  old  man  had  just  self-command 
enough  to  add,  in  a  voice  that  was  hollow  and  unnatural, 
through  the  efforts  he  made  to  command  it : 

"  Boy,  I  am  that  scout ;  a  warrior  once,  a  miserable 
trapper  now ! "  when  the  tears  broke  over  his  wasted 
cheeks,  out  of  fountains  that  had  long  been  dried,  and 
sinking  his  face  between  his  knees,  he  covered  it  decently 
with  his  buckskin  garment,  and  sobbed  aloud. 

The  spectacle  produced  correspondent  emotions  in  his 
companions.  Paul  Hover  had  actually  swallowed  each 
syllable  of  the  discourse  as  they  fell  alternately  from  the 
different  speakers,  his  feelings  keeping  equal  pace  with 
the  increasing  interest  of  the  scene.  Unused  to  such 
strange  sensations,  he  was  turning  his  face  on  every  side 
of  him,  to  avoid  he  knew  not  what,  until  he  saw  the  tears 


THE  PRAIRIE.  I2i 

and  heard  the  sobs  of  the  old  man,  when  he  sprang  to  his 
feet,  and  grappling  his  guest  fiercely  by  the  throat,  he  de- 
manded by  what  authority  he  had  made  his  aged  com- 
panion weep.  A  flash  of  recollection  crossing  his  brain  at 
the  same  instant,  he  released  his  hold,  and,  stretching 
forth  an  arm  in  the  very  wantonness  of  gratification,  he 
seized  the  doctor  by  the  hair,  which  instantly  revealed  its 
artificial  formation,  by  cleaving  to  his  hand,  leaving  the 
white  and  shining  poll  of  the  naturalist  with  a  covering  no 
Warmer  than  the  skin. 

"  What  think  you  of  that,  Mr.  Bug-gatherer  ? "  he 
rather  shouted  than  cried ;  "  is  not  this  a  strange  bee  to 
line  into  his  hole  ? " 

"  'Tis  remarkable  !  wonderful !  edifying  ?"  returned  the 
lover  of  Nature,  good-humoredly  recovering  his  wig,  with 
twinkling  eyes  and  a  husky  voice.  "'Tis  rare  and  com- 
mendable !  Though  I  doubt  not  in  the  exact  order  of 
causes  and  effects." 

With  this  sudden  outbreaking,  however,  the  commotion 
instantly  subsided,  the  three  spectators  clustering  around 
the  trapper  with  a  species  of  awe  at  beholding  the  tears  of 
tme  so  aged. 

"  It  must  be  so,  or  how  could  he  be  so  familiar  with  a 
history  that  is  little  known  beyond  my  own  family,"  at 
length  the  youth  observed,  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge 
how  much  he  had  been  affected  by  unequivocally  drying 
his  own  eyes. 

"True  !  "  echoed  Paul  ;  "if  you  want  any  more  evidence 
I  will  swear  to  it !  I  know  every  word  of  it  myself  to  be 
true  as  the  gospel !  " 

"And  yet  we  had  long  supposed  him  dead  !  "  continued 
the  soldier.  "  My  grandfather  had  filled  his  days  with 
honor,  and  he  had  believed  himself  the  junior  of  the  two." 

"  It  is  not  often  that  youth  has  an  opportunity  of  thus 
looking  down  on  the  weakness  of  age  ! "  the  trapper  ob- 
served, raising  his  head,  and  looking  around  him  with 
composure  and  dignity.  "  That  I  am  still  here,  young 
man,  is  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord,  who  has  spared  me  until 
I  have  seen  fourscore  long  and  laborious  years,  for  his 
own  secret  ends.  That  I  am  the  man  I  say,  you  need  not 
doubt  ;  for  why  should  I  go  to  my  grave  with  so  cheap  a 
lie  in  my  mouth  ?" 

"  I  do  not  hesitate  to  believe  ;  I  only  marvel  that  n 
ghould  be  so  !  But  why  do  I  find  you,  venerable  and  ex- 


122  THE  PR  A  TRIE. 

cellent  friend  of  my  parents,  in  these  wastes,  so  far  from 
the  comforts  and  safety  of  the  lower  country  ?" 

"  I  have  come  into  these  plains  to  escape  the  sound  of 
the  ax  ;  for  here,  surely,  the  chopper  can  never  follow ! 
But  I  may  put  the  like  question  to  yourself.  Are  you  of 
the  party  which  the  States  have  sent  into  their  new  pur- 
chase, to  look  after  the  natur'  of  the  bargain  they  have 
made  ? " 

"I  am  not.  Lewis  is  making  his  way  .up  the  river,  some 
hundreds  of  miles  from  this.  I  come  on  a  private  advent- 
ure." 

"  Though  it  is  no  cause  of  wonder  that  a  man  whose 
strength  and  eyes  have  failed  him  as  a  hunter,  should  be 
seen  nigh  the  haunts  of  the  beaver,  using  a  trap  instead  of 
a  rifle,  it  is  strange  that  one  so  young  and  prosperous,  and 
bearing  the  commission  of  the  Great  Father,  should  be 
moving  among  the  prairies,  without  even  a  camp-colorman 
to  do  his  biddings!  " 

"  You  would  think  my  reasons  sufficient  did  you  know 
them,  as  know  them  you  shall,  if  you  are  disposed  to  listen 
to  my  story.  I  think  you  all  honest,  and  men  who  would 
rather  aid  than  betray  one  bent  on  a  worthy  object." 

"  Come,  then,  and  tell  us  at  your  leisure,"  said  the  trap- 
per, seating  himself,  and  beckoning  to  the  youth  to  follow 
his  example.  The  latter  willingly  complied  ;  and,  after 
Paul  and  the  doctor  had  disposed  of  themselves  to  their 
several  likings,  the  new-comer  entered  into  a  narrative  of 
the  singular  reasons  which  had  led  him  so  far  into  the 
deserts. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"So  foul  a  sky  clears  not  without  a  storm." — KING  JOHN. 

IN  the  meantime  the  industrious  and  irreclaimable 
hours  continued  their  labors.  The  sun,  which  had  been 
struggling  through  such  masses  of  vapor  throughout  the 
day,  fell  slowly  into  a  streak  of  clear  sky,  and  thence  sank 
gloriously  into  the  gloomy  wastes,  as  he  is  wont  to  settle 
into  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  The  vast  herds  which  had 
been  grazing  among  the  wild  pastures  of  the  prairies 
gradually  disappeared,  and  the  endless  flocks  of  aquatic 


THE  PRAIRIE.  iaj 

birds,  that  were  pursuing  their  customary  annual  journey 
from  the  virgin  lakes  of  the  north  toward  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  ceased  to  fan  that  air  which  had  now  become 
loaded  with  dew  and  vapor.  In  short,  the  shadows  of 
night  fell  upon  the  rock,  adding  the  mantle  of  darkness  to 
the  other  dreary  accomplishments  of  the  place. 

As  the  light  began  to  fail,  Esther  collected  her  younger 
children  at  her  side,  and  placing  herself  on  a  projecting 
point  of  her  insulated  fortress,  she  sat  patiently  awaiting 
the  return  of  the  hunters.  Ellen  Wade  was  at  no  great 
distance,  seeming  to  keep  a  little  aloof  from  the  anxious 
circle,  as  if  willing  to  mark  the  distinction  which  existed 
in  their  characters. 

"  Your  uncle  is,  and  always  will  be,  a  dull  calculator, 
Nell,"  observed  the  mother,  after  a  long  pause  in  a  conver- 
sation that  had  turned  on  the  labors  of  the  day ;  "  a  lazy 
hand  at  figures  and  foreknowledge  is  that  said  Ishmael 
Bush  !  Here  he  sat  lolloping  about  the  rock  from  light  till 
noon,  doing  nothing  but  scheme — scheme — scheme — with 
seven  as  noble  boys  at  his  elbows  as  woman  ever  gave  to 
man  ;  and  what's  the  upshot  ?  Why,  night  is  setting  in, 
and  his  needful  work  not  yet  ended." 

"  It  is  not  prudent,  certainly,  aunt,"  Ellen  replied,  with 
a  vacancy  in  her  air  that  proved  how  little  she  knew  what 
she  was  saying  ;  "  and  it  is  setting  a  very  bad  example  to 
his  sons." 

"  Hoity  toity,  girl  !  who  has  reared  you  up  as  a  judge 
over  your  elders,  ay,  and  your  betters,  too  !  I  should  like 
to  see  the  man  on  the  whole  frontier  who  sets  a  more 
honest  example  to  his  children  than  this  same  Ishmael 
Bush  !  Show  me  if  you  can,  Miss  Fault-finder,  but  not 
fault-mender,  a  set  of  boys  who  will,  on  occasion,  sooner 
chop  a  piece  of  logging  and  dress  it  for  the  crop,  than  my 
own  children  ;  though  I  say  it  myself,  who,  perhaps,  should 
be  silent  ;  or  a  cradler  that  knows  better  how  to  lead  a 
gang  of  hands  through  a  field  of  wheat,  leaving  a  cleanei 
stubble  in  his  track,  than  my  own  good  man  !  Then,  as  a 
father,  he  is  as  generous  as  a  lord  ;  for  his  sons  have  only 
to  name  the  spot  where  they  would  like  to  pitch,  and  he 
gives  'em  a  deed  of  the  plantation,  and  no  charge  for  papers 
is  ever  made  !  " 

As  the  wife  of  the  squatter  concluded,  she  raised  a  hoi- 
Jow,  taunting  laugh,  that  was  echoed  from  the  mouths  of 
several  juvenile  imitators,  whom  she  was  training  to  a  life 


*24  THE  PRAIRIE. 

as  shiftless  and  lawless  as  her  own  ;  but  which,  notwith- 
standing its  uncertainty,  was  not  without  its  secret  charms. 

"  Holloa  !  old  Eester,"  shouted  the  well-known  voice  of 
her  husband,  from  the  plain  beneath  ;  ar'  you  keeping 
your  junkets,  while  we  are  finding  you  in  venison  and 
buffalo-beef  ?  Come  down — come  down,  old  girl,  with  all 
your  young,  and  lend  us  a  hand  to  carry  up  the  meat  ; 
why,  what  a  frolic  you  ar'  in,  woman  !  Come  down,  come 
down,  for  the  boys  are  at  hand,  and  we  have  work  here  for 
double  your  number." 

Ishmael  might  have  spared  his  lungs  more  than  a  moiety 
of  the  effort  they  were  compelled  to  make  in  order  that  he 
should  be  heard.  He  had  hardly  uttered  the  name  of  his 
wife,  before  the  whole  of  the  crouching  circle  rose  in  a 
body,  and,  tumbling  over  each  other,  they  precipitated 
themselves  down  the  dangerous  passes  of  the  rock  with 
ungovernable  impatience.  Esther  followed  the  young  fry 
with  a  more  measured  gait ;  nor  did  Ellen  deem  it  wise, 
or  rather  discreet,  to  remain  behind.  Consequently  the 
whole  were  soon  assembled  at  the  base  of  the.  citadel,  on 
the  open  plain. 

Here  the  squatter  was  found,  staggering  under  the 
weight  of  a  fine,  fat  buck,  attended  by  one  or  two  of  his 
younger  sons.  Abiram  quickly  appeared,  and  before  many 
minutes  had  elapsed,  most  of  the  hunters  dropped  in,  singly 
and  in  pairs,  each  man  bringing  with  him  some  fruits  of 
his  prowess  in  the  field. 

"The  plain  is  free  from  redskins,  to-night,  at  least," 
said  Ishmael,  after  the  bustle  of  reception  had  a  little  sub« 
sided  ;  "  for  I  have  scoured  the  prairie  for  many  long 
miles,  on  my  own  feet,  and  I  call  myself  a  judge  of  the 
print  of  an  Indian  moccasin.  So,  old  woman,  you  can  give 
us  a  few  steaks  of  the  venison,  and  then  we  will  sleep  on 
the  day's  work." 

"  I'll  not  swear  there  are  no  savages  near  us,"  said 
Abiram.  "  I,  too,  know  something  of  the  trail  of  a  red- 
skin ;  and,  unless  my  eyes  have  lost  some  of  their  sight,  I 
would  swear  boldly  that  there  ar'  Indians  at  hand.  But 
wait  till  Asa  comes  in.  He  passed  the  spot  where  I  found 
the  marks,  and  the  boy  knows  something  of  such  matters, 
too." 

"Ay,  the  boy  knows  too  much  of  many  things,"  returned 
Ishmael,  gloomily.  "  It  will  be  better  for  him  when  he 
thinks  he  knows  less.  But  what  matters  it,  Hetty,  if  aU 


THE  PRAIRTE.  T2» 

the  Sioux  tribes  west  of  the  big  river  are  within  a  mile  oi 
us  ;  they  will  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  scale  this  rock  in 
the  teeth  of  ten  bold  men." 

"Call  'em  twelve  at  once,  Ishmael  ;  call  'em  twelve!" 
cried  his  termagant  assistant.  "  For  if  your  moth-gather- 
ing, bug-hunting  friend  can  be  counted  a  man,  I  beg  you 
will  set  me  down  as  two.  I  will  not  turn  my  back  to  him 
with  the  rifle  or  the  shot-gun  ;  and  for  courage  !  the  yearl- 
ing heifer,  that  them  skulking  devils  the  Tetons  stole,  was 
the  biggest  coward  among  us  all,  and  after  her  came  your 
drivelling  doctor.  Ah  !  Ishmael,  you  rarely  attempt  a  reg- 
ular trade  but  you  come  out  the  loser  ;  and  this  man,  I 
reckon,  is  the  hardest  bargain  among  them  all  !  Would 
you  think  it,  the  fellow  ordered  me  a  blister  around  my 
mouth,  because  I  complained  of  a  pain  in  the  foot  ?" 

"  It  is  a  pity,  Esther,"  the  husband  coolly  answered, 
"  that  you  did  not  take  it  ;  I  reckon  that  it  would  have 
done  considerable  good.  But,  boys,  if  it  should  turn  out 
as  Abiram  thinks,  that  there  are  Indians  near  us,  we  may 
have  to  scamper  up  the  rock,  and  lose  our  suppers,  aftei 
all  ;  therefore,  we  will  make  sure  of  the  game,  and  talk 
over  the  performances  of  the  doctor  when  we  have  noth- 
ing better  to  do." 

The  hint  was  taken  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  exposed 
situation  in  which  the  family  was  collected  was  exchanged 
for  the  more  secure  elevation  of  the  rock.  Here  Esther 
busied  herself,  working  and  scolding  with  equal  industry, 
until  the  repast  was  prepared  ;  when  she  summoned  her 
husband  to  his  meal  in  a  voice  as  sonorous  as  that  in  which 
the  imaum  reminds  the  faithful  of  a  more  important  duty. 

When  each  had  assumed  his  proper  and  customary 
place  around  the  smoking  viands,  the  squatter  set  the  ex- 
ample by  beginning  to  partake  of  a  delicious  venison- 
steak,  prepared  like  the  hump  of  the  bison,  with  a  skill  that 
rather  increased  than  concealed  its  natural  properties.  A 
painter  would  gladly  have  seized  the  moment  to  transfer 
the  wild  and  characteristic  scene  to  the  canvas. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  citadel  of  Ishmael 
stood  insulated,  lofty,  ragged,  and  nearly  inaccessible.  A 
bright,  flashy  fire  that  was  burning  on  the  centre  of  its 
summit,  and  around  which  the  busy  group  was  clustered, 
lent  it  the  appearance  of  some  tall  Pharos  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  deserts,  to  light  such  adventurers  as  wan* 
dered  through  their  broad  wastes.  The  flashing  flame 


*2G  THE  PRAIRIE. 

gleamed  from  one  sunburnt  countenance  to  another,  ex- 
hibiting every  variety  of  expression,  from  the  juvenile 
simplicity  of  the  children,  mingled,  as  it  was,  with  a  shade 
of  the  wildness  peculiar  to  their  semi-barbarous  lives,  to 
the  dull  and  immovable  apathy  that  dwelt  on  the  features 
of  the  squatter  when  unexcited.  Occasionally  a  gust  of 
Wind  would  fan  the  embers  ;  and,  as  a  brighter  light  shot 
apward,  the  little  solitary  tent  was  seen  as  it  were  sus- 
pended in  the  gloom  of  the  upper  air.  All  beyond  was 
enveloped,  as  usual  at  that  hour,  in  an  impenetrable  body 
of  darkness. 

u  It  is  unaccountable  that  Asa  should  choose  to  be  out 
of  the  way  at  such  a  time  as  this,"  Esther  pettishly  ob- 
served. "  When  all  is  finished  and  to  rights,  we  shall  have 
the  boy  coming  up,  grumbling  for  his  meal,  and  hungry  as 
a  bear  after  his  winter's  nap.  His  stomach  is  as  true  as 
the  best  clock  in  Kentucky,  and  seldom  wants  winding  up 
to  tell  the  time  whether  of  day  or  night.  A  desperate 
eater  is  Asa,  when  a-hungered  by  a  little  work  ?" 

Ishmael  looked  sternly  around  the  circle  of  his  silent 
sons,  as  if  to  see  whether  any  among  them  would  presume 
to  say  ought  in  favor  of  the  absent  delinquent.  But  now, 
when  no  exciting  causes  existed  to  rouse  their  slumbering 
tempers,  it  seemed  to  be  too  great  an  effort  to  enter  on  the 
defence  of  their  rebellious  brother.  Abiram,  however, 
who,  since  the  pacification,  either  felt  or  affected  to  feel 
a  more  generous  interest  in  his  late  adversary,  saw  fit  to 
express  an  anxiety  to  which  the  others  were  strangers  : 

"  It  will  be  well  if  the  boy  escaped  the  Tetons !  "  he 
muttered.  "  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  Asa,  who  is  one  of 
the  stoutest  of  our  party,  both  in  heart  and  hand,  fall  into 
the  power  of  the  red  devils." 

"  Look  to  yourself,  Abiram  ;  and  spare  your  breath,  if 
you  can  use  it  only  to  frighten  the  woman  and  her  hud- 
dling girls.  You  have  whitened  the  face  of  Ellen  Wade, 
already  ;  who  looks  as  pale  as  if  she  was  staring  to-day  at 
the  very  Indians  you  name,  when  I  was  forced  to  speak  to 
her  through  the  rifle,  because  I  couldn't  reach  her  ears 
with  my  tongue.  How  was  it,  Nell  ?  you  have  never  given 
the  reason  of  your  deafness  ?  " 

The  color  of  Ellen's  cheek  changed  as  suddenly  as  the 
squatter's  piece  had  flashed  on  the  occasion  to  which  he 
alluded,  the  burning  glow  suffusing  her  features,  until  it 
even  mantled  her  throat  with  its  fine,  healthful  tinge.  Sha 


THE  PRAIRIE.  12 j 

hung  her  head,  abashed,  but  did  not  seem  to  think  it  need* 
ful  to  reply. 

Ishmael,  too  sluggish  to  pursue  the  subject,  or  content 
with  the  pointed  allusion  he  had  just  made,  rose  from  his 
seat  on  the  rock,  and,  stretching  his  heavy  frame,  like  a 
well-fed  and  fattened  ox,  he  announced  his  intention  to 
sleep.  Among  a  race  who  lived  chiefly  for  the  indulgence 
of  the  natural  wants,  such  a  declaration  could  not  fail  of 
meeting  with  sympathetic  dispositions.  One  after  another 
disappeared,  each  seeking  his  or  her  rude  dormitory  ;  and, 
before  many  minutes,  Esther,  who  by  this  time  had  scolded 
^he  younger  fry  to  sleep,  found  herself,  if  we  except  the 
usual  watchman  below,  in  solitary  possession  of  the  naked 
rock. 

Whatever  less  valuable  fruits  had  been  produced  in  this 
uneducated  woman  by  her  migratory  habits,  the  great 
principle  of  female  nature  was  too  deeply  rooted  ever  to 
be  entirely  eradicated.  Of  a  powerful,  not  to  say  fierce 
temperament,  her  passions  were  violent  and  difficult  to  be 
smothered.  But,  however  she  might  and  did  abuse  the 
accidental  prerogatives  of  her  situation,  love  for  her  off- 
spring, while  it  often  slumbered,  could  never  be  said  to 
become  extinct.  She  liked  not  the  protracted  absence  of 
Asa.  Too  fearless  herself  to  have  hesitated  an  instant  on 
her  own  account  about  crossing  the  dark  abyss,  into  which 
she  now  sat  looking  with  longing  eyes,  her  busy  imagina- 
tion, in  obedience  to  this  inextinguishable  sentiment,  be- 
gan to  conjure  nameless  evils  on  account  of  her  son.  It 
might  be  true,  as  Abiram  had  hinted,  that  he  had  become 
a  captive  to  some  of  the  tribes  who  were  hunting  the  buf- 
falo in  that  vicinity,  or  even  a  still  more  dreadful  calamity 
might  have  befallen.  So  thought  the  mother,  while  si- 
lence and  darkness  lent  their  aid  to  the  secret  impulses  of 
nature. 

Agitated  by  these  reflections,  which  put  sleep  at  defiance, 
Esther  continued  at  her  post,  listening  with  that  sort  of 
acuteness  which  is  termed  instinct  in  the  animals  a  few 
degrees  below  her  in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  for  any  of 
those  noises  which  might  indicate  the  approach  of  foot- 
steps. At  length,  her  wishes  had  an  appearance  of  being 
realized,  for  the  long-desired  sounds  were  distinctly  audi- 
ble, and  presently  she  distinguished  the  dim  form  of  a  man 
at  the  base  of  the  rock. 

"  Now  Asa,  richly  do  you  deserve  to  be  left  with  a» 


123  THE  PRAIRIE. 

earthen  bed  this  blessed  night ! "  the  woman  began  to 
mutter,  with  a  revolution  in  her  feelings  that  will  not  be 
surprising  to  those  who  have  made  the  contradictions  that 
give  variety  to  the  human  character  a  study.  "And  a 
haid  one  I've  a  mind  it  shall  be!  Why,  Abner !  Abner; 
you  Abner !  do  you  sleep  ?  Let  me  not  see  you  dare  to 
open  the  hole  till  I  get  down.  I  will  know  who  it  is  that 
wishes  to  disturb  a  peaceable,  ay,  and  an  honest  family, 
too,  at  such  a  time  in  the  night  as  this  !  " 

"Woman  !  "  exclaimed  a  voice,  that  intended  to  bluster, 
while  the  speaker  was  manifestly  a  little  apprehensive  of 
the  consequences — "  woman,  I  forbid  you  on  pain  of  the 
law  to  project  any  of  your  infernal  missiles.  I  am  a  citi- 
zen, and  a  freeholder,  and  a  graduate  of  two  universities  ; 
and  I  stand  upon  my  rights !  Beware  of  malice  prepense, 
of  chance-medley,  and  of  manslaughter.  It  is  I — your 
amicus ;  a  friend  and  inmate.  I — Dr.  Obed  Battius." 

"Who?"  demanded  Esther,  in  a- voice  that  nearly  re- 
fused to  convey  her  words  to  the  ears  of  the  anxious  lis- 
tener beneath.  "  Did  you  say  it  was  not  Asa  ?  " 

"  Nay,  I  am  neither  Asa,  nor  Absalom,  nor  any  of  the 
Hebrew  princes,  but  Obed,  the  root  and  stock  of  them  all. 
Have  I  not  said,  woman,  that  you  keep  one  in  attendance 
who  is  entitled  to  a  peaceful  as  well  as  an  honorable  ad- 
mission ?  Do  you  take  me  for  an  animal  of  the  class  am- 
phibia, and  that  I  can  play  with  my  lungs  as  a  blacksmith 
does  with  his  bellows  ?  " 

The  naturalist  might  have  expended  his  breath  much 
longer  without  producing  any  desirable  result,  had  Esther 
been  his  only  auditor.  Disappointed  and  alarmed  the 
woman  had  already  sought  her  pallet,  and  was  already  pre. 
paring,  with  a  sort  of  desperate  indifference,  to  compose 
herself  to  sleep.  Abner,  the  sentinel  below,  however,  had 
been  aroused  from  an  exceedingly  equivocal  situation  by 
the  outcry  ;  and,  as  he  had  now  regained  sufficient  con- 
sciousness to  recognizo  the  voice  f  the  physician,  the  lat- 
ter was  admitted  with  the  least  possible  delay.  Dr.  Batv 
tius  bustled  through  the  narrow  entrance  with  an  air  of 
singular  impatience,  and  was  already  beginning  to  mount 
the  difficult  ascent,  when  catching  a  view  of  the  porter 
he  paused  to  observe,  with  an  air  that  he  intended  should 
be  impressively  admonitory  : 

"Abner,  there  are  dangerous  symptoms  of  somnolency 
about  thee  !  It  is  sufficiently  exhibited  in  the  tendency  to 


THE  PRAIRIE.  I2j 

hiation,  and  may  prove  dangerous  not  only  to  yourself, 
but  to  all  thy  father's  family." 

"  You  never  made  a  greater  mistake,  doctor,"  returned 
the  youth,  gaping  like  an  indolent  lion  ;  "  I  haven't  a 
symptom,  as  you  call  it,  about  any  part  of  me  ;  and  as  to 
father  and  the  children,  I  reckon  the  small-pox  and  the 
measles  have  been  thoroughly  through  the  breed  these 
many  months  ago." 

Content  with  his  brief  admonition,  the  naturalist  had 
surmounted  half  the  difficulties  of  the  ascent  before  the 
deliberate  Abner  ended  his  justification.  On  the  summit, 
Obed  fully  expected  to  ^n^ounter  Esther,  of  whose  lingu- 
acious  powers  he  had  too  often  been  furnished  with  the 
most  sinister  proofs,  an4  of  which  he  stood  in  an  awe  too 
salutary  to  covet  a  repetition  of  the  attacks.  The  reader 
can  foresee  that  he  was  to  be  agreeably  disappointed. 
Treading  lightly,  and  looking  timidly  over  his  shoulder, 
as  if  he  apprehended  a  shower  of  something  even  more 
formidable  than  words,  the  doctor  proceeded  to  the  place 
which  had  been  allotted  to  himself  in  the  general  disposi- 
tion of  the  dormitories. 

Instead  of  sleeping,  the  worthy  naturalist  sat  ruminating 
over  what  he  had  both  seen  and  heard  that  day,  until  the 
tossing  and  mutterings  which  proceeded  from  the  cabin  of 
Esther,  who  was  his  nearest  neighbor,  advertised  him  of 
the  wakeful  situation  of  its  inmate.  Perceiving  the  nec- 
essity of  doing  something  to  disarm  this  female  Cerberus, 
before  his  own  purpose  could  be  accomplished,  the  doctor, 
reluctant  as  he  was  to  encounter  her  tongue,  found  him- 
self compelled  to  invite  a  colloquial  communication. 

"  You  appear  not  to  sleep,  my  very  kind  and  worthy 
Mrs.  Bush,"  he  said,  determined  to  commence  his  applica- 
tions with  a  piaster  that  was  usually  found  to  adhere  ; 
"you  appear  to  rest  badly,  my  excellent  hostess;  can  I 
administer  to  your  ailings  ?" 

"What  would  you  give  me,  man?"  grumbled  Esther: 
*a  blaster  to  make  me  sleep  ?  " 

"  Say  rather  a  cataplasm.  But  if  you  are  in  pain,  here 
are»  some  cordial  drops,  which,  taken  in  a  glass  of  my  own 
cognac,  will  give  you  rest,  if  I  know  aught  of  the  materia 
medica." 

The  doctor,  as  he  very  well  knew,  had  assailed  Esther 
on  her  weak  side  ;  and,  as  he  doubted  not  of  the  accept- 
able quality  of  his  prescription,  he  set  himself  at  work 


j3o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

without  unnecessary  delay,  to  prepare  it.  When  he  made 
his  offering,  it  was  received  in  a  snappish  and  threatening 
manner,  but  swallowed  with  a  facility  that  sufficiently  pro- 
claimed how  much  it  was  relished.  The  woman  muttered 
her  thanks,  and  her  leech  reseated  himself  in  silence,  to 
await  the  operation  of  the  dose.  In  less  than  half  an  hour 
the  breathing  of  Esther  became  so  profound,  and,  as  the 
doctor  himself  might  have  termed  it,  so  very  abstracted, 
that,  had  he  not  known  how  easy  it  was  to  ascribe  this  new 
instance  of  somnolency  to  the  powerful  dose  of  opium  with 
which  he  had  garnished  the  brandy,  he  might  have  seen  rea- 
son to  distrust  his  own  prescription.  With  the  sleep  of  the 
restless  woman,  the  stillness  became  profound  and  general. 

Then  Dr.  Battius  saw  fit  to  arise,  with  the  silence  and 
caution  of  the  midnight  robber,  and  to  steal  out  of  his 
own  cabin,  or  rather  kennel,  for  it  deserves  no  better 
name,  toward  the  adjoining  dormitories.  Here  he  took 
time  to  assure  himself  that  all  his  neighbors  were  buried 
in  deep  sleep.  Once  advised  of  this  important  fact,  he 
hesitated  no  longer,  but  commenced  the  difficult  ascent 
which  led  to  the  pinnacle  of  the  rock.  His  advance, 
though  abundantly  guarded,  was  not  entirely  noiseless  ; 
but  while  he  was  felicitating  himself  on  having  success- 
fully effected  his  object,  and  he  was  in  the  very  act  of 
placing  his  foot  on  the  highest  ledge,  a  hand  was  laid 
upon  the  skirts  of  his  coat,  which  as  effectually  put  an 
end  to  his  advance  as  if  the  gigantic  strength  of  Ishmael 
himself  had  pinned  him  to  the  earth. 

'•'Is  there  sickness  in  the  tent,"  whispered  a  soft  voice 
in  his  very  ear,  "  that  Dr.  Battius  is  called  to  visit  it  at 
such  an  hour  ? " 

So  soon  as  the  heart  of  the  naturalist  had  returned  from 
its  hasty  expedition  into  his  throat,  as  one  less  skilled 
than  Dr.  Battius  in  the  formation  of  the  animal  would 
have  been  apt  to  have  accounted  for  the  extraordinary  sen< 
sation  with  which  he  received  this  unlooked-for  interrup- 
tion, he  found  resolution  to  reply  ;  using,  as  much  in  ter- 
ror as  in  prudence,  the  same  precaution  in  the  indulgence 
of  his  voice. 

"  My  worthy  Nelly  !  I  am  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  it  is 
no  other  than  thee.  Hist,  child,  hist !  Should  Ishmael 
gain  a  knowledge  of  our  plans,  he  would  not  hesitate  to 
cast  us  both  from  this  rock,  upon  the  plain  beneath. 
Nelly,  hist ! " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  13! 

As  the  doctor  delivered  his  injunctions  between  the  in- 
tervals of  his  ascent,  by  the  time  they  were  concluded, 
both  he  and  his  auditor  had  gained  the  upper  level. 

"And  now,  Dr.  Battius,"  the  girl  gravely  demanded, 
"may  I  know  the  reason  why  you  have  run  so  great  a  risk 
of  flying  from  this  place,  without  wings,  and  at  the  cer- 
tain expense  of  your  neck  ? " 

"  Nothing  shall  be  concealed  from  thee,  worthy  and 
trusty  Nelly — but  are  you  certain  that  Ishmael  will  not 
awake  ? " 

"  No  fear  of  him  ;  he  will  sleep  until  the  sun  scorches 
his  eyelids.  The  danger  is  from  my  aunt." 

"  Esther  sleepeth ! "  the  doctor  sententiously  replied. 
"  Ellen,  you  have  been  watching  on  this  rock  to-day  ? " 

"  I  was  ordered  to  do  so." 

"And  you  have  seen  the  bison,  and  the  antelope,  and 
the  wolf,  and  the  deer,  as  usual  ;  animals  of  the  orders 
Pecora,  Pellulce,  and  Fer&" 

"  I  have  seen  the  creatures  you  named  in  English,  but  I 
know  nothing  of  the  Indian  languages." 

"  There  is  still  an  order  that  I  have  not  named,  which 
you  have  also  seen.  The  primates — is  it  not  true  ?" 

"  I  cannot  say,  I  know  no  animal  by  that  name." 

"  Nay,  Ellen,  you  confer  with  a  friend.  Of  the  genus 
Homo,  child  ? " 

"  Whatever  else  I  may  have  had  in  view,  I  have  not  seen 
the  Vesper tilio  horribi— 

"  Hush,  Nelly,  thy  vivacity  will  betray  us  !  Tell  me,  girl, 
have  you  not  seen  certain  bipeds,  called  men,  wandering 
about  the  prairies  ?" 

"  Surely.  My  uncle  and  his  sons  have  been  hunting  the 
buffalo,  since  the  sun  began  to  fall." 

"  I  must  speak  in  the  vernacular,  to  be  comprehended. 
Ellen,  I  would  say  of  the  species  Kentucky." 

Though  Ellen  reddened  like  the  rose,  her  blushes  were 
concealed  by  the  darkness.  She  hesitated  an  instant,  and 
then  summoned  sufficient  spirit  to  say  decidedly  : 

"  If  you  wish  to  speak  in  parables,  Dr.  Battius,  you 
must  find  another  listener.  Put  your  questions  plainly  in 
English,  and  I  will  answer  them  honestly  in  the  same 
tongue." 

"  I  have  been  journeying  in  this  desert,  asthou  knowest, 
Nelly,  in  quest  of  animals  that  have  been  hidden  from  the 
eyes  of  science  until  now.  Among  others,  I  have  dis- 


<32  THE  PRAIRIE. 

covered  a  primates,    the  genus  Homo ;  species,    Kentucky, 
which  I  term  Paul " 

"  Hist,  for  the  sake  of  mercy !  "  said  Ellen  ;  "  speak  lower, 
doctor,  or  we  shall  be  ruined." 

"  Hover  ;  by  profession  a  collector  of  the  apes,  or  bee," 
continued  the  other.  "  Do  I  use  the  vernacular  now — am 
I  understood  ? " 

"  Perfectly,  perfectly,"  returned  the  girl,  breathing  with 
difficulty,  in  her  surprise.  "  But  what  of  him  ?  did  he  tell 
you  to  mount  this  rock  ? — he  knows  nothing,  himself  ;  for 
the  oath  I  gave  my  uncle  has  shut  my  mouth." 

"  Ay,  but  there  is  one  that  has  taken  no  oath,  who  has 
revealed  all.  I  would  that  the  mantle  which  is  wrapped 
around  the  mysteries  of  Nature  were  as  effectually  with- 
drawn from  its  hidden  treasures  !  Ellen  !  Ellen  !  the  man 
with  whom  I  have  unwittingly  formed  a  compactum,  or 
agreement,  is  sadly  forgetful  of  the  obligations  of  honesty ! 
Thy  uncle,  child." 

"  You  mean  Ishmael  Bush,  my  father's  brother's  widow's 
husband,"  returned  the  offended  girl,  a  little  proudly. 
"  Indeed,  indeed,  it  is  cruel  to  reproach  me  with  a  tie  that 
chance  has  formed,  and  which  I  would  rejoice  so  much  to 
break  forever ! " 

The  humbled  Ellen  could  utter  no  more,  but,  sinking 
on  a  projection  of  the  rock,  she  began  to  sob  in  a  manner 
that  rendered  their  situation  doubly  critical.  The  doctor 
muttered  a  few  words,  which  he  intended  as  an  apologetic 
explanation,  but,  before  he  had  time  to  complete  his  la 
bored  vindication,  she  arose  and  said  with  decision  : 

"  I  did  not  come  here  to  pass  my  time  in  foolish  tears, 
nor  you  to  try  to  stop  them.  What  then,  has  brought  yot 
thither  ? " 

"  I  must  see  the  inmate  of  that  tent." 

"  You  know  what  it  contains  ? " 

"  I  am  taught  to  believe  I  do ;  and  I  bear  a  letter  which  1 
must  deliver  with  my  own  hands.  If  the  animal  prove  a  quad' 
ruped,  Ishmael  is  a  true  man — if  a  biped,  fledged  or  unfledg* 
ed,  I  care  not,  he  is  false,  and  our  compactum  at  an  end ! " 

Ellen  made  a  sign  for  the  doctor  to  remain  where  he 
was,  and  to  be  silent.  She  then  glided  into  the  tent,  where 
she  continued  many  minutes,  that  proved  exceedingly 
weary  and  anxious  to  the  expectant  without  ;  but,  the  in- 
stant she  returned,  she  took  him  by  the  arm,  and  together 
they  entered  beneath  the  folds  of  the  mysterious  cloth. 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
•*  Pray  God  the  Duke  of  York  excuse  himself  !  "—  KING  HENRY  VL 

THE  mustering  of  the  borderers  on  the  following  morn* 
ing  was  silent,  sullen,  and  gloomy.  The  repast  of  that 
hour  was  wanting  in  the  inharmonious  accompaniment 
with  which  Esther  ordinarily  enlivened  their  meals  ;  for 
the  effects  of  the  powerful  opiate  the  doctor  had  adminis- 
tered still  muddled  her  intellect.  The  young  men  brooded 
over  the  absence  of  their  elder  brother  ;  and  the  brows  of 
Ishmael  himself  were  knit,  as  he  cast  his  scowling  eyes 
from  one  to  the  other,  like  a  man  preparing  to  meet  and  to 
repel  an  expected  assault  on  his  authority.  In  the  midst 
of  this  family  distrust,  Ellen  and  her  midnight  confederate, 
the  naturalist,  took  their  usual  place  among  the  children, 
without  awakening  suspicion  or  exciting  comment.  The 
only  apparent  fruits  of  the  adventure  in  which  they  had 
been  engaged  were  occasional  upliftings  of  the  eyes,  on 
the  part  of  the  doctor,  which  were  mistaken  by  the  observ* 
ers  for  some  of  his  scientific  contemplations  of  the  heavens, 
but  which,  in  reality,  were  no  other  than  furtive  glances 
at  the  fluttering  walls  of  the  proscribed  tent. 

At  length  the  squatter,  who  had  wraited  in  vain  for  some 
decided  manifestation  of  the  expected  rising  among  his 
sons,  resolved  to  make  a  demonstration  of  his  own  inten- 
tions. 

"Asa  shall  account  to  me  for  his  undutiful  conduct,"  he 
observed.  "Here  has  the  livelong  night  gone  by,  and  he 
outlying  on  the  prairie,  when  his  hand  and  his  rifle  might 
both  have  been  wanted  in  a  brush  with  the  Siouxes,  for 
any  right  he  had  to  know  the  contrary." 

"  Spare  your  breath,  good  man,"  retorted  his  wife  !  "be 
saving  your  breath  ;  for  you  may  have  to  call  long  enough 
for  the  boy  before  he  will  answer!" 

"  It  ar'  a  fact  that  some  men  be  so  womanish  as  to  let  thg 
young  master  the  old  !  But  you,  old  Eester,  should  know 
better  to  think  such  will  ever  be  the  nature  of  things  in 
the  family  of  Ishmael  Bush." 

"  Ah  !  you  are  a  hectorer  with  the  boys  when  need  calls! 
I  know  it  well,  Ishmael  ;  and  one  of  your  sons  have  you 


*34  THE  PRAIRIE. 

driven  from  you  by  your  temper  ;  and  that,  too,  at  a  tima 
when  he  is  most  wanted." 

"  Father,"  said  Abner,  whose  sluggish  nature  had  gradu* 
ally  been  stimulating  itself  to  the  exertion  of  taking  so 
bold  a  stand,  "  the  boys  and  I  have  pretty  generally  con- 
eluded  to  go  out  on  the  search  of  Asa.  We  are  disagree- 
able about  his  camping  on  the  prairie,  instead  of  coming 
into  his  own  bed,  as  we  all  know  he  would  like  to  do." 

"Pshaw!"  muttered  Abiram  ;  "the  boy  has  killed  a 
buck  ;  or  perhaps  a  buffalo  ;  and  he  is  sleeping  by  the 
carcass  to  keep  off  the  wolves  till  day  ;  we  shall  soon  see 
him,  or  hear  him  bawling  for  help  to  bring  in  his  load." 

""Pis  little  help  that  a  son  of  mine  will  call  for,  to 
shoulder  a  buck  or  to  quarter  your  wild  beef,"  returned 
the  mother.  "And  you,  Abiram,  to  say  so  uncertain  a 
thing  !  you  who  said  yourself  that  the  red-skins  had  been 
prowling  around  this  place  no  later  than  yesterday " 

"  I  !  "  exclaimed  her  brother,  hastily,  as  if  anxious  to  re- 
tract an  error  ;  "  I  said  it  then,  and  I  say  it  now  ;  and  so 
you  will  find  it  to  be.  The  Tetons  are  in  our  neighbor* 
hood,  and  happy  will  it  prove  for  the  boy  if  he  is  well 
shut  of  them." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  sa-id  Dr.  Battius,  speaking  with  the 
sort  of  deliberation  and  dignity  one  is  apt  to  use  after 
having  thoroughly  ripened  his  opinions  by  sufficient  re- 
flection— "  it  seems  to  me — a  man  but  little  skilled  in  the 
signs  and  tokens  of  Indian  warfare,  especially  as  practised 
in  these  remote  plains,  but  one  who,  I  may  say  without 
vanity,  has  some  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  Nature — it 
seems,  then,  to  me,  thus  humbly  qualified,  that  when 
doubts  exist  in  a  matter  of  moment,  it  would  always  be 
the  wisest  course  to  appease  them," 

"  No  more  of  your  doctoring  for  me  ! "  cried  the  grum 
Esther  ;  "  no  more  of  your  quiddities  in  a  healthy  family, 
say  I !  Here  was  I  doing  well,  only  a  little  out  of  sorts 
with  over-instructing  the  young,  and  you  dosed  me  with  a 
drug  that  hangs  about  my  tongue  lik^  a  pound-weight  on 
a  humnv.ng-bird's  wing  !  " 

"  Is  the  medicine  out?"  dryly  demanded  Ishmael ;  "it 
must  be  a  rare  dose  that  gives  a  heavy  feel  tc  the  tongue 
of  old  Eester  !  " 

"  Friend,"  continued  the  doctor,  waving  his  hand  for  the 
a*igry  wife  to  maintain  the  peace,  "  that  it  cannot  perform 
9  '1  that  is  said  of  it  the  very  charge  of  good  Mr? 


THE  PRAIRIE.  135 

a  sufficient  proof.  But  to  speak  of  the  absent  Asa.  Thers, 
is  doubt  as  to  his  fate,  and  there  is  a  proposition  to  solve 
it.  Now,  in  the  natural  sciences  truth  is  always  a  de- 
sideratum ;  and  I  confess  it  would  seem  to  be  equally  so 
in  the  present  case  of  domestic  uncertainty,  which  may  be 
called  a  vacuum,  where,  according  to  the  laws  of  physic,  there 
should  exist  some  pretty  palpable  proofs  of  materiality." 

"  Don't  mind  him,  don't  mind  him,"  cried  Esther,  ob- 
serving that  the  rest  of  his  auditors  listened  with  an  at- 
tention which  might  proceed  equally  from  acquiescence  in 
his  proposal,  or  ignorance  of  its  meaning.  "  There  is  a 
drug  in  every  word  he  utters." 

"  Dr.  Battius  wishes  to  say,"  Ellen  modestly  interposed, 
"that  as  some  of  us  think  Asa  is  in  danger,  and  some 
think  otherwise,  the  whole  family  might  pass  an  hour  or 
two  in  looking  for  him." 

"  Does  he?"  interrupted  the  woman  ;  "then  Dr.  Battius 
has  more  sense  in  him  than  I  believed  !  She  is  right, 
Ishmael ;  and  what  she  says  shall  be  done.  I  will  shoulder 
a  rifle  myself,  and  woe  betide  the  red-skin  that  crosses  my 
path  !  I  have  pulled  a  trigger  before  to-day  ;  ay,  and  heard 
an  Indian  yell,  too,  to  my  sorrow." 

The  spirit  of  Esther  diffused  itself,  like  the  stimulus 
which  attends  a  war-cry,  among  her  sons.  They  arose  in 
a  body,  and  declared  their  determination  to  second  so  bold 
a  resolution.  Ishmael  prudently  yielded  to  an  impulse  he 
could  not  resist,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  woman  ap- 
peared, shouldering  her  arms,  prepared  to  lead  forth,  in 
person,  such  of  her  descendants  as  chose  to  follow. 

"Let  them  stay  with  the  children  that  please,"  she  said, 
"  and  then  follow  me  who  are  not  chicken-hearted  !  " 

"  Abiram,  it  will  not  do  to  leave  the  huts  without  some 
guard,"  Ishmael  whispered,  glancing  his  eye  upward. 

The  man  whom  he  addressed  started,  and  betrayed  ex- 
traordinary eagerness  in  his  reply. 

"  I  will  tarry  and  watch  the  camp." 

A  dozen  voices  were  instantly  raised  in  objection  to  this 
proposal.  He  was  wanted  to  point  out  the  places  where 
the  hostile  tracks  had  been  seen,  and  his  termagant  sister 
openly  scouted  at  the  idea,  as  unworthy  of  his  manhood. 
The  reluctant  Abiram  was  compelled  to  yield,  and  Ishmael 
made  anew  disposition  for  the  defence  of  the  place  ;  which 
was  admitted  by  every  one  to  be  all-important  to  theil 
security  and  comfort 


/36  THE  PRAIRIE. 

He  offered  the  post  of  commandant  to  Dr.  Battius,  who, 
however,  peremptorily  and  somewhat  haughtily  declined 
the  doubtful  honor,  exchanging  looks  of  intelligence  with 
Ellen  as  he  did  so.  In  this  dilemma  the  squatter  was 
obliged  to  constitute  the  girl  herself  castellan,  taking  care, 
however,  in  deputing  this  important  trust,  to  omit  no 
words  of  caution  and  instruction.  When  this  preliminary 
point  was  settled  the  young  men  proceeded  to  arrange 
certain  means  of  defence  and  signals  of  alarm  that  were 
adapted  to  the  weakness  and  character  of  the  garrison. 
Several  masses  of  rocks  were  drawn  to  the  edge  of  the  up- 
per level,  and  so  placed  as  to  leave  it  at  the  discretion  of 
the  feeble  Ellen  and  her  associates  to  cast  them  or  not, 
as  they  might  choose,  on  the  heads  of  any  invaders,  who 
would  of  necessity  be  obliged  to  mount  the  eminence 
by  the  difficult  and  narrow  passage  already  so  often  men- 
tioned. In  addition  to  this  formidable  obstruction,  the 
barriers  were  strengthened  and  rendered  nearly  impass- 
able. Smaller  missiles  that  might  be  hurled  even  by  the 
hands  of  the  younger  children,  but  which  would  prove, 
from  the  elevation  of  the  place,  exceeding  dangerous,  were 
provided  in  profusion.  A  pile  of  dried  leaves  and  splin- 
ters was  placed,  as  a  beacon,  on  the  upper  rock,  and  then, 
even  in  the  jealous  judgment  of  the  squatter,  the  post  was 
deemed  competent  to  maintain  a  creditable  siege. 

The  moment  the  rock  was  thought  to  be  in  a  state  of 
sufficient  security  the  party  who  composed  what  might 
be  called  the  sortie  sallied  forth  on  their  anxious  expedi- 
tion. The  advance  was  led  by  Esther  in  person,  who,  at- 
tired in  a  dress  half  masculine,  and  bearing  a  weapon  like 
the  rest,  seemed  no  unfit  leader  for  the  group  of  wildly- 
clad  frontier-men  that  followed  in  her  rear. 

"  Now,  Abiram ! "  cried  the  Amazon,  in  a  voice  that  was 
cracked  and  harsh,  for  the  simple  reason  of  being  used 
too  often  on  a  strained  and  unnatural  key,  "  now,  Abiram, 
run  with  your  nose  low  ;  show  yourself  a  hound  of  the 
true  breed,  and  do  some  credit  to  your  training.  You  it 
was  that  saw  the  prints  of  the  Indian  moccasin,  and  it  be- 
hooves you  to  let  others  be  as  wise  as  yourself.  Come  ; 
come  to  the  front,  man,  and  give  us  a  bold  lead." 

The  brother,  who  appeared  at  all  times  to  stand  in  awe 
of  his  sister's  authority,  complied  ;  though  it  was  with  a 
reluctance  so  evident  as  to  excite  sneers  even  among  the 
unobservant  and  indolent  sons  of  the  squatter.  Jshmael, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  137 

himself,  moved  among  his  tall  children  like  one  who  ex- 
pected nothing  from  the  search,  and  who  was  indifferent 
alike  to  its  success  or  failure.  In  this  manner  the  party 
proceeded  until  their  distant  fortress  had  sunk  so  low  as 
to  present  an  object  no  larger  nor  more  distinct  than  a 
hazy  point  on  the  margin  of  the  prairie.  Hitherto  their 
progress  had  been  silent  and  somewhat  rapid,  for  as  swell 
after  swell  was  mounted  and  passed,  without  varying,  or 
discovering  a  living  object  to  enliven  the  monotony  of  the 
view,  even  the  tongue  of  Esther  was  hushed  to  increasing 
anxiety.  Here,  however,  Ishmael  chose  to  pause,  and 
casting  the  butt  of  his  rifle  from  his  shoulder  to  the 
ground,  he  observed  : 

"This  is  enough.  Buffalo-signs  and  deer-signs  are 
plenty  ;  but  where  are  thy  Indian  footsteps,  Abiram  ?" 

"  Still  farther  west,"  returned  the  other,  pointing  in  the 
direction  he  named.  "  This  was  the  spot  where  I  struck 
the  tracks  of  the  buck  ;  it  was  after  I  took  the  deer  that 
I  fell  upon  the  Teton  trail." 

"And  a  bloody  piece  of  work  you  made  of  it,  man," 
cried  the  squatter,  pointing  tauntingly  to  the  soiled  gar- 
ments of  his  kinsman,  and  then  directing  the  attention  of 
the  spectators  to  his  own,  by  the  way  of  a  triumphant  con- 
trast. "Here  have  I  cut  the  throats  of  two  lively  does, 
and  a  scampering  fawn,  without  spot  or  stain  ;  while  you, 
blundering  dog  that  you  are,  have  made  as  much  work  for 
Eester  and  her  girls,  as  though  butchering  was  your  regu- 
lar calling.  Come,  boys — it  is  enough.  I  am  too  old  not 
to  know  the  signs  of  the  frontiers  ;  no  Indian  has  been 
here  since  the  last  fall  of  water.  Follow  me  ;  and  I  will 
make  a  turn  that  shall  give  us  at  least  the  beef  of  a  fallow 
cow  for  our  trouble." 

"Follow  me!"  echoed  Esther,  stepping  undauntedly 
forward.  "  I  am  leader  to-day,  and  I  will  be  followed. 
Who  so  proper,  let  me  know,  as  a  mother,  to  lead  a  search 
for  her  own  lost  child  ?  " 

Ishmael  regarded  his  intractable  mate  with  a  smile  of 
indulgent  pity.  Observing  that  she  had  already  struck  out 
a  path  for  herself,  different  both  from  that  of  Abiram  and 
the  one  he  had  seen  fit  to  choose,  and,  being  unwilling  to 
draw  the  cord  of  authority  too  tight  just  at  that  moment,  he 
submitted  to  her  will.  But  Dr.  Battius,  who  had  hitherto 
been  a  silent  and  thoughtful  attendant  on  the  woman,  now 
saw  fit  to  raise  his  feeble  voice  in  the  way  of  remonstrance, 


138  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  I  agree  with  thy  partner  in  life,  worthy  and  gentle 
Mrs.  Bush,"  he  said,  "in  believing  that  some  ignis fatuus  of 
the  imagination  has  deceived  Abiram,  in  the  signs  or 
symptoms  of  which  he  has  spoken." 

''Symptoms,  yourself!"  interrupted  the  termagant 
"This  is  no  time  for  bookish  words,  nor  is  this  a  place  to 
stop  and  swallow  medicines.  If  you  are  a-leg-weary,  say 
so,  as  a  plain-speaking  man  should  ;  then  seat  yourself  on 
the  prairie,  like  a  hound  that  is  foot-sore,  and  take  your 
natural  rest." 

"  I  accord  with  your  opinion,"  the  naturalist  calmly  re- 
plied, complying  literally  with  the  opinion  of  the  deriding 
Esther,  by  taking  his  seat  very  coolly  by  the  side  of  an  in- 
digenous shrub,  the  examination  of  which  he  commenced 
on  the  instant,  in  order  that  science  might  not  lose  any  of 
its  just  and  important  dues.  "  I  honor  your  excellent  ad- 
vice, Mistress  Esther,  as  you  may  perceive.  Go  thou  in 
quest  of  thy  offspring,  while  I  tarry  here,  in  pursuit  of  that 
Which  is  better,  viz.,  an  insight  into  the  arcana  of  Nature's 
volume." 

The  woman  answered  with  a  hollow,  unnatural,  and 
scornful  laugh ;  and  even  her  heavy  sons,  as  they  slowly 
passed  the  seat  of  the  already  abstracted  naturalist,  did  not 
disdain  to  manifest  their  contempt  in  smiles.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  train  mounted  the  nearest  eminence,  and,  as 
it  turned  the  rounded  acclivity,  the  doctor  was  left  to  pur- 
Rue  his  profitable  investigation  in  entire  solitude. 

Another  half-hour  passed,  during  which  Esther  con- 
tinued to  advance  on  her  seemingly  fruitless  search.  Her 
pauses,  however,  were  becoming  frequent,  and  her  looks 
wandering  and  uncertain,  when  footsteps  were  heard  clat- 
tering through  the  bottom,  and  at  the  next  instant  a  buck 
was  seen  to  bound  up  the  ascent,  ^and  to  dart  from  before 
their  eyes,  in  the  direction  of  the  naturalist.  So  sudden 
and  unlocked  for  had  been  the  passage  of  the  animal,  and 
so  much  had  he  been  favored  by  the  shape  of  the  ground, 
that,  before  any  one  of  the  foresters  had  time  to  bring  his 
rifle  to  his  shoulder,  it  was  already  beyond  the  range  of  a 
bullet. 

"  Look  out  for  the  wolf  !"  shouted  Abner,  shaking  his 
head  in  vexation,  at  being  a  single  moment  too  late."  "A 
wolf's  skin  will  be  no  bad  gift  in  a  winter's  night ;  ay,  yon- 
der the  hungry  devil  comes  ! " 

"  Hold !  "  cried  Ishmael,  knocking  up  the  levelled  wea 


THE  PRAIRIE.  139 

pon  of  his  too  eager  son.  "  'Tis  not  a  wolf,  but  a  hound  of 
thorough  blood  and  bottom.  Ha !  we  have  hunters  nigh  : 
there  ar'  two  of  them." 

He  was  still  speaking,  when  the  animals  in  question 
came  leaping  on  the  track  of  the  deer,  striving  with  noble 
ardor  to  outdo  each  other.  One  was  an  aged  dog,  whose 
strength  seemed  to  be  sustained  purely  by  generous  emu- 
lation,  and  the  other  a  pup,  that  gambolled  even  while  he 
pressed  most  warmly  on  the  chase.  They  both  ran,  how- 
ever, with  clean  and  powerful  leaps,  carrying  their  noses 
high,  like  animals  of  the  most  keen  and  subtile  scent. 
They  had  passed  ;  and  in  another  minute  they  would  have 
been  running  open-mouthed  with  the  deer  in  view,  had 
not  the  younger  dog  suddenly  bounded  from  the  course, 
and  uttered  a  cry  of  surprise.  His  aged  companion  stopped 
also,  and  returned  panting  and  exhausted  to  the  place 
where  the  other  was  whirling  around  in  swift  and  appar- 
ently in  mad  evolutions,  circling  the  spot  in  his  own  foot- 
steps, and  continuing  his  outcry,  in  a  short,  snappish  bark- 
ing. But,  when  the  elder  hound  had  reached  the  spot,  he 
seated  himself,  and,  lifting  his  nose  high  into  the  air,  he 
raised  a  long,  loud,  and  wailing  howl.  - 

"  It  must  be  a  strong  scent,"  said  Abner,  who  had  been, 
with  the  rest  of  the  family,  an  admiring  observer  of  the 
movements  of  the  dogs,  "that  can  break  off  two  such  crea- 
tur's  so  suddenly  from  their  trail." 

"  Murder  them  !  "  cried  Abiram  ;  "  I'll  swear  to  the  old 
hound  ;  'tis  the  dog  of  the  trapper,  whom  we  now  know 
to  be  our  mortal  enemy." 

Though  the  brother  of  Esther  gave  so  hostile  advice, 
he  appeared  in  no  way  ready  to  put  it  in  execution  him- 
self. The  surprise  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  whole 
party,  exhibited  itself  in  his  own  vacant,  wondering  stare, 
as  strongly  as  in  any  of  the  admiring  visages  by  whom  he 
was  surrounded.  His  denunciation,  therefore,  notwith- 
standing its  dire  import,  was  disregarded  ;  and  the  dogs 
were  left  to  obey  the  impulses  of  their  mysterious  instinct, 
without  let  or  hinderance. 

It  was  long  before  any  of  the  spectators  broke  the  si- 
lence ;  but  the  squatter  at  length  so  far  recollected  his 
authority  as  to  take  on  himself  the  right  to  control  the 
movements  of  his  children. 

"Come  away,  boys  ;  come  away,  and  leave  the  hounds 
to  sing  their  tunes  for  their  own  amusement,"  Ishmael  said, 


140  THE  PRAIRIE. 

in  his  coldest  manner.  "  I  scorn  to  take  the  life  of  a  beast; 
because  its  master  has  pitched  himself  too  nigh  my  clear, 
ing  ;  come  away,  boys,  come  away  ;  we  have  enough  ol 
our  own  work  before  us,  without  turning  aside  to  do  that 
of  the  whole  neighborhood." 

"  Come  not  away  !  "  cried  Esther,  in  tones  that  sounded 
like  the  admonitions  of  some  sibyl.  "  I  say,  come  not  away, 
my  children.  There  is  a  meaning  and  a  warning  in  this  ; 
and  as  I  am  a  woman  and  a  mother,  will  I  know  the  truth 
of  it  all." 

So  saying,  the  awakened  wife  brandished  her  weapon, 
with  an  air  that  was  not  without  its  wild  and  secret  in- 
fluence, and  led  the  way  toward  the  spot  where  the  dogs 
still  remained,  filling  the  air  with  their  long-drawn  and 
piteous  complaints.  The  whole  party  followed  in  her 
steps,  some  too  indolent  to  oppose,  others  obedient  to  her 
will,  and  all  more  or  less  excited  by  the  uncommon  char- 
acter of  the  scene. 

"  Tell  me,  you  Abner — Abiram — Ishmael  !  "  the  woman 
cried,  standing  over  a  spot  where  the  earth  was  trampled 
and  beaten,  and  plainly  sprinkled  with  blood  ;  "  tell  me, 
you  who  ar'  hunters  !  what  sort  of  animal  has  here  met 
his  death  ? — Speak  !  Ye  ar'  men,  and  used  to  the  signs  of 
the  plains  ;  is  it  the  blood  of  wolf  or  panther?" 

<k  A  buffalo — and  a  noble  and  powerful  creatur'  has  it 
been!"  returned  the  squatter,  who  looked  down  calmly 
on  the  fatal  signs  which  so  strangely  affected  his  wife. 
"  Here  are  the  marks  of  the  spot  where  he  has  struck  his 
hoofs  into  the  earth,  in  the  death  struggle ;  and  yonder 
he  has  plunged  and  torn  the  ground  with  his  horns.  Ay, 
a  buffalo-bull  of  wonderful  strength  and  courage  has  ha 
been  !" 

"And  who  has  slain  him  ?"  continued  Esther  ;  "man  ! 
where  are  the  offals  ? — Wolves  ! — They  devour  not  the 
hide  !  Tell  me,  ye  men  and  hunters,  is  this  the  blood  of  a 
beast  ?  " 

"  The  creatur'  has  plunged  over  the  hillock,"  said  Abner, 
who  had  proceeded  a  short  distance  beyond  the  rest  of  the 
party.  "  Ah  !  there  you  will  find  it,  in  yon  swale  of  alders. 
Look  !  a  thousand  carrion-birds  ar'  hovering  above  the 
carcass." 

"  The  animal  has  still  life  in  him,"  returned  the  squat- 
ter, " or  the  buzzards  would  settle  upon  their  prey!  By 
the  action  of  the  dogs  it  must  be  something  ravenous :  I 


THE  PRAIRIE.  141 

reckon  it  is  the  white  bear  from  the  upper  falls.  They  are 
said  to  cling  desperately  to  life  !  " 

"  Let  us  go  back,"  said  Abiram  ;  "  there  may  be  danger, 
and  there  can  be  no  good  in  attacking  a  ravenous  beast. 
Remember,  Ishmael,  'twill  be  a  risky  job,  and  one  of  small 
profit  ! " 

The  young  men  smiled  at  this  new  proof  of  the  well- 
known  pusillanimity  of  their  uncle.  The  oldest  even  pro- 
ceeded so  far  as  to  express  his  contempt,  by  bluntly  say- 
ing : 

"  It  will  do  to  cage  with  the  other  animal  we  carry  ; 
then  we  may  go  back  double-handed  into  the  settlements, 
and  set  up  for  showmen,  around  the  court-houses  and  jails 
of  Kentucky." 

The  threatening  frown  which  gathered  on  the  brow  of 
his  father  admonished  the  young  man  to  forbear.  Ex- 
changing looks  that  were  half  rebellious  with  his  brethren, 
he  saw  fit  to  be  silent.  But  instead  of  observing  the  cau- 
tion recommended  by  Abiram,  they  proceeded  in  a  body, 
until  they  again  came  to  a  halt  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
matted  cover  of  the  thicket. 

The  scene  had  now,  indeed,  become  wild  and  striking 
enough  to  have  produced  a  powerful  effect  on  minds  better 
prepared,  than  those  of  the  unnurtured  family  of  the 
squatter,  to  resist  the  impressions  of  so  exciting  a  specta- 
cle. The  heavens  were,  as  usual  at  the  season,  covered 
with  dark,  driving  clouds,  beneath  which  interminable 
flocks  of  aquatic  birds  were  again  on  the  wing,  holding 
their  toilsome  and  heavy  way  toward  the  distant  waters  of 
the  South.  The  wind  had  risen,  and  was  once  more  sweep- 
ing over  the  prairie  in  gusts,  which  it  was  often  vain  to  op- 
pose ;  and  then  again  the  blasts  would  seem  to  mount  into 
the  upper  air,  as  if  to  sport  with  the  drifting  vapor,  whirl- 
ing and  rolling  vast  masses  of  the  dusky  and  ragged  vol- 
umes over  each  other,  in  a  terrific  and  yet  grand  disorder. 
Above  the  little  brake,  the  flocks  of  birds  still  held  their 
flight,  circling  with  heavy  wings  about  the  spot,  struggling 
at  times  against  the  torrent  of  wind,  and  then,  favored  by 
their  position  and  height,  making  bold  swoops  upon  the 
thicket,  away  from  which,  however,  they  never  failed  to 
sail,  screaming  in  terror,  as  if  apprised,  either  by  sight  or 
instinct,  that  the  hour  of  their  voracious  dominion  had  not 
yet  fully  arrived. 

Ishmael   stood   for   many    minutes,  with  his  wife   and 


142  THE  PRAIRIE. 

children  clustered  together,  in  an  amazement,  with  which 
awe  was  singularly  mingled,  gazing  in  death-like  stillness 
on  the  sight.  The  voice  of  Esther  at  length  broke  the 
charm,  and  reminded  the  spectators  of  the  necessity  of  re- 
solving their  doubts  in  some  manner  more  worthy  of  their 
manhood  than  by  dull  and  inactive  observation. 

"  Call  in  the  dogs  !  "  she  said  ;  "call  in  the  hounds,  and 
put  them  into  the  thicket  ;  there  ar'  men  enough  of  ye,  if 
ye  have  not  lost  the  spirit  with  which  I  know  ye  were 
born,  to  tame  the  tempers  of  all  the  bears  west  of  the  big 
river.  Call  in  the  dogs,  I  say,  you  Enoch !  Abner ! 
Gabriel  !  has  wonder  made  ye  deaf  ? " 

One  of  the  young  men  complied  ;  and,  having  succeeded 
in  detaching  the  hounds  from  the  place,  around  which, 
until  then,  they  had  not  ceased  to  hover,  he  led  them  down 
to  the  margin  of  the  thicket. 

"  Put  them  in,  boy  ;  put  them  in,"  continued  the  woman  ; 
"and  you,  Ishmael  and  Abiram,  if  anything  wicked  or 
hurtful  comes  forth,  show  them  the  use  of  your  rifles,  like 
frontier-men.  If  ye  ar'  wanting  in  spirit,  before  the  eyes 
of  my  children  I  will  put  ye  both  to  shame  !  " 

The  youths  who,  until  now,  had  detained  the  hounds, 
let  slip  the  thongs  of  skin  by  which  they  had  been  held, 
and  urged  them  to  the  attack  with  their  voices.  But  it 
would  seem  that  the  elder  dog  was  restrained  by  some  ex- 
traordinary sensation,  or  that  he  was  much  too  experienced 
to  attempt  the  rash  adventure.  After  proceeding  a  few 
yards  to  the  verge  of  the  brake,  he  made  a  sudden  pause, 
and  stood  trembling  in  all  his  aged  limbs,  apparently  as 
unable  to  recede  as  to  advance.  The  encouraging  calls  of 
the  young  men  were  disregarded,  or  only  answered  by  a 
low  and  plaintive  whining.  For  a  minute  the  pup  also 
was  similarly  affected  ;  but  less  sage,  or  more  easily  excited, 
he  was  induced  at  length  to  leap  forward,  and  finally  to 
dash  into  the  cover.  An  alarmed  and  startling  howl  was 
heard,  and  at  the  next  minute,  he  broke  out  of  the  thicket, 
and  commenced  circling  the  spot,  in  the  same  wTild  and 
unsteady  manner  as  before. 

"  Have  I  a  man  among  my  children  ?  "  demanded  Esther. 
"  Give  me  a  truer  piece  than  a  childish  shot-gun,  and  I 
will  show  ye  what  the  courage  of  a  frontier-woman  can 
do!" 

"  Stay,  mother,"  exclaimed  Abner  and  Enoch  ;  "  if  you 
see  the  creatur',  let  us  drive  it  into  view." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  143 

This  was  quite  as  much  as  the  youths  were  accustomed 
to  utter,  even  on  more  important  occasions  ;  but,  having 
given  a  pledge  of  their  intentions,  they  were  far  from  being 
backward  in  redeeming  it.  Preparing  their  arms  with  the 
utmost  care,  they  advanced  with  steadiness  to  the  brake. 
Nerves  less  often  tried  than  those  of  the  young  borderers 
might  have  shrunk  before  the  dangers  of  so  uncertain  an 
undertaking.  As  they  proceeded,  the  howls  of  the  dogs 
became  more  shrill  and  plaintive.  The  vultures  and  buz- 
zards settled  so  low  as  to  flap  the  bushes  with  their  heavy 
wings,  and  the  wind  came  hoarsely  sweeping  along  the 
naked  prairie,  as  if  the  spirits  of  the  air  had  also  descended 
to  witness  the  approaching  development. 

There  was  a  breathless  moment,  when  the  blood  of  the 
undaunted  Esther  flowed  backward  to  her  heart,  as  she 
saw  her  sons  push  aside  the  matted  branches  of  the  thicket, 
and  bury  themselves  in  its  labyrinth.  A  deep  and  solemn 
pause  succeeded.  Then  arose  two  loud  and  piercing  cries, 
in  quick  succession,  which  were  followed  by  a  quiet  still 
more  awful  and  appalling. 

"  Come  back,  come  back,  my  children ! "  cried  the 
woman,  the  feelings  of  a  mother  getting  the  ascendency. 

But  her  voice  was  hushed,  and  every  faculty  seemed 
frozen  with  horror,  as  at  that  instant  the  bushes  once  more 
parted,  and  the  two  adventurers  reappeared,  pale  and 
nearly  insensible  themselves,  and  laid  at  her  feet  the  stiff 
and  motionless  body  of  the  lost  Asa,  with  the  marks  of  a 
violent  death  but  too  plainly  stamped  on  every  pallid  lin- 
eament. 

The  dogs  uttered  a  long  and  closing  howl,  and  then, 
breaking  off  together,  they  disappeared  on  the  forsaken 
trail  of  the  deer.  The  flight  of  birds  wheeled  upward  into 
the  heavens,  filling  the  air  with  their  complaints  at  having 
been  robbed  of  a  victim  which,  frightful  and  disgusting  as 
it  was,  still  bore  too  much  of  the  impression  of  humanity 
to  become  the  prey  of  their  obscene  appetites. 


144  THE  PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"A  pickaxe,  and  a  spade,  a  spade, 

For — and  a  shrouding  sheet ; 
O,  a  pit  of  clay  for  to  be  made 

For  such  a  guest  is  meet." — SONG  IN  HAMLET. 

"  STAND  back  !  stand  off,  the  whole  of  ye  !  "  said  Esther, 
hoarsely,  to  the  crowd,  which  pressed  too  closely  on  the 
corpse  ;  "I  am  his  mother,  and  my  right  is  better  than 
that  of  ye  all  !  Who  has  done  this  ?  Tell  me,  Ishmael, 
Abiram,  Abner !  open  your  mouths  and  your  hearts,  and 
let  God's  truth  and  no  other  issue  from  them.  Who  has 
done  this  bloody  deed  ? " 

Her  husband  made  no  reply,  but  stood,  leaning  on  his 
rifle,  looking  sadly,  but  with  an  unaltered  eye,  at  the  man* 
gled  remains  of  his  son.  Not  so  the  mother  ;  she  threw 
herself  on  the  earth,  and,  receiving  the  cold  and  ghastly 
head  into  her  lap,  she  sat  contemplating  those  muscular 
features,  on  which  the  death-agony  was  still  horribly  im- 
pressed, in  a  silence  far  more  expressive  than  any  language 
of  lamentation  could  have  proved. 

The  voice  of  the- woman  was  frozen  in  grief.  In  vain 
Ishmael  attempted  a  few  words  of  rude  consolation  ;  she 
neither  listened  nor  answered.  Her  sons  gathered  about 
her  in  a  circle,  and  expressed,  after  their  uncouth  manner, 
their  sympathy  in  her  sorrow,  as  well  as  their  sense  of 
their  own  loss  ;  but  she  motioned  them  away,  impatiently, 
with  her  hand.  At  times  her  fingers  played  in  the  matted 
hair  of  the  dead,  and  at  others  they  lightly  attempted  to 
smooth  the  painfully  expressive  muscles  of  its  ghastly  vis- 
age, as  the  hand  of  the  mother  is  seen  lingering  fondly 
about  the  features  of  her  sleeping  child.  Then,  starting 
from  their  revolting  office,  her  hands  would  flutter  around 
her,  and  seem  to  seek  some  fruitless  remedy  against  the 
violent  blow  which  had  thus  suddenly  destroyed  the  child 
in  whom  she  had  not  only  placed  her  greatest  hopes,  but 
so  much  of  her  maternal  pride.  While  engaged  in  the 
latter  incomprehensible  manner,  the  lethargic  Abner 
turned  aside,  and  swallowing  the  unwonted  emotions 
which  were  rising  in  his  own  throat,  he  observed  : 

"  Mother  means  that  we  should  look  for  the  signs,  that 
we  may  know  in  what  manner  Asa  has  come  by  his  end." 

"  We  owe  it  to  the  accursed  Siouxes  ! "  answered  Ish- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  145 

mael  ;  "  twice  have  they  -put  me  deeply  in  their  debt ! 
The  third  time  the  score  shall  be  cleared  !  " 

But,  not  content  with  this  plausible  explanation,  and 
perhaps  secretly  glad  to  avert  their  eyes  from  a  spectacle 
which  awakened  so  extraordinary  and  unusual  sensations 
in  their  sluggish  bosoms,  the  sons  of  the  squatter  turned 
away  in  a  body  from  their  mother  and  the  corpse,  and 
proceeded  to  make  the  inquiries  which  they  fancied  the 
former  had  so  repeatedly  demanded.  Ishmael  made  no 
objections  ;  but,  though  he  accompanied  his  children  while 
they  proceeded  in  the  investigation,  it  was  more  with  the 
appearance  of  complying  with  their  wishes,  at  a  time  when 
resistance  might  not  be  seemly,  than  with  any  visible  in- 
terest in  the  result.  As  the  borderers,  notwithstanding 
their  usual  dulness,  were  well  instructed  in  most  things 
connected  with  their  habits  of  life,  an  inquiry,  the  success 
of  which  depended  so  much  on  signs  and  evidences  that 
bore  so  strong  a  resemblance  to  a  forest-trail,  was  likely 
to  be  conducted  with  skill  and  acuteness.  Accordingly, 
they  proceeded  to  the  melancholy  task  with  great  readi- 
ness and  intelligence. 

Abner  and  Enoch  agreed  in  their  accounts  as  to  the 
position  in  which  they  had  found  the  body.  It  was  seated 
nearly  upright,  the  back  supported  by  a  mass  of  matted 
brush,  and  one  hand  still  grasping  a  broken  twig  of  the 
alders.  It  was  most  probably  owing  to  the  former  cir- 
cumstance that  the  body  had  escaped  the  rapacity  of  the 
carrion-birds  which  had  been  seen  hovering  above  the 
thicket,  and  the  latter  proved  that  life  had  not  yet  en- 
tirely abandoned  the  hapless  victim  when  he  entered  the 
brake.  The  opinion  now  became  general  that  the  youth 
had  received  his  death-wound  in  the  open  prairie,  and  had 
dragged  his  enfeebled  form  into  the  cover  of  the  thicket 
for  the  purpose  of  concealment.  A  trail  through  the 
bushes  confirmed  this  opinion.  It  also  appeared,  on  exam- 
ination, that  a  desperate  struggle  had  taken  place  on  the 
very  margin  of  the  thicket.  This  was  sufficiently  apparent 
by  the  trodden  branches,  the  deep  impressions  on  the 
Inoist  ground,  and  the  lavish  flow  of  blood. 

"  He  has  been  shot  in  the  open  ground  and  come  here 
for  a  cover,"  said  Abiram  ;  "these  marks  would  clearly 
prove  it.  The  boy  has  been  set  upon  by  the  savages  in  a 
body,  and  has  fou't  like  a  hero  as  he  was,  until  they  have 
mastered  his  strength,  and  then  drawn  him  to  the  bushes." 

10 


f4«  THE  PRAIRIE. 

To  this  probable  opinion  there  was  now  but  one  dissent- 
ing voice,  that  of  the  slow-minded  Ishmael,  who  demanded 
that  the  corpse  itself  should  be  examined  in  order  to  ob- 
tain a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  its  injuries.  On  exami- 
nation, it  appeared  that  a  rifle-bullet  had  passed  directly 
through  the  body  of  the  deceased,  entering  beneath  one  of 
his  brawny  shoulders,  and  making  its  exit  by  the  breast. 
It  required  some  knowledge  in  gunshot-wounds  to  decide 
this  delicate  point,  but  the  experience  of  the  borderers 
was  quite  equal  to  the  scrutiny  ;  and  a  smile  of  wild  and 
certainly  of  singular  satisfaction  passed  among  the  sons  of 
Ishmael,  when  Abner  confidently  announced  that  the  ene- 
mies of  Asa  had  assailed  him  in  the  rear. 

"  It  must  be  so,"  said  the  gloomy  but  attentive  squatter. 
"He  was  of  too  good  a  stock,  and  too  well  trained,  know- 
ingly to  turn  the  weak  side  to  man  or  beast !  Remember, 
boys,  that  while  the  front  of  manhood  is  to  your  enemy, 
let  him  be  who  or  what  he  may,  you  ar'  safe  from  coward- 
ly surprise.  Why,  Eester,  woman  !  you  ar'  getting  beside 
yourself  with  picking  at  the  hair  and  the  garments  of  the 
child  !  Little  good  can  you  do  him  now,  old  girl." 

"See!"  interrupted  Enoch,  extricating  from  the  frag- 
ments of  cloth  the  morsel  of  lead  which  had  prostrated  the 
strength  of  one  so  powerful  ;  "  here  is  the  very  bullet !  " 

Ishmael  took  it  in  his  hand  and  eyed  it  long  and  closely. 

"  There's  no  mistake,"  at  length  he  muttered,  through 
his  compressed  teeth.  "  It  is  from  the  pouch  of  that  ac- 
cursed trapper.  Like  many  of  the  hunters,  he  has  a  mark 
in  his  mould,  in  order  to  know  the  work  his  rifle  performs  ; 
and  here  you  see  it  plainly — six  little  holes  laid  crossways." 

"  I'll  swear  to  it,"  cried  Abiram,  triumphantly.  "  He 
showed  me  his  private  mark  himself,  and  boasted  of  the 
number  of  deer  he  had  laid  upon  the  prairies  with  these 
very  bullets.  Now,  Ishmael,  will  you  believe  me  when  I 
tell  you  the  old  knave  is  a  spy  of  the  red-skins  ? " 

The  lead  passed  from  the  hand  of  one  to  that  of  another  ; 
and,  unfortunately  for  the  reputation  of  the  old  man,  sev- 
eral among  them  remembered  also  to  have  seen  the  afore- 
said private  bullet  marks  during  the  curious  examination 
which  all  had  made  of  his  accoutrements.  In  addition  to 
this  wound,  however,  were  many  others  of  a  less  danger- 
ous nature,  all  of  which  were  deemed  to  confirm  the  sup- 
posed guilt  of  the  trapper. 

The  traces  of  many  different  struggles  were  to  be  seen 


THE  PRAIRIE.  147 

between  the  spot  where  the  first  blood  was  spilt  and  the 
thicket  to  which  it  was  now  generally  believed  Asa  had 
retreated  as  a  place  of  refuge.  These  were  interpreted 
into  so  many  proofs  of  the  weakness  of  the  murderer,  who 
would  have  sooner  dispatched  his  victim,  had  not  even 
the  dying  strength  of  the  youth  rendered  him  formidable 
to  the  infirmities  of  one  so  old.  The  danger  of  drawing 
some  others  of  the  hunters  to  the  spot,  by  repeated  firingt 
was  deemed  a  sufficient  reason  for  not  again  resorting  tc 
the  rifle  after  it  had  performed  the  important  duty  of  dis- 
abling the  victim.  The  weapon  of  the  dead  man  was  not 
to  be  found,  and  had,  doubtless,  together  with  many  other 
less  valuable  and  lighter  articles  that  he  was  accustomed 
to  carry  about  his  person,  become  a  prize  to  his  destroyer. 

But  what,  in  addition  to  the  tell-tale  bullet,  appeared  to 
fix  the  ruthless  deed  with  peculiar  certainty  on  the  trapper 
was  the  accumulated  evidence  furnished  by  the  trail ; 
which  proved,  notwithstanding  his  deadly  hurt,  that  the 
wounded  man  had  still  been  able  to  make  a  long  and  des- 
perate resistance  to  the  subsequent  efforts  of  his  murderer. 
Ishmael  seemed  to  press  this  proof  with  a  singular  mixt- 
ure of  sorrow  and  pride  ;  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  a  son  whom, 
in  their  moments  of  amity,  he  highly  valued  ;  and  pride  at 
the  courage  and  power  he  had  manifested  to  his  last  and 
weakest  breath. 

"  He  died  as  a  son  of  mine  should  die,"  said  the  squatter, 
gleaning  a  hollow  consolation  from  so  unnatural  an  exul- 
tation— "a  dread  to  his  enemy  to  the  last,  and  without 
help  from  the  law  ?  Come,  children  ;  we  have  the  grave 
to  make,  and  then  to  hunt  his  murderer." 

The  sons  of  the  squatter  set  about  their  melancholy 
office  in  silence  and  in  sadness.  An  excavation  was  made 
in  the  hard  earth  at  a  great  expense  of  toil  and  time,  and 
the  body  was  wrapped  in  such  spare  vestments  as  could  be 
collected  among  the  laborers.  When  these  arrangements 
were  completed,  Ishmael  approached  the  seemingly  un- 
conscious Esther,  and  announced  his  intention  to  inter  the 
dead.  She  heard  him,  and  quietly  relinquished  her  grasp 
of  the  corpse,  rising  in  silence  to  follow  it  to  its  narrow 
resting  place.  Here  she  seated  herself  again  at  the  head 
of  the  grave,  watching  each  movement  of  the  youths  with 
eager  and  jealous  eyes.  When  a  sufficiency  of  earth  was 
laid  upon  the  senseless  clay  of  Asa  to  protect  it  from 
injury,  Enoch  and  Abner  entered  the  cavity  and  trod  it 


I4«  THE  PRAIRIE. 

into  a  solid  mass  by  the  weight  of  their  huge  frames,  with 
an  appearance  of  a  strange,  not  to  say  savage,  mixture  of 
care  and  indifference.  This  well-known  precaution  was 
adopted  to  prevent  the  speedy  exhumation  of  the  body  by 
some  of  the  carnivorous  beasts  of  the  prairie,  whose"  in- 
stinct was  sure  to  guide  them  to  the  spot.  Even  the  rapa- 
cious birds  appeared  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  the 
ceremony,  for,  mysteriously  apprised  that  the  miserable 
victim  was  now  about  to  be  abandoned  by  the  human  race, 
they  once  more  began  to  make  their  airy  circuits  above 
the  place,  screaming  as  if  to  frighten  the  kinsmen  from 
their  labor  of  caution  and  love. 

Ishmael  stood,  with  folded  arms,  steadily  watching  the 
manner  in  which  this  necessary  duty  was  performed,  and 
when  the  whole  was  completed,  he  lifted  his  cap  to  his 
sons,  to  thank  them  for  their  services,  with  a  dignity  that 
would  have  become  one  much  better  nurtured.  Through- 
out the  whole  of  a  ceremony  which  is  ever  solemn  and  ad- 
monitory, the  squatter  had  maintained  a  grave  and  serious 
deportment.  His  vast  features  were  visibly  stamped  with 
an  expression  of  deep  concern  ;  but  at  no  time  did  they 
falter,  until  he  turned  his  back,  as  he  believed  forever,  on 
the  grave  of  his  first-born.  Nature  was  then  stirring 
powerfully  within  him,  and  the  muscles  of  his  stern  visage 
began  to  work  perceptibly.  His  children  fastened  their 
eyes  on  his,  as  if  to  seek  a  direction  to  the  strange  emo- 
tions which  were  moving  their  own  heavy  natures,  when 
the  struggle  in  the  bosom  of  the  squatter  suddenly  ceased, 
and  taking  his  wife  by  the  arm,  he  raised  her  to  her  feet 
as  if  she  had  been  an  infant,  saying  in  a  voice  that  was 
perfectly  steady,  though  a  nice  observer  would  have  dis- 
covered that  it  was  kinder  than  usual  : 

"  Eester,  we  have  now  done  all  that  man  and  woman  can 
do.  We  raised  the  boy,  and  made  him  such  as  few  others 
were  like,  on  the  frontiers  of  America  ;  and  we  have  given 
him  a  grave.  Let  us  go  our  way." 

The  woman  turned  her  eyes  slowly  from  the  fresh  earth, 
and  laying  her  hands  on  the  shoulders  of  her  husband, 
stood,  looking  him  anxiously  in  the  eyes. 

''Ishmael!  Ishmael!"  she  said,  "you  parted  from  the 
boy  in  your  wrath  ? " 

"May  the  Lord  pardon  his  sins  as  freely  as  I  have  for- 
given his  worst  misdeeds  !"  calmly  returned  the  squatter. 
"  Woman,  go  you  back  to  the  rock  and  read  your  Bihle  ; 


THE  PRAIRIE.  149 

a  chapter  in  that  book  always  does  you  good.  You  can 
read,  Eester,  which  is  a  privilege  I  never  did  enjoy." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  muttered  the  woman,  yielding  to  his  strength, 
and  suffering  herself  to  be  led,  though  with  strong  reluc- 
tance, from  the  spot.  "I  can  read;  and  how  have  I  used 
the  knowledge!  But  he,  Ishmael,  he  has  not  the  sin  of 
wasted  Taming  to  answer  for.  We  have  spared  him  that, 
at  least !  whether  it  be  in  mercy  or  in  cruelty  I  know  not." 

Her  husband  made  no  reply,  but  continued  steadily  to 
lead  her  in  the  direction  of  their  temporary  abode.  When 
they  reached  the  summit  of  the  swell  of  land,  which  they 
knew  was  the  last  spot  from  which  the  situation  of  the 
grave  of  Asa  could  be  seen,  they  all  turned,  as  by  common 
concurrence,  to  take  a  farewell  view  of  the  place.  The 
little  mound  itself  was  not  visible  ;  but  it  was  frightfully 
indicated  by  the  flock  of  screaming  birds  which  hovered 
above.  In  the  opposite  direction  a  low,  blue  hillock,  in 
the  skirts  of  the  horizon,  pointed  out  the  place  where 
Esther  had  left  the  rest  of  her  young,  and  served  as  an 
attraction  to  draw  her  reluctant  steps  from  the  last  abode 
of  her  eldest  born.  Nature  quickened  in  the  bosom  of 
the  mother  at  the  sight  ;  and  she  finally  yielded  the  rights 
of  the  dead  to  the  more  urgent  claims  of  the  living. 

The  foregoing  occurrences  had  struck  a  spark  from  the 
stern  tempers  of  a  set  of  beings  so  singularly  moulded  in 
the  habits  of  their  uncultivated  lives,  which  served  to  keep 
alive  among  them  the  dying  embers  of  family  affection. 
United  to  their  parents  by  ties  no  stronger  than  those 
which  use  had  created,  there  had  been  great  danger,  as 
Ishmael  had  foreseen,  that  the  overloaded  hive  would 
swarm,  and  leave  him  saddled  with  the  difficulties  of  a 
young  and  helpless  brood,  unsupported  by  the  exertions 
of  those  whom  he  had  already  brought  to  a  state  of  matu- 
rity. The  spirit  of  insubordination  which  emanated  from 
the  unfortunate  Asa,  had  spread  among  his  juniors  ;  and 
the  squatter  had  been  made  painfully  to  remember  the 
time  when,  in  the  wantonness  of  his  youth  and  vigor,  he 
had,  reversing  the  order  of  the  brutes,  cast  off  his  own 
aged  and  failing  parents,  to  enter  into  the  world  un- 
shackled and  free.  But  the  danger  had  now  abated,  for  a 
time  at  least  ;  and,  if  his  authority  was  not  restored  with 
all  its  former  influence,  it  was  admitted  to  exist,  and  to 
maintain  its  ascendency  a  little  longer. 

It  is  true  that  his  slow-minded  sons,  even  while  they 


)5<1  THE  PRAIRIE. 

submitted  to  the  impressions  of  the  recent  event,  had  glim* 
merings  of  terrible  distrust  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
their  elder  brother  had  met  with  his  death.  There  were 
faint  and  indistinct  images  in  the  minds  of  two  or  three  of 
the  oldest,  which  portrayed  the  father  himself  as  ready  to 
imitate  the  example  of  Abraham,  without  the  justification 
of  the  sacred  authority  which  commanded  the  holy  man  to 
attempt  the  revolting  office.  But  then  these  images  were 
so  transient,  and  so  much  obscured  in  intellectual  mists, 
as  to  leave  no  very  strong  impressions  ;  and  the  tendency 
of  the  whole  transaction,  as  we  have  already  said,  was 
rather  to  strengthen  than  to  weaken  the  authority  of  Ish- 
mael. 

In  this  disposition  of  mind  the  party  continued  their 
route  toward  the  place  whence  they  had  that  morning 
issued  on  a  search  which  had  been  crowned  with  so  melan- 
choly a  success. 

The  long  and  fruitless  march  which  they  had  made  un- 
der the  direction  of  Abiram,  the  discovery  of  the  body  and 
its  subsequent  interment,  had  so  far  consumed  the  day, 
that,  by  the  time  their  steps  were  retraced  across  the  broad 
tract  of  waste  which  lay  between  the  grave  of  Asa  and  the 
rock,  the  sun  had  fallen  far  below  his  meridian  altitude. 
The  hill  had  gradually  risen  as  they  approached,  like  some 
tower  emerging  from  the  bosom  of  the  sea,  and,  when 
within  a  mile,  the  minuter  objects  that  crowned  its  height 
came  dimly  into  view. 

"It  will  be  a  sad  meeting  for  the  girls!  "  said  Ishmael, 
who,  from  time  to  time,  did  not  cease  to  utter  something 
which  he  intended  should  be  consolatory  to  the  bruised 
spirit  of  his  partner.  "  Asa  was  much  regarded  by  all  the 
young,  and  seldom  failed  to  bring  in  from  his  hunts  some- 
thing that  they  loved." 

"He  did,  he  did,"  murmured  Esther;  "the  boy  was  the 
pride  of  the  family.  My  other  children  are  as  nothing  to 
him  !  " 

"Say  not  so,  good  woman,"  returned  the  father  glan- 
cing his  eye  a  little  proudly  at  the  athletic  train  which 
followed  at  no  great  distance  in  the  rear.  "  Say  not  so, 
old  Eester  ;  for  few  fathers  and  mothers  have  greater  rea« 
son  to  be  boastful  than  ourselves." 

"  Thankful,  thankful,"  muttered  the  humble  woman  • 
"ye  mean  thankful,  Ishmael!" 

"  Then  thankful  let  it  be,  if  you  like  the  word  better 


THE  PRAIRIE.  151 

my  good  girl — but  what  has  become  of  Nelly  and  the 
young  ?  The  child  has  forgotten  the  charge  I  gave  her, 
and  has  not  only  suffered  the  children  to  sleep,  but  I  war- 
rant you  is  dreaming  of  the  fields  of  Tennessee  at  this  very 
moment.  Th^  mind  of  your  niece  is  mainly  fixed  on  the 
settlements,  I  reckon." 

"  Ay,  she  is  not  for  us  ;  I  said  it,  and  thought  it,  when  I 
took  her,  because  death  had  stripped  her  of  all  other 
friends.  Death  is  a  sad  worker  in  the  bosom  of  families, 
Ishmael !  Asa  had  a  kind  feeling  to  the  child,  and  they 
might  have  come  one  day  into  our  places  had  things  been 
so  ordered." 

"  Nay,  she  is  not  gifted  for  a  frontier  wife,  if  this  is  the 
manner  she  is  to  keep  house  while  the  husband  is  on  the 
hunt.  Abner,  let  off  your  rifle,  that  they  may  know  we 
ar'  coming.  I  fear  Nelly  and  the  young  ar'  asleep." 

The  young  man  complied  with  an  alacrity  that  mani- 
fested how  gladly  he  would  see  the  rounded,  active  figure 
of  Ellen  enlivening  the  ragged  summit  of  the  rock.  But 
the  report  was  succeeded  by  neither  signal  nor  answer  of 
any  sort.  For  a  moment  the  whole  party  stood  in  sus- 
pense, awaiting  the  result,  and  then  a  simultaneous  im- 
pulse caused  the  whole  to  let  off  their  pieces  at  the  same 
instant,  producing  a  noise  which  might  not  fail  to  reach 
the  ears  of  all  within  so  short  a  distance. 

"Ah  !  there  they  come  at  last  ?"  cried  Abiram,  who  was 
usually  among  the  first  to  seize  on  any  circumstance  which 
promised  relief  from  disagreeable  apprehensions. 

"  It  is  a  petticoat  fluttering  on  the  line/' said  Esther; 
"I  put  it  there  myself." 

"  You  are  right ;  but  now  she  comes  ;  the  jade  has  been 
taking  her  comfort  in  the  tent !  " 

"  It  is  not  so,"  said  Ishmael,  whose  usually  inflexible 
features  were  beginning  to  manifest  the  uneasiness  he  felt. 
"  It  is  the  tent  itself  blowing  about  loosely  in  the  wind. 
They  have  loosened  the  bottom,  like  silly  children  as  they 
ar',  and,  unless  care  is  had,  the  whole  will  come  down  ! " 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered  before  a  rushing  blast 
of  wind  swept  by  the  spot  where  they  stood,  raising  the 
dust  in  little  eddies,  in  its  progress  ;  and  then,  as  if  guided 
by  a  master-hand,  it  quitted  the  earth,  and  mounted  to 
the  precise  spot  on  which  all  eyes  were  just  then  riveted. 
The  loosened  linen  felt  its  influence  and  tottered  ;  but  re- 
gained its  poise,  and  for  a  moment  it  became  tranquil 


l?2  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  cloud  of  leaves  next  played  in  circling  revolution* 
around  the  place  and  then  descended  with  the  velocity  of 
a  swooping  hawk,  and  sailed  away  into  the  prairie  in 
long  straight  lines,  like  a  flight  of  swallows  resting  on 
their  expanded  wings.  They  were  followed  for  some  dis- 
tance by  the  snow-white  tent,  which,  howeVer,  soon  fell 
behind  the  rock,  leaving  its  highest  peak  as  naked  a« 
when  it  lay  in  the  entire  solitude  of  the  desert. 

"  The  murderers  have  been  here  ! "  moaned  Esther. 
"  My  babes  !  my  babes  ! " 

For  a  moment  even  Ishmael  faltered  before  the  weight 
of  so  unexpected  a  blow.  But,  shaking  himself  like  an 
awakened  lion,  he  sprang  forward,  and  pushing  aside  th<3 
impediments  of  the  barrier  as  if  they  had  been  feathers, 
he  rushed  up  the  ascent  with  an  impetuosity  which  proved 
how  formidable  a  sluggish  nature  may  become  when 
thoroughly  aroused. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  Whose  party  does  the  townsmen  next  admit  ?  " — KING  JOHN. 

IN  order  to  preserve  an  even  pace  between  the  incidentt 
of  the  tale,  it  becomes  necessary  to  revert  to  such  eventt 
as  occurred  during  the  ward  of  Ellen  Wade. 

For  the  first  few  hours  the  cares  of  the  honest  and  warm- 
hearted girl  were  confined  to  the  simple  offices  of  satis- 
fying the  often-repeated  demands  which  her  younger  as- 
sociates made  on  her  time  and  patience,  under  the  pre- 
tences of  hunger,  thirst,  and  all  the  other  ceaseless  wants 
of  captious  and  inconsiderate  childhood.  She  had  seized 
a  moment  from  their  importunities  to  steal  into  the  tent, 
where  she  was  administering  to  the  comforts  of  one  far 
more  deserving  of  her  tenderness,  when  an  outcry  among 
the  children  recalled  her  to  the  duties  she  had  momen- 
tarily forgotten. 

"  See,  Nelly,  see!  "  exclaimed  half  a  dozen  eager  voices  : 
"yonder  ar'  men;  and  Phoebe  says  that  they  ar'  Siou^ 
Indians  ! " 

Ellen  turned  her  eyes  in  the  direction  in  which  so  manj 
arms  were  already  extended,  and  to  her  consternation  be? 
held  several  men  advancing  manifestly  and  swiftly  in  ? 


THE  PRAIRIE.  153 

straight  line  toward  the  rock.  She  counted  four,  but  was 
Unable  to  make  out  anything  concerning  their  characters, 
except  that  they  were  not  any  of  those  who  of  right  were 
entitled  to  admission  into  the  fortress.  It  was  a  fear- 
ful moment  for  Ellen.  Looking  around  at  the  juvenile 
and  frightened  flock  that  pressed  upon  the  skirts  of  her  gar- 
ments, she  endeavored  to  recall  to  her  confused  faculties 
some  one  of  the  many  tales  of  female  heroism  with  which 
the  history  of  the  Western  frontier  abounded.  In  one  a 
stockade  had  been  successfully  defended  by  a  single  man, 
supported  by  three  or  four  women,  for  days  against  the  as- 
sault of  a  hundred  enemies.  In  another,  the  women  alone 
had  been  able  to  protect  the  children  and  the  less  valu- 
able effects  of  their  absent  husbands  ;  and  a  third  was  not 
Wanting  in  which  a  solitary  female  had  destroyed  her 
sleeping  captors  and  given  liberty  not  only  to  herself,  but 
to  a  brood  of  helpless  young.  This  was  the  case  most 
nearly  assimilated  to  the  situation  in  which  Ellen  now 
found  herself  ;  and,  with  flushing  cheeks  and  kindling 
eyes,  the  girl  began  to  consider  and  to  prepare  her  slen- 
rter  means  of  defence. 

She  posted  the  larger  girls  at  the  levers  that  were  to 
tfast  the  rocks  on  the  assailants  ;  the  smaller  were  to  be 
used  more  for  show  than  any  positive  service  they  could 
perform  ;  while,  like  any  other  leader,  she  reserved  her  own 
person  as  a  superintendent  and  encourager  of  the  whole. 
When  these  dispositions  were  made  she  endeavored  to 
await  the  issue  with  an  air  of  composure  that  she  intended 
should  inspire  her  assistants  with  the  confidence  necessary 
to  insure  success. 

Although  Ellen  was  vastly  their  superior  in  that  spirit 
which  emanates  from  moral  qualities,  she  was  by  no 
means  the  equal  of  the  two  eldest  daughters  of  Esther  in 
the  important  military  property  of  insensibility  to  dan- 
ger. Reared  in  the  hardihood  of  a  migrating  life  on  the 
skirts  of  society,  where  they  had  become  familiarized  to  the 
sights  and  dangers  of  the  wilderness,  these  girls  promised 
fairly  to  become,  at  some  future  day,  no  less  distinguished 
than  their  mother  for  daring,  and  for  that  singular  mix- 
ture of  good  and  evil  which,  in  a  wide  sphere  of  action, 
would  probably  have  enabled  the  wife  of  a  squatter  to  en- 
roll her  name  among  the  remarkable  females  of  her  time. 
Esther  had  already,  on  one  occasion,  made  good  the  log 
tenement  of  Ishmael  against  an  inroad  of  savages  ;  and, 


I5i  THE  PRAIRIE. 

on  anothei  she  had  been  left  for  dead  by  her  enemies, 
after  a  defence  that,  with  a  more  civilized  foe,  would  have 
entitled  her  to  the  honors  of  a  liberal  capitulation.  These 
facts,  and  sundry  others  of  a  similar  nature,  had  often  been 
recapitulated  with  suitable  exultation  in  the  presence  of 
her  daughters,  and  the  bosoms  of  the  young  amazons  were 
now  strangely  fluctuating  between  natural  terror  and  the 
ambitious  wish  to  do  something  that  might  render  them 
worthy  of  being  the  children  of  such  a  mother.  It  ap- 
peared that  the  opportunity  for  distinction  of  this  wild 
character  was  no  longer  to  be  denied  them. 

The  party  of  strangers  was  already  within  a  hundred 
rods  of  the  rock.  Either  consulting  their  usual  wary 
method  of  advancing,  or  admonished  by  the  threatening  atti- 
tude of  two  figures,  who  had  thrust  forth  the  barrels  of  as 
many  old  muskets  from  behind  the  stone  intrenchment, 
the  new-comers  halted,  under  favor  of  an  inequality  in 
the  ground,  where  a  growth  of  grass  thicker  than  com- 
mon offered  the  advantage  of  concealment.  From  this 
spot  they  reconnoitred  the  fortress  for  several  anxious 
and,  to  Ellen,  interminable  minutes.  Then  one  advanced 
singly,  and  apparently  more  in  the  character  of  a  herald 
than  of  an  assailant. 

"  Phcebe,  do  you  fire,"  and  "  No,  Hetty,jjw/,"  were  begin- 
ning to  be  heard  between  the  half-frightened  and  yet  eager 
daughters  of  the  squatter,  when  Ellen  probably  saved  the 
advancing  stranger  from  some  imminent  alarm,  if  from  no 
greater  danger,  by  exclaiming  : 

"  Lay  down  the  muskets  ;  it  is  Dr.  Battius !  " 

Her  subordinates  so  far  complied  as  to  withdraw  their 
hands  from  the  locks,  though  the  threatening  barrels  still 
maintained  the  portentous  levels.  The  naturalist,  who 
had  advanced  with  sufficient  deliberation  to  note  the  small- 
est hostile  demonstration  of  the  garrison,  now  raised  a 
white  handkerchief  on  the  end  of  his  fusee,  and  came  with- 
in speaking  distance  of  the  fortress.  Then,  assuming  what 
he  intended  should  be  an  imposing  and  dignified  semblance 
of  authority,  he  blustered  forth,  in  a  voice  that  might  have 
been  heard  at  a  much  greater  distance  : 

"What  ho  !  I  summon  ye  all,  in  the  name  of  the  Con« 
federacy  of  the  United  Sovereign  States  of  North  America, 
to  submit  yourselves  to  the  laws." 

"  Doctor  or  no  doctor,  he  is  an  enemy,  Nellie.  Heal 
him  !  hear  him  !  He  talks  of  the  law." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  155 

"  Stop  !  stay  till  I  hear  his  answer  ! "  said  the  nearly 
breathless  Ellen,  pushing  aside  the  dangerous  weapons 
which  were  again  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the  shrinking 
person  of  the  herald. 

"  I  admonish  and  forewarn  ye  all,"  continued  the  startled 
doctor,  "that  I  am  a  peaceful  citizen  of  the  before-named 
Confederacy,  or,  to  speak  with  greater  accuracy,  Union,  a 
supporter  of  the  social  compact,  and  a  lover  of  good  order 
and  amity  ;"  then,  perceiving  that  the  danger  was  at  least 
temporarily  removed,  he  once  more  raised  his  voice  to  the 
hostile  pitch  :  "I  charge  ye  all,  therefore,  to  submit  to  the 
laws." 

"  I  thought  you  were  a  friend,"  Ellen  replied,  "and  that 
you  travelled  with  my  uncle,  in  virtue  of  an  agreement " 

"  It  is  void  !  I  have  been  deceived  in  the  very  premises, 
and  I  hereby  pronounce  a  certain  compactum,  entered  into 
and  concluded  between  Ishmael  Bush,  squatter,  and  Obed 
Battius,  M.D.,  to  be  incontinently  null  and  of  non  effect. 
Nay,  children,  to  be  null  is  merely  a  negative  property,  and 
is  fraught  with  no  evil  to  your  worthy  parent ;  so  lay  aside 
the  fire-arms,  and  listen  to  the  admonitions  of  reason.  I 
declare  it  vicious — null — abrogated.  As  for  thee,  Nelly, 
my  feelings  toward  thee  are  not  at  all  given  to  hostility  ; 
therefore  listen  to  that  which  I  have  to  utter,  nor  turn 
away  thine  ears  in  the  wantonness  of  security.  Thou  know- 
est  the  character  of  the  man  with  whom  thou  dwellest,  young 
woman,  and  thou  also  knowest  the  danger  of  being  found 
in  evil  company.  Abandon,  then,  the  trifling  advantages 
of  thy  situation,' and  yield  the  rock  peaceably  to  the  will  of 
those  who  accompany  me— a  legion,  young  woman — I  do 
assure  you,  an  invincible  and  powerful  legion.  Render, 
therefore,  the  effects  .of  this  lawless  and  wicked  squat- 
ter— nay,  children,  such  disregard  of  human  life  is  fright- 
ful in  those  who  have  so  recently  received  the  gift,  in  their 
own  persons !  Point  those  dangerous  weapons  aside,  I 
entreat  of  you  ;  more  for  your  own  sakes  than  for  mine. 
Hetty,  hast  thou  forgotten  who  appeased  thine  anguish 
when  thy  auricular  nerves  were  tortured  by  the  colds  and 
damps  of  the  naked  earth  ?  And  thou,  Phcebe,  ungrateful 
and  forgetful  Phcebe  !  but  for  this  very  arm,,  which  you 
would  prostrate  with  an  endless  paralysis,  thy  incisors 
would  still  be  giving  thee  pain  and  sorrow  !  Lay,  then, 
aside  thy  weapons,  and  hearken  to  the  advice  of  one  who 
has  always  been  thy  friend.  And  now,  young  woman," 


156  THE  PRAIRIE. 

still  keeping  a  jealous  eye  on  the  muskets,  whbh  the  gir1, 
had  suffered  to  be  diverted  a  little  from  their  aim,  "and 
now,  young  woman,  for  the  last  and  therefore  the  most 
solemn  asking  :  I  demand  of  thee  the  surrender  of  this 
rock,  without  delay  or  resistance,  in  the  joint  names  of 

power,  of  justice,  and  of  the "  law,  he  would  have 

added  ;  but  recollecting  that  this  ominous  word  would 
again  provoke  the  hostility  of  the  squatter's  children,  he 
succeeded  in  swallowing  it  in  good  season,  and  concluded 
with  the  less  dangerous  and  more  convertible  term  of 
1  'reason." 

This  extraordinary  summons  failed,  however,  of  pro- 
ducing the  desired  effect.  It  proved  utterly  unintelligible 
to  his  younger  listeners,  with  the  exception  of  the  few 
offensive  terms,  already  sufficiently  distinguished  ;  and 
though  Ellen  better  comprehended  the  meaning  of  the 
herald,  she  appeared  as  little  moved  by  his  rhetoric  as  her 
companions.  At  those  passages  which  he  intended  should 
be  tender  and  affecting,  the  intelligent  girl,  though  tor- 
tured by  painful  feelings,  had  even  manifested  a  disposi- 
tion to  laugh,  while  to  the  threats  she  turned  an  utterly 
insensible  ear. 

"I  know  not  the  meaning  of  all  you  wish  to  say,  Dr. 
Battius,"  she  quietly  replied,  when  he  had  ended  ;  "  but  I 
am  sure,  if  it  would  teach  me  to  betray  my  trust,  it  is  what 
I  ought  not  to  hear.  I  caution  you  to  attempt  no  violence, 
for,  let  my  wishes  be  what  they  may,  you  see  I  am  sur- 
rounded by  a  force  that  can  easily  put  me  down,  and  you 
know,  or  ought  to  know,  too  well  the  temper  of  this  fam* 
ily,  to  trifle  in  such  a  matter  with  any  of  its  members,  let 
them  be  of  what  sex  or  age  they  may." 

"  I  am  not  entirely  ignorant  of  human  character,"  re- 
turned the  naturalist,  prudently  receding  a  little  from  the 
position  which  he  had  until  now  stoutly  maintained  at  the 
very  base  of  the  hill.  "  But  here  comes  one  who  may  know 
its  secret  windings  still  better  than  I." 

"  Ellen  !  Ellen  Wade  ! "  cried  Paul  Hover,  who  had  ad- 
vanced to  his  elbow,  without  betraying  any  of  that  sensi- 
tiveness which  had  so  manifestly  discomposed  the  doctor; 
"  I  didn't  expect  to  find  an  enemy  in  you  !  " 

"  Nor  shall  you,  when  you  ask  that  which  I  can  grant 
without  treachery.  You  know  that  my  uncle  has  trusted 
his  family  to  my  care,  and  shall  I  so  far  betray  the  trust 
as  to  let  in  his  bitterest  enemies  to  murder  his  children^ 


THE  PRAIRIE.  157 

perhaps,  and  to  rob  him  of  the  little  which  the  Indians 
bave  left  ? " 

"  Am  I  a  murderer — is  this  old  man — this  officer  of  the 
States,"  pointing  to  the  trapper  and  his  newly  discovered 
friend,  both  of  whom  by  this  time  stood  at  his  side,  "  is 
either  of  these  likely  to  do  the  things  you  name  ? " 

"  What  is  it  then  you  ask  of  me  ? "  said  Ellen,  wringing 
her  hands,  in  excessive  doubt. 

"  The  beast  !  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  squatter's 
hidden,  ravenous,  dangerous  beast ! " 

"  Excellent  young  woman,"  commenced  the  young 
stranger,  who  had  so  lately  joined  himself  to  the  party 
on  the  prairie — but  his  mouth  was  immediately  stopped 
by  a  significant  sign  from  the  trapper,  who  whispered  in 
his  ear  : 

"Let  the  lad  be  our  spokesman.  Natur'  will  work  in 
the  bosom  of  the  child,  and  we  shall  gain  our  object  in 
good  time." 

•'The  whole  truth  is  out,  Ellen,"  Paul  continued,  "and 
we  have  lined  the  squatter  into  his  most  secret  misdoings. 
We  have  come  to  right  the  wronged  and  to  free  the  im- 
prisoned. Now,  if  you  are  the  girl  of  a  true  heart,  as  I  have 
always  believed,  so  far  from  throwing  straws  in  our  way, 
you  will  join  in  the  general  swarming,  and  leave  old  Ish- 
mael  and  his  hive  to  the  bees  of  his  own  breed." 

"  I  have  sworn  a  solemn  oath " 

"  A  compactum  which  is  entered  into  through  ignorance 
or  in  duresse  is  null  in  the  sight  of  all  good  moralists," 
cried  the  doctor. 

"  Hush,  hush  !  "  again  the  trapper  whispered  ;  "leave  it 
all  to  Natur'  and  the  lad." 

"  I  have  sworn  in  the  sight  and  by  the  name  of  Him 
who  is  the  founder  and  ruler  of  all  that  is  good,  whether 
it  be  in  morals  or  in  religion,"  Ellen  continued,  "  neither 
to  reveal  the  contents  of  that  tent  nor  to  help  its  prisoner 
to  escape.  We  are  both  solemnly,  terribly  sworn  ;  our 
lives  perhaps  have  been  the  gift  we  received  for  the  prom- 
ises. It  is  true  you  are  masters  of  the  secret,  but  not 
through  any  means  of  ours,  nor  do  I  know  that  I  can 
justify  myself  for  even  being  neutral,  while  you  attempt  to 
invade  the  dwelling  of  my  uncle  in  this  hostile  manner." 

"  I  can  prove  beyond  the  power  of  refutation,"  the  nat- 
uralist eagerly  exclaimed,  "  by  Paley,  Berkeley,  aye,  evei? 
by  the  immortal  Binkershoeck,  that  a  compactum, 


158  THE  PRAIRIE. 

eluded  while  one  of  the  parties,  be  it  a  state  or  be  it  an 
individual,  is  in  durance " 

"  You  will  ruffle  the  temper  of  the  child  with  your  abus- 
ive language,"  said  the  cautious  trapper,  "  while  the  lad, 
if  left  to  human  feelings,  will  bring  her  down  to  the  meek- 
ness of  a  fawn.  Ah  !  you  are  like  myself,  little  knowing 
in  the  natur'  of  hidden  kindnesses  !  " 

"Is  this  the  only  vow  you  have  taken,  Ellen  ?"  Paul 
continued,  in  a  tone  which,  for  the  gay,  light-hearted  bee- 
hunter,  sounded  dolorous  and  reproachful.  "  Have  you 
sworn  only  to  this  ?  are  the  words  which  the  squatter  says 
to  be  as  honey  in  your  mouth,  and  all  other  promises  like 
so  much  useless  comb  ?" 

The  paleness  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  usually 
cheerful  countenance  of  Ellen  was  hid  in  a  bright  glow 
that  was  plainly  visible  even  at  the  distance  at  which  she 
stood.  She  hesitated  a  moment,  as  if  struggling  to  repress 
something  very  like  resentment,  before  she  answered  with 
all  her  native  spirit : 

"  I  know  not  what  right  any  one  has  to  question  me 
about  oaths  and  promises,  which  can  only  concern  her 
who  has  made  them,  if,  indeed,  any  of  the  sort  you  men- 
tion have  ever  been  made  at  all.  I  shall  hold  no  further 
discourse  with  one  who  thinks  so  much  of  himself,  and 
takes  advice  merely  of  his  own  feelings." 

"  Now,  old  trapper,  do  you  hear  that?"  said  the  un- 
sophisticated bee-hunter,  turning  abruptly  to  his  aged 
friend.  "  The  meanest  insect  That  skims  the  heavens, 
when  it  has  got  its  load,  flies  straight  and  honestly  to  its 
nest  or  hive,  according  to  its  kind  ;  but  the  ways  of  a 
woman's  mind  are  as  knotty  as  a  gnarled  oak,  and  more 
crooked  than  the  windings  of  the  Mississippi !  " 

"Nay,  nay,  child,"  said  the  trapper,  good-naturedly  in- 
terfering in  behalf  of  the  offending  Paul,  "  you  are  to  con- 
sider that  youth  is  hasty,  and  not  overgiven  to  thought 
But  then  a  promise  is  a  promise,  and  not  to  be  thrown 
aside  and  forgotten,  like  the  hoofs  and  horns  of  a  buffalo." 

"  I  thank  you  for  reminding  me  of  my  oath,"  said  the 
still  resentful  Ellen,  biting  her  pretty  nether  lip  with  vexa- 
tion ;  "  I  might  else  have  proved  forgetful  !  " 

"Ah!  female  natur'  is  awakened  in  her,"  said  the  old 
man,  shaking  his  head  in  a  manner  to  show  how  much  he 
was  disappointed  in  the  result  ;  "  but  it  manifests  itself 
against  the  true  spirit." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  159 

"Ellen  !  "  cried  the  young  stranger,  who  until  now  had 
been  an  attentive  listener  to  the  parley,  "  since  Ellen  is 
the  name  by  which  you  are  known " 

"  They  often  add  it  to  another.  I  am  sometimes  called 
by  the  name  of  my  father." 

"  Call  her  Nelly  Wade  at  once,"  muttered  Paul  ;  "  it  is 
her  rightful  name,  and  I  care  not  if  she  keeps  it  forever  !  " 

"  Wade,  I  should  have  added,"  continued  the  youth. 
"  You  will  acknowledge  that,  though  bound  by  no  oath 
myself,  I  at  least  have  known  how  to  respect  those  of 
others.  You  are  a  witness  yourself  that  I  have  forborne 
to  utter  a  single  call,  while  I  am  certain  it  could  reach 
those  ears  it  would  gladden  so  much.  Permit  me,  then, 
to  ascend  the  rock  singly  ;  I  promise  a  perfect  indemnity 
to  your  kinsman  against  any  injury  his  effects  may  sus- 
tain." 

Ellen  seemed  to  hesitate,  but  catching  a  glimpse  of 
Paul,  who  stood  leaning  proudly  on  his  rifle,  whistling, 
with  an  appearance  of  the  utmost  indifference,  the  air  of  a 
boating-song,  she  recovered  her  recollection  in  time  to 
answer  : 

"I  have  been  left  the  captain  of  the  rock  while  my  un- 
cle and  his  sons  hunt,  and  captain  will  I  remain  till  he  re- 
turns to  receive  back  the  charge." 

"  This  is  wasting  moments  that  will  not  soon  return,  and 
neglecting  an  opportunity  that  may  never  occur  again," 
the  young  soldier  gravely  remarked.  "  The  sun  is  begin- 
ning to  fall  already,  and  many  minutes  cannot  elapse  before 
the  squatter  and  his  savage  brood  will  be  returning  to 
their  huts." 

Dr.  Battius  cast  a  glance  behind  him,  and  took  up  the 
discourse  by  saying  : 

"  Perfection  is  always  found  in  maturity,  whether  it  be 
in  the  animal  or  in  the  intellectual  world.  Reflection 
is  the  mother  of  wisdom,  and  wisdom  the  parent  of 
success.  I  propose  that  we  retire  to  a  discreet  distance 
from  this  impregnable  position,  and  there  hold  a  convoca- 
tion, or  council,  to  deliberate  on  what  manner  we  may  sit 
down  regularly  before  the  place  ;  or,  perhaps,  by  post- 
poning the  siege  to  another  season,  gain  the  aid  of  auxil- 
iaries from  the  inhabited  countries,  and  thus  secure  the 
dignity  of  the  laws  from  any  danger  of  a  repulse." 

"  A  storm  would  be  better,"  the  soldier  smilingly  an- 
swered, measuring  the  height  and  scanning  all  its  diffi- 


1 5o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

culties  with  a  deliberate  eye  ;  "  'twould  be  but  a  broken 
arm  or  a  bruised  head  at  the  worst." 

"  Then  have  at  it !  "  shouted  the  impetuous  bee-hunter, 
making  a  spring  that  at  once  put  him  out  of  danger  from 
shot,  by  carrying  him  beneath  the  projecting  ledge  on 
which  the  garrison  was  posted.  "  Now  do  your  worst, 
young  devils  of  a  wicked  breed  ;  you  have  but  a  moment 
to  work  your  mischief  !  " 

"Paul!  rash  Paul!"  shrieked  Ellen;  "another  step 
and  the  rocks  will  crush  you  !  they  hang  but  by  a  thread, 
and  these  girls  are  ready  and  willing  to  let  them  fall  !  " 

"  Then  drive  the  accursed  swarm  from  the  hive  ;  for 
scale  the  rock  I  will,  though  I  find  it  covered  with  hor- 
nets." 

"  Let  her  if  she  dare  ! "  tauntingly  cried  the  eldest  of 
the  girls,  brandishing  a  musket  with  a  mien  and  resolu- 
tion that  would  have  done  credit  to  her  Amazonian  dam. 
"  I  know  you,  Nelly  Wade  ;  you  are  with  the  lawyers  in 
your  heart,  and  if  you  come  a  foot  nigheryou  shall  have 
frontier  punishment.  Put  in  another  pry,  girls  ;  in  with 
it  !  I  should  like  to  see  the  man  of  them  that  dare  come 
up  into  the  camp  of  Ishmael  Bush  without  asking  leave 
of  his  children  !  " 

"  Stir  not,  Paul  ;  for  your  life  keep  beneath  the  rock  !  " 

Ellen  was  interrupted  by  the  same  bright  vision  which 
on  the  preceding  day  had  stayed  another  scarcely  less 
portentous  tumult  by  exhibiting  itself  on  the  same  giddy 
height  where  it  was  now  seen. 

"  In  the  name  of  Him  who  commandeth  all,  I  implore 
you  to  pause — both  you,  who  so  madly  incur  the  risk,  and 
you,  who  so  rashly  offer  to  take  that  which  you  never  can 
return  1"  said  a  voice,  in  a  slightly  foreign  accent,  that  in- 
stantly drew  all  eyes  upward. 

"Inez  !  "  cried  the  officer,  "  do  I  again  see  you  ?  Mine 
shall  you  now  be,  though  a  million  devils  were  posted  on 
this  rock.  Push  up,  brave  woodsman,  and  give  room  for 
another." 

The  sudden  appearance  of  the  figure  from  the  tent  had 
created  a  momentary  stupor  among  the  defenders  of  the 
rock,  which  might,  with  suitable  forbearance,  have  been 
happily  improved  ;  but  startled  by  the  voice  of  Middleton, 
the  surprised  Phcebe  discharged  her  musket  at  the  female, 
scarcely  knowing  whether  she  aimed  at  the  life  of  a  mortal 
or  at  some  being  which  belonged  to  another  world.  Ellen 


THE  PRAIRIE.  i6> 

uttered  a  cry  of  horror,  and  then  sprang  after  her  alarmed 
or  wounded  friend,  she  knew  not  which,  into  the  tent. 

During  this  moment  of  dangerous  by-play,  the  sounds 
of  a  serious  attack  were  very  distinctly  audible  beneath. 
Paul  had  profited  by  the  commotion  over  his  head  to 
change  his  place  so  far  as  to  make  room  for  Middleton. 
The  latter  was  followed  by  the  naturalist,  who,  in  a  state  of 
mental  aberration,  produced  by  the  report  of  the  musket, 
had  instinctively  rushed  toward  the  rocks  for  cover.  The 
trapper  remained  where  he  was  last  seen,  an  unmoved  but 
close  observer  of  the  several  proceedings.  Though  averse 
to  enter  into  actual  hostilities,  the  old  man  was,  however, 
far  from  being  useless.  Favored  by  his  position,  he  was 
enabled  to  apprise  his  friends  of  the  movements  of  those 
who  plotted  their  destruction  above,  and  to  advise  and 
control  their  advance  accordingly. 

In  the  meantime,  the  children  of  Esther  were  true  to  the 
spirit  they  had  inherited  from  their  redoubtable  mother. 
The  instant  they  found  themselves  delivered  from  the 
presence  of  Ellen  and  her  unknown  companion,  they  be- 
stowed an  undivided  attention  on  their  more  masculine 
ind  certainly  more  dangerous  assailants,  who  by  this  time 
had  made  a  complete  lodgment  among  the  crags  of  the 
citadel.  The  repeated  summons  to  surrender,  which  Paul 
uttered  in  a  voice  that  he  intended  should  strike  terror 
into  their  young  bosoms,  were  as  little  heeded  as  were  the 
calls  of  the  trapper  to  abandon  a  resistance  which  might 
prove  fatal  to  some  among  them,  without  offering  the 
smallest  probability  of  eventual  success.  Encouraging 
each  other  to  persevere,  they  poised  the  fragments  of 
rocks,  prepared  the  lighter  missiles  for  immediate  service, 
and  thrust  forward  the  barrels  of  the  muskets  with  a  busi- 
ness-like air  and  a  coolness  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  men  practised  in  warfare. 

"  Keep  under  the  ledge,"  said  the  trapper,  pointing  out 
to  Paul  the  manner  in  which  he  should  proceed  ;  "  keep  in 
your  foot  more,  lad — ah  !  you  see  the  warning  was  not 
amiss  !  had  the  stone  struck  it  the  bees  would  have  had  the 
prairies  to  themselves.  Now,  namesake  of  my  friend — Un- 
cas  in  name  and  spirit !  now,  if  you  have  the  activity  of  Le 
Cerf  Agile,  you  may  make  a  fair  leap  to  the  right  and 
gain  twenty  feet  without  danger.  Beware  the  bush — be- 
ware the  bush  !  'twill  prove  a  treacherous  hold  !  Ah  '  he 
has  done  it ;  safely  and  bravely  has  he  done  it ! — You' 
ii 


1 62  THE  PRAIRIE. 

turn  comes  next,  friend,  that  follows  the  fruits  of  Natur'. 
Push  you  to  the  left,  and  divide  the  attention  of  the  chil. 
dren. — Nay,  girls,  fire — my  old  ears  are  used  to  the  whist- 
ling  of  lead  ;  and  little  reason  have  I  to  prove  a  doe-heart, 
with  fourscore  years  on  my  back."  He  shook  his  head 
with  a  melancholy  smile,  but  without  flinching  in  a  mus- 
cle, as  the  bullet  which  the  exasperated  Hetty  fired  passed 
innocently  at  no  great  distance  from  the  spot  where  he 
stood.  "  It  is  safer  keeping  in  yourtrack  than  dodging  when 
a  weak  finger  pulls  the  trigger,"  he  continued  ;  "  but  it  is  a 
solemn  sight  to  witness  how  much  human  natur'  is  in- 
clined to  evil  in  one  so  young! — Well  done,  my  man  of 
beasts  and  plants  !  Another  such  leap,  and  you  may 
laugh  at  all  the  squatter's  bars  and  walls.  The  doctor  has 
got  his  temper  up  !  I  see  it  in  his  eyes,  and  something 
good  will  come  of  him  ! — Keep  closer,  man — keep  closer." 
The  trapper,  though  he  was  not  deceived  as  to  the  state 
of  Dr.  Battius's  mind,  was,  however,  greatly  in  error  as  to 
the  exciting  cause.  While  imitating  the  movements  of  his 
companions,  and  toiling  his  way  upward  with  the  utmost 
caution,  and  not  without  great  inward  tribulation,  the  eye 
of  the  naturalist  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  an  unknown 
plant  a  few  yards  above  his  head,  and  in  a  situation  more 
than  commonly  exposed  to  the  missiles  which  the  girls 
were  unceasingly  hurling  in  the  direction  of  the  assailants. 
Forgetting  in  an  instant  everything  but  the  glory  of  being 
the  first  to  give  this  jewel  to  the  catalogues  of  science,  he 
sprang  upward  at  the  prize  with  the  avidity  with  which 
the  sparrow  darts  upon  the  butterfly.  The  rocks  which 
instantly  came  thundering  down  announced  that  he  was 
seen  ;  and  for  a  moment,  while  his  form  was  concealed  in 
the  cloud  of  dust  and  fragments  which  followed  the  furious 
descent,  the  trapper  gave  him  up  for  lost  ;  but  the  next 
instant  he  was  seen  safely  seated  in  a  cavity,  formed  by 
some  of  the  projecting  stones  which  had  yielded  to  the 
shock,  holding  triumphantly  in  his  hand  the  captured 
stem,  which  he  was  already  devouring  with  delighted  and 
certainly  not  unskilful  eyes.  Paul  profited  by  the  oppor- 
tunity. Turning  his  course,  with  the  quickness  of  thought 
he  sprang  to  the  post  which  Obed  thus  securely  occupied, 
and  unceremoniously  making  a  footstool  of  his  shoulder 
as  the  latter  stooped  over  his  treasure,  he  bounded 
through  the  breach  left  by  the  fallen  rock  and  gained  the 
level.  He  was  followed  by  Middleton,  who  joined  him  in 


THE  PRAIRIE.  163 

seizing  and  disarming  the  girls.  In  this  manner  a  blood- 
less and  complete  victory  was  obtained  over  that  citadel 
which  Ishmael  had  vainly  flattered  himself  might  prove 
impregnable. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  So  smile  the  heavens  upon  this  holy  act, 
That  after  hours  of  sorrow  chide  us  not !  " — SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  is  proper  that  the  course  of  the  narrative  should  be 
stayed  while  we  revert  to  those  causes  which  have  brought 
in  their  train  of  consequences  the  singular  contest  just  re- 
lated. The  interruption  must  necessarily  be  as  brief  as  we 
hope  it  may  prove  satisfactory  to  that  class  of  readers  who 
require  that  no  gap  should  be  left,  by  those  who  assume  the 
office  of  historians,  for  their  own  fertile  imaginations  to  fill. 

Among  the  troops  sent  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  to  take  possession  of  its  newly  acquired 
territory  in  the  West,  was  a  detachment  led  by  the  young 
soldier  who  has  become  so  busy  an  actor  in  the  scenes  of 
our  legend.  The  mild  and  indolent  descendants  of  the 
ancient  colonists  received  their  new  compatriots  without 
distrust,  well  knowing  that  the  transfer  raised  them  from 
the  condition  of  subjects  to  the  more  enviable  distinction 
of  citizens  in  a  government  of  laws.  The  new  rulers  ex- 
ercised their  functions  with  discretion,  and  wielded  their 
delegated  authority  without  offence.  In  such  a  novel 
intermixture,  however,  of  men  born  and  nurtured  in  free- 
dom, and  the  compliant  minions  of  absolute  power,  the 
Catholic  and  the  Protestant,  the  active  and  the  indolent, 
some  little  time  was  necessary  to  blend  the  discrepant  ele- 
ments of  society.  In  attaining  so  desirable  an  end,  woman 
was  made  to  perform  her  accustomed  and  grateful  office. 
The  barriers  of  prejudice  and  religion  were  broken  through 
by  the  irresistible  power  of  the  master-passion  ;  and  family 
unions,  ere  long,  began  to  cement  the  political  tie  which 
had  made  a  forced  conjunction  between  people  so  opposite 
in  their  habits,  their  educations,  and  their  opinions. 

Middleton  was  among  the  first  of  the  new  possessors  of 
the  soil  who  became  captive  to  the  charms  of  a  Louisian- 
ian  lady.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  post  he  had 


164  THE  PRAIRIE. 

been  directed  to  occupy,  dwelt  the  chief  of  one  of  those 
ancient  colonial  families  which  had  been  content  to  slum- 
ber for  ages  amid  the  ease,  indolence,  and  wealth  of  the 
Spanish  provinces.  He  was  an  officer  of  the  crown,  and 
had  been  induced  to  remove  from  the  Floridas,  among  the 
French  of  an  adjoining  province,  by  a  rich  succession  of 
which  he  had  become  the  inheritor.  The  name  of  Don 
Augustin  de  Certavollos  was  scarcely  known  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  little  town  in  which  he  resided,  though  he 
found  a  secret  pleasure  himself  in  pointing  it  out,  in  large 
scrolls  of  musty  documents,  to  an  only  child,  as  enrolled 
among  the  former  heroes  and  grandees  of  Old  and  New 
Spain.  This  fact,  so  important  to  himself  and  of  so  little 
moment  to  anybody  else,  was  the  principal  reason  that, 
while  his  more  vivacious  Gallic  neighbors  were  not  slow 
to  open  a  frank  communion  with  their  visitors,  he  chosi 
to  keep  aloof,  seemingly  content  with  the  society  of  his 
daughter,  who  was  a  girl  just  emerging  from  the  con- 
dition of  childhood  into  that  of  a  woman. 

The  curiosity  of  the  youthful  Inez,  however,  was  not  so 
inactive.  She  had  not  heard  the  martial  music  of  the  gar* 
rison  melting  on  the  evening  air,  nor  seen  the  strange 
banner  which  fluttered  over  the  heights  that  rose  at  no 
great  distance  from  her  father's  extensive  grounds,  without 
experiencing  some  of  those  secret  impulses  which  are 
thought  to  distinguish  the  sex.  Natural  timidity,  and  that 
retiring  and  perhaps  peculiar  lassitude  which  forms  the 
very  groundwork  of  female  fascination  in  the  tropical  prov- 
inces of  Spain,  held  her  in  their  seemingly  indissoluble 
bonds  ;  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that,  had  an  .accident 
occurred  in  which  Middleton  was  of  some  personal  ser- 
vice to  her  father,  so  long  a  time  would  have  elapsed  be- 
fore they  met,  that  another  direction  might  have  been 
given  to  the  wishes  of  one  who  was  just  of  an  age  to  be 
alive  to  all  the  power  of  youth  and  beauty. 

Providence — or,  if  that  imposing  word  is  too  just  to  be 
classical,  fate — had  otherwise  decreed.  The  haughty  and 
reserved  Don  Augustin  was  by  far  too  observant  of  the 
forms  of  that  station  on  which  he  so  much  valued  himself 
to  forget  the  duties  of  a  gentleman.  Gratitude  for  the 
kindness  of  Middleton  induced  him  to  open  his  doors  to 
the  officers  of  the  garrison,  and  to  admit  of  a  guarded  but 
polite  intercourse.  Reserve  gradually  gave  way  before 
the  propriety  and  candor  of  their  spirited  young  leader, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  165 

and  it  was  not  long  ere  the  affluent  planter  rejoiced  as 
much  as  his  daughter  whenever  the  well-known  signal  at 
the  gate  announced  one  of  these  agreeable  visits  from,  the 
commander  of  the  post. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  impression  which  the 
charms  of  Inez  produced  on  the  soldier,  to  delay  the  tale 
in  order  to  write  a  wire-drawn  account  of  the  progressive 
influence  that  elegance  of  deportment,  manly  beauty,  and 
undivided  assiduity  and  intelligence  were  likely  to  pro- 
duce on  the  sensitive  mind  of  a  romantic,  warm-hearted, 
and  secluded  girl  of  sixteen.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  pur- 
pose to  say  that  they  loved,  that  the  youth  was  not  back- 
ward to  declare  his  feelings,  that  he  prevailed  with  some 
facility  over  the  scruples  of  the  maiden,  and  with  no  little 
difficulty  over  the  objections  of  her  father,  and  that,  before 
the  province  of  Louisiana  had  been  six  months  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  States,  the  officer  of  the  latter  was  the  affi- 
anced husband  of  the  richest  heiress  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Although  we  have  presumed  the  reader  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  manner  in  which  such  results  are  commonly  at- 
tained, it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  triumph  of  Mid- 
dleton,  either  over  the  prejudices  of  the  father  or  over 
those  of  the  daughter,  was  achieved  without  difficulty. 
Religion  formed  a  stubborn  and  nearly  irremovable  ob- 
stacle with  both.  The  devoted  young  man  patiently  sub- 
mitted to  a  formidable  essay  which  Father  Ignatius  was 
deputed  to  make  in  order  to  convert  him  to  the  true  faith. 
The  effort  on  the  part  of  the  worthy  priest  was  systematic, 
vigorous,  and  long  sustained.  A  dozen  times  (it  was  at 
those  moments  when  glimpses  of  the  light,  sylph-like  form 
of  Inez  flitted  like  some  fairy  being  past  the  scene  of  their 
conferences)  the  good  father  fancied  he  was  on  the  eve  of 
a  glorious  triumph  over  infidelity  ;  but  all  his  hopes  were 
frustrated  by  some  unlooked-for  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  subject  of  his  pious  labors.  So  long  as  the  assault  on 
his  faith  was  distant  and  feeble,  Middleton,  who  was  no 
great  proficient  in  polemics,  submitted  to  its  effects  with 
the  patience  and  humility  of  a  martyr  ;  but  the  moment 
the  good  father,  who  felt  such  concern  in  his  future  happi- 
ness, was  tempted  to  improve  his  vantage-ground  by  call- 
!lng  in  the  aid  of  some  of  the  peculiar  subtilties  of  his  own 
rreed,  the  young  man  was  too  good  a  soldier  not  to  make 
head  against  the  hot  attack.  He  came  to  the  contest,  it  is 


Ibb  THE  PRA2RI&, 

true,  with  no  weapons  more  formidable  than  common, 
sense  and  some  little  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  his  coun« 
try  as  contrasted  with  that  of  his  adversary  ;  but  with  these 
home-bred  implements  he  never  failed  to  repulse  the 
father  with  something  of  the  power  with  which  a  nervous 
cudgel-player  would  deal  with  a  skilful  master  of  the  ra- 
pier, setting  at  naught  his  passados  by  the  direct  and  un- 
answerable arguments  of  a  broken  head  and  a  shivered 
weapon. 

Before  the  controversy  was  terminated,  an  inroad  of 
Protestants  had  come  to  aid  the  soldier.  The  reckless 
freedom  of  such  among  them  as  thought  only  of  this  life, 
and  the  consistent  and  tempered  piety  of  others,  caused 
the  honest  priest  to  look  about  him  in  concern.  The  in- 
fluence of  example  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  contamina- 
tion of  too  free  an  intercourse  on  the  other,  began  to 
manifest  themselves  even  in  that  portion  of  his  own  flock 
which  he  had  supposed  to  be  too  thoroughly  folded  in 
spiritual  government  ever  to  stray.  It  was  time  to  turn 
his  thoughts  from  the  offensive,  and  to  prepare  his  follow- 
ers to  resist  the  lawless  deluge  of  opinion  which  threatened 
to  break  down  the  barriers  of  their  faith.  Like  a  wise 
commander  who  finds  he  has  occupied  too  much  ground 
for  the  amount  of  his  force,  he  began  to  curtail  his  out- 
works. The  relics  were  concealed  from  profane  eyes  ; 
his  people  were  admonished  not  to  speak  of  miracles  be- 
fore a  race  that  not  only  denied  their  existence,  but  who 
had  even  the  desperate  hardihood  to  challenge  their 
proofs  ;  and  even  the  Bible  itself  was  prohibited  with  ter- 
rible denunciations,  for  the  triumphant  reason  that  it  was 
liable  to  be  misinterpreted. 

In  the  meantime  it  became  necessary  to  report  to  Don 
Augustin  the  effects  his  arguments  and  prayers  had  pro- 
duced on  the  heretical  disposition  of  the  young  soldier. 
No  man  is  prone  to  confess  his  weakness  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  circumstances  demand  the  utmost  efforts  of 
his  strength.  By  a  species  of  pious  fraud,  for  which  no 
doubt  the  worthy  priest  found  his  absolution  in  the  purity 
of  his  motives,  he  declared  that,  while  no  positive  change 
was  actually  wrought  in  the  mind  of  Middleton,  there  was 
every  reason  to  hope  the  entering  wedge  of  argument  had 
been  driven  to  its  head,  and  that  in  consequence  an  open- 
ing was  left  through  which  it  might  rationally  be  hoped  the 
blessed  seeds  of  a  religious  fructification  would  find  then 


THE  PRAIRIE.  i6j 

way,  especially  if  the  subject  was  left  uninterruptedly  to 
enjoy  the  advantage  of  Catholic  communion. 

Don  Augustin  himself  was  now  seized  with  the  desire  of 
proselyting.  Even  the  soft  and  amiable  Inez  thought  it 
would  be  a  glorious  consummation  of  her  wishes  to  be  a 
humble  instrument  of  bringing  her  lover  into  the  bosom  of 
the  true  church.  The  offers  of  Middleton  were  promptly 
accepted  ;  and,  while  the  father  looked  forward  impatient- 
ly to  the  day  assigned  for  the  nuptials  as  to  the  pledge  of 
his  own  success,  the  daughter  thought  of  it  with  feelings 
in  which  the  holy  emotions  of  her  faith  xvere  blended  with 
the  softer  sensations  of  her  years  and  situation. 

The  sun  rose,  the  morning  of  her  nuptials,  on  a  day  so 
bright  and  cloudless  that  Inez  hailed  it  as  a  harbinger  of 
future  happiness.  Father  Ignatius  performed  the  office  of 
the  Church  in  a  little  chapel  attached  to  the  estate  of  Don 
Augustin  ;  and,  long  ere  the  sun  had  begun  to  fall,  Mid- 
dleton pressed  the  blushing  and  timid  young  Creole  to  his 
bosom,  his  acknowledged  and  unalienable  wife.  It  had 
pleased  the  parties  to  pass  the  day  of  the  wedding  in  re- 
tirement, dedicating  it  solely  to  the  best  and  purest  affec- 
tions, aloof  from  the  noisy  and  heartless  rejoicings  of  a 
compelled  festivity. 

Middleton  was  returning  through  the  grounds  of  Don 
Augustin,  from  a  visit  of  duty  to  his  encampment,  at  that 
hour  in  which  the  light  of  the  sun  begins  to  melt  into  the 
shadows  of  evening,  when  a  glimpse  of  a  robe  similar  to 
that  in  which  Inez  had  accompanied  him  to  the  altar, 
caught  his  eye  through  the  foliage  of  a  retired  arbor.  He 
approached  the  spot  with  a  delicacy  that  was  rather  in- 
creased than  diminished  by  the  claim  she  had  perhaps  given 
him  to  intrude  on  her  private  moments  ;  but  the  sounds 
of  her  soft  voice,  which  was  offering  up  prayers  in  which 
he  heard  himself  named  by  the  dearest  of  all  appellations, 
overcame  his  scruples,  and  induced  him  to  take  a  position 
where  he  might  listen  without  fear  of  detection.  It  was 
certainly  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  a  husband  to  be  able 
in  this  manner  to  lay  bare  the  spotless  soul  of  his  wife, 
and  to  find  that  his  own  image  lay  enshrined  amid  'us 
purest  and  holiest  aspirations.  His  self-esteem  was  too 
much  flattered  not  to  induce  him  to  overlook  the  imme- 
diate object  of  the  petitioner.  While  she  prayed  that  she 
might  become  the  humble  instrument  of  bringing  him  into 
the  flock  of  the  faithful,  she  petitioned  for  forgiveness  OD 


168  THE  PRAIRIE. 

her  own  behalf,  if  presumption  or  indifference  to  the  coun. 
sel  of  the  Church  had  caused  her  to  set  too  high  a  value 
on  her  influence,  and  led  her  into  the  dangerous  error  of 
hazarding  her  own  soul  by  espousing  a  heretic.  There  was 
so  much  of  fervent  piety  mingled  with  so  strong  a  burst 
of  natural  feeling,  so  much  of  the  woman  blended  with 
the  angel  in  her  prayers,  that  Middleton  could  have  for- 
given her  had  she  termed  him  a  pagan,  for  the  sweetness 
and  interest  with  which  she  petitioned  in  his  favor. 

The  young  man  waited  until  his  bride  arose  from  her 
knees,  and  then  he  joined  her,  as  if  entirely  ignorant  of 
what  had  occurred. 

"It  is  getting  late,  my  Inez,"  he  said,  "and  Don  Augus- 
tin  would  be  apt  to  reproach  you  with  inattention  to  your 
health,  in  being  abroad  at  such  an  hour.  What,  then,  am 
I  to  do,  who  am  charged  with  all  his  authority  and  twice 
his  love  ? " 

"  Be  like  him  in  every  thing,"  she  answered,  looking  up 
in  his  face,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  speaking  with  em- 
phasis ;  "  in  every  thing.  Imitate  my  father,  Middleton, 
and  I  can  ask  no  more  of  you." 

"  Nor  y<w  me,  Inez  ?  I  doubt  not  that  I  should  be  all 
you  can  wish,  were  I  to  become  as  good  as  the  worthy  and 
respectable  Don  Augustin.  But  you  are  to  make  some 
allowances  for  the  infirmities  and  habits  of  a  soldier. 
Now  let  us  go  and  join  this  excellent  father." 

"Not  yet,"  said  his  bride,  gently  extricating  herself 
from  the  arm  that  he  had  thrown  around  her  slight  form, 
while  he  urged  her  from  the  place.  "  I  have  still  another 
duty  to  perform,  before  I  can  submit  so  implicitly  to  your 
orders,  soldier  though  you  are.  I  promised  the  worthy 
Inesella,  my  faithful  nurse,  she  who,  as  you  heard,  has  so 
long  been  a  mother  to  me,  Middleton.  I  promised  her  a 
visit  at  this  hour.  It  is  the  last,  as  she  thinks,  that  she 
can  receive  from  her  own  child,  and  I  cannot  disappoint 
her.  Go  you,  then,  to  Don  Augustin  ;  in  one  short  hour  I 
will  rejoin  you." 

"  Remember  it  is  but  an  hour." 

"  One  hour,"  repeated  Inez,  and  she  kissed  her  hand  to 
him  ;  and  then  blushing,  ashamed  at  her  own  boldness, 
she  darted  from  the  arbor,  and  was  seen  for  an  instant 
gliding  toward  the  cottage  of  her  nurse,  in  which  at  the 
next  moment  she  disappeared. 

Middleton  returned  slowly  and  thoughtfully  to  the  house; 


THE  PRAIRIE.  i6c> 

often  bending  his  eyes  in  the  direction  in  which  he  had 
last  seen  his  wife,  as  if  he  would  fain  trace  her  lovely 
form,  in  the  gloom  of  the  evening,  still  floating  through 
the  vacant  space.  Don  Augustin  received  him  with 
warmth,  and  for  many  minutes  his  mind  was  amused  by 
relating  to  his  new  kinsman  plans  for  the  future.  The  ex- 
clusive old  Spanrard  listened  to  his  glowing  but  true  ac* 
count  of  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  those  States  of 
which  he  had  been  an  ignorant  neighbor  half  his  life, 
partly  in  wonder  and  partly  with  that  sort  of  incredulity 
with  which  one  attends  to  what  he  fancies  are  the  exag- 
gerated descriptions  of  a  too  partial  friendship. 

In  this  manner  the  hour  for  which  Inez  had  conditioned 
passed  away  much  sooner  than  her  husband  could  have 
thought  possible,  in  her  absence.  At  length  his  looks  be- 
gan  to  wander  to  the  clock,  and  then  the  minutes  were 
counted,  as  one  rolled  by  after  another,  and  Inez  did  not 
appear.  The  hand  had  already  made  half  of  another  cir. 
cuit  around  the  face  of  the  dial,  when  Middleton  arose 
and  announced  his  determination  to  go  and  offer  himself 
as  an  escort  to  the  absentee.  He  found  the  night  dark 
and  the  heavens  charged  with  threatening  vapor,  which  in 
that  climate  was  the  infallible  forerunner  of  a  gust. 
Stimulated  no  less  by  the  unpropitious  aspect  of  the  skies 
than  by  his  secret  uneasiness,  he  quickened  his  pace,  mak- 
ing long  and  rapid  strides  in  the  direction  of  the  cottage 
of  Inesella.  Twenty  times  he  stopped,  fancying  that  he 
caught  glimpses  of  the  fairy  form  of  Inez,  tripping  across 
the  grounds  on  her  return  to  the  mansion-house,  and  as 
often  he  was  obliged  to  resume  his  course  in  disappoint- 
ment. He  reached  the  gate  of  the  cottage,  knocked, 
opened  the  door,  entered,  and  even  stood  in  the  presence 
of  the  aged  nurse,  without  meeting  the  person  of  her  he 
sought.  She  had  already  left  the  place  on  her  return  to 
her  father's  house !  Believing  that  he  must  have  passed 
her  in  the  darkness,  Middleton  retraced  his  steps  to  meet 
with  another  disappointment.  Inez  had  not  been  seen. 
Without  communicating  his  intention  to  any  one,  the 
bridegroom  proceeded  with  a  palpitating  heart  to  the  little 
sequestered  arbor,  where  he  had  overheard  his  bride  of- 
fering up  those  petitions  for  his  happiness  and  conversion. 
Here,  too,  he  was  disappointed  ;  and  then  all  was  afloat  in 
the  painful  incertitude  of  doubt  and  conjecture. 

For  many  hours  a  secret  distrust  of  the  motives  of  his 


r;o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

wife  caused  Middleton  to  proceed  in  the  search  with  del 
icacy  and  caution.  But  as  day  dawned,  without  restoring 
her  to  the  arms  of  her  father  or  her  husband,  reserve  was 
thrown  aside,  and  her  unaccountable  absence  was  loudly 
proclaimed.  The  inquiries  after  the  lost  Inez  were  now 
direct  and  open  ;  but  they  proved  equally  fruitless.  No 
one  had  seen  her  or  heard  of  her,  from -the  moment  that 
she  left  the  cottage  of  her  nurse. 

Day  succeeded  day,  and  still  no  tidings  rewarded  the 
search  that  was  immediately  instituted,  until  she  was  fi- 
nally given  over  by  most  of  her  relations  and  friends,  as 
irretrievably  lost. 

An  event  of  so  extraordinary  a  character  was  not  likely 
to  be  soon  forgotten.  It  excited  speculation,  gave  rise  to 
an  infinity  of  rumors,  and  not  a  few  inventions.  The 
prevalent  opinion  among  such  of  those  immigrants  who 
were  overrunning  the  country,  as  had  time  in  the  multi- 
tude of  their  employments  to  think  of  any  foreign  con- 
cerns, was  the  simple  and  direct  conclusion  that  the  absent 
bride  was  no  more  nor  less  than  sifelo  de  se.  Father  Igna- 
tius had  many  doubts  and  much  secret  compunction  of 
conscience  ;  but,  like  a  wise  chief,  he  endeavored  to  turn 
the  sad  event  to  some  account  in  the  impending  warfare  of 
faith.  Changing  his  battery,  he  whispered  in  the  ears  of 
a  few  of  his  oldest  parishioners  that  he  had  been  deceived 
in  the  state  of  Middleton's  mind,  which  he  was  now  com- 
pelled to  believe  was  completely  stranded  on  the  quick- 
sands of  heresy.  He  began  to  show  his  relics  again,  and 
was  even  heard  to  allude  once  more  to  the  delicate  and 
nearly  forgotten  subject  of  modern  miracles.  In  conse- 
quence of  these  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the  vener- 
able priest,  it  came  to  be  whispered  among  the  faithful,  and 
finally  it  was  adopted  as  part  of  the  parish  creed,  that  Inez 
had  been  translated  to  heaven. 

Don  Augustin  had  all  the  feelings  of  a  father,  but  they 
were  smothered  in  the  lassitude  of  a  Creole.  Like  his  spir- 
itual governor,  he  began  to  think  that  they  had  been  wrong 
in  consigning  one  so  pure,  so  young,  so  lovely,  and  above 
all  so  pious,  to  the  arms  of  a  heretic  ;  and  he  was  fain  to 
believe  that  the  calamity  which  had  befallen  his  age  was  a 
judgment  on  his  presumption  and  want  of  adherence  to 
•established  forms.  It  is  true  that,  as  the  whispers  of  the 
congregation  came  to  his  ears,  he  found  present  consola* 
tion  in  their  belief ;  but  then  Nature  was  too  powerful, 


THE  FRAIRII?.  171 

and  had  too  strong  a  hold  of  the  old  man's  heart,  not  to 
give  rise  to  the  rebellious  thought  that  the  succession  of 
his  daughter  to  the  heavenly  inheritance  was  a  little  pre- 
mature. 

But  Middleton,  the  lover,  the  husband,  the  bridegroom 
— Middleton  was  nearly  crushed  by  the  weight  of  the  un- 
expected and  terrible  blow.  Educated  himself  under  the 
dominion  of  a  simple  and  rational  faith,  in  which  nothing 
is  attempted  to  be  concealed  from  the  believers,  he  could 
have  no  other  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  Inez  than  such 
as  grew  out  of  his  knowledge  of  the  superstitious  opinions 
she  entertained  of  his  own  Church.  It  is  needless  to  dwell 
on  the  mental  tortures  that  he  endured,  or  all  the  various 
surmises,  hopes,  and  disappointments  that  he  was  fated  to 
experience  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  his  misery  A  jeal- 
ous distrust  of  the  motives  of  Inez,  and  a  secret,  lingering 
hope  that  he  should  yet  find  her,  had  tempered  his  inquir- 
ies, without,  however,  causing  him  to  abandon  them  en- 
tirely. But  time  was  beginning  to  deprive  him  even  of 
the  mortifying  reflection  that  he  was  intentionally  though 
perhaps  temporarily  deserted,  and  he  was  gradually  yield- 
ing to  the  more  painful  conviction  that  she  was  dead,  when 
ms  hopes  were  suddenly  revived  in  a  new  and  singular 
manner. 

The  young  commander  was  slowly  and  sorrowfully  re- 
turning from  an  evening  parade  of  his  troops  to  his  own 
quarters,  which  stood  at  some  little  distance  from  the 
place  of  the  encampment,  and  on  the  same  high  bluff  of 
land,  when  his  vacant  eyes  fell  on  the  figure  of  a  man,  who 
by  the  regulations  of  the  place  was  not  entitled  to  be  there 
at  that  forbidden  hour.  The  stranger  was  meanly  dressed, 
with  every  appearance  about  his  person  and  countenance 
of  squalid  poverty  and  of  the  most  dissolute  habits.  Sor- 
row had  softened  the  military  pride  of  Middleton,  and,  as 
he  passed  the  crouching  form  of  the  intruder,  he  said,  in 
tones  of  great  mildness,  or  rather  of  kindness  : 

"  You  will  be  given  a  night  in  the  guard-house,  friend, 
should  the  patrof  find  you  here  ;  there  is  a  dollar — go  and 
get  a  better  place  to  sleep  in  and  something  to  eat." 

"I  swallow  all  my  food,  captain,  without  chewing,"  re- 
turned the  vagabond,  with  the  low  exultation  of  an  accom- 
plished villain,  as  he  eagerly  seized  the  silver.  "Make 
this  Mexican  twenty,  and  I  will  sell  you  a  secret." 

"  Go,  pro"  said  the  other,  with  a  little  of  a  soldier's  sev- 

*     d       "  7 


1 72  THE  PRAIRIE. 

erity  returning  to  his  manner.     "  Go,  before  I  orde/  th» 
guard  to  seize  you." 

"  Well,  go  I  will ;  but  if  I  do  go,  captain,  I  shall  tako 
my  knowledge  with  me  ;  and  then  you  may  live  a  widowe* 
bewitched  till  the  tattoo  of  life  is  beat  off." 

"What  mean  you,  fellow  ?"  exclaimed  Middleton,  turn- 
ing quickly  toward  the  wretch,  who  was  already  dragging 
his  diseased  limbs  from  the  place. 

"  I  mean  to  have  the  value  of  this  dollar  in  Spanish 
brandy,  and  then  come  back  and  sell  you  my  secret  for 
enough  to  buy  a  barrel." 

"If  you  have  anything  to  say,  speak  now,"  continued 
Middleton,  restraining  with  difficulty  the  impatience  tha<- 
urged  him  to  betray  his  feelings. 

"  I  am  a-dry,  and  I  can  never  talk  with  elegance  when 
my  throat  is  husky,  captain.  How  much  will  you  give  to 
know  what  I  can  tell  you  ?  Let  it  be  something  handsome 
— such  as  one  gentleman  can  offer  to  another." 

"  I  believe  it  would  be  better  justice  to  order  the  drum- 
mer to  pay  you  a  visit,  fellow.  To  what  does  your  boasted 
secret  relate  ? " 

"  Matrimony — a  wife  and  no  wife  ;  a  pretty  face  and  a 
rich  bride.  Do  I  speak  plain  now,  captain  ? " 

"  If  you  know  anything  relating  to  my  wife,  say  it  at 
once  ;  you  need  not  fear  for  your  reward." 

"  Ay,  captain,  I  have  drove  many  a  bargain  in  my  timer 
and  sometimes  I  have  been  paid  in  money,  and  sometimes 
I  have  been  paid  in  promises  ;  now  the  last  are  what  I  call 
pinching  food." 

"  Name  your  price." 

"  Twenty — no,  damn  it,  it's  worth  thirty  dollars,  if  it's 
worth  a  cent !  " 

"  Here,  then,  is  your  money  ;  but  remember,  if  you  tell 
me  nothing  worth  knowing,  I  have  a  force  that  can  easily 
deprive  you  of  it  again,  and  punish  your  insolence  into  the* 
bargain." 

The  fellow  examined  the  bank  bills  he  received  with  a 
jealous  eye,  and  then  pocketed  them,  apparently  well  sat- 
isfied of  their  being  genuine. 

"  I  like  a  Northern  note,"  he  said,  very  coolly ;  "they 
have  a  character  to  lose  like  myself.  No  fear  of  me,  captain  \ 
I  am  a  man  of  honor,  and  I  shall  not  tell  you  a  word  more 
nor  a  word  less  than  I  know  of  my  own  knowledge  to  be 
true." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  173 

"  Proceed  then  without  further  delay,  or  I  may  repent^ 
<tnd  order  you  to  be  deprived  of  all  your  gains  ;  the  silver  as 
well  as  the  notes." 

"  Honor,  if  you  die  for  it ! "  returned  the  miscreant, 
holding  up  his  hand  in  affected  horror  at  so  treacherous  a 
threat.  "  Well,  captain,  you  must  know  that  gentlemen 
don't  all  live  by  the  same  calling  ;  some  keep  what  they've 
got,  and  some  get  what  they  can." 

"  You  have  been  a  thief." 

"  I  scorn  the  word.  I  have  been  a  humanity-hunter. 
Do  you  know  what  that  means  ?  Ay,  it  has  many  inter- 
pretations. Some  people  think  the  woolly-heads  are  mis- 
erable, working  on  hot  plantations  under  a  broiling  sun — 
and  all  such  sorts  of  inconveniences.  Well,  captain,  I 
have  been,  in  my  time,  a  man  who  has  been  willing  to  give 
them  the  pleasure  of  variety,  at  least,  by  changing  the 
scene  for  them.  You  understand  me  ?  " 

"You  are,  in  plain  language,  a  kidnapper." 

"  Have*  been,  my  worthy  captain — have  been  ;  but  just 
now  a  little  reduced,  like  a  merchant  who  leaves  off  selling 
tobacco  by  the  hogshead  to  deal  in  it  by  the  yard.  I  have 
been  a  soldier,  too,  in  my  day.  What  is  said  to  be  the 
great  secret  of  our  trade,  can  you  tell  me  that? " 

"  I  know  not,"  said  Middleton,  beginning  to  tire  of  the 
fellow's  trifling — "  courage  ? " 

"  No,  legs — legs  to  fight  with  and  legs  to  run  away  with  ; 
and  therein  you  see  my  two  callings  agreed.  My  legs  are 
none  of  the  best  just  now,  and  without  legs  a  kidnapper 
would  carry  on  *a  losing  trade  ;  but  then  there  are  men 
enough  left,  better  provided  than  I  am." 

"  Stolen  !  "  groaned  the  horror-struck  husband. 

"  On  her  travels,  as  sure  as  you  are  standing  still  !  " 

"  Villain,  what  reason  have  you  for  believing  a  thing  so 
shocking  ?" 

"  Hands  off — hands  off — do  you  think  my  tongue  can 
do  its  work  the  better  for  a  little  squeezing  of  the  throat  ? 
Have  patience,  and  you  shall  know  it  all  ;  but  if  you 
treat  me  so  ungenteelly  again,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  call 
in  the  assistance  of  the  lawyers." 

"Say  on  ;  but  if  you  utter  a  single  word  more  or  less 
than  the  truth,  expect  instant  vengeance." 

"  Are  you  fool  enough  to  believe  what  such  a  scoundrel 
as  I  am  tells  you,  captain,  unless  it  has  probability  to  back 
it?  I  know  you  are  not;  therefore  I  will  give  my  facts 


1 74  THE  PRAIRIE. 

and  my  opinions,  and  then  leave  you  to  chew  on  them, 
while  I  go  and  drink  of  your  generosity.  I  know  a  man 
who  is  called  Abiram  White — I  believe  the  knave  took  the 
name  to  show  his  enmity  to  the  race  of  blacks  !  But  this 
gentleman  is  now,  and  has  been  for  years,  to  my  certain 
knowledge,  a  regular  translator  of  the  human  body  from 
one  State  to  another.  I  have  dealt  with  him  in  my  time, 
and  a  cheating  dog  he  is  !  No  more  honor  in  him  than 
meat  in  my  stomach.  I  saw  him  here  in  this  very  town, 
the  day  of  your  wedding.  He  was  in  company  with  his 
wife's  brother,  and  pretended  to  be  a  settler  on  the  hunt 
for  new  land.  A  noble  set  they  were,  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness— seven  sons,  each  of  them  as  tall  as  your  sergeant 
with  his  cap  on.  Well,  the  moment  I  heard  that  your 
wife  was  lost,  I  saw  at  once  that  Abiram  had  laid  his  hands 
on  her." 

"  Do  you  know  this — can  this  be  true  ?  What  reason 
have  you  to  fancy  a  thing  so  wild  ? " 

"  Reason  enough  ;  I  know  Abiram  White.  Now,  will 
you  add  a  trifle  just  to  keep  my  throat  from  parching  ?  " 

"  Go,  go  ;  you  are  stupefied  with  drink  already,  mis- 
erable man,  and  know  not  what  you  say.  Go,  go  ;  and 
beware  the  drummer  !  " 

"  Experience  is  a  good  guide,"  the  fellow  called  after 
the  retiring  Middleton  ;  and  then  turning  with  a  chuck- 
ling laugh,  like  one  well  satisfied  with  himself,  he  made 
the  best  of  his  way  toward  the  shop  of  the  sutler. 

A  hundred  times  in  the  course  of  that  night  did  Mid- 
dleton fancy  that  the  communication  of  the  miscreant  was 
entitled  to  some  attention,  and  as  often  did  he  reject  the 
idea  as  too  wild  and  visionary  for  another  thought.  He  was 
awakened  early  on  the  following  morning,  after  passing 
a-  restless  and  nearly  sleepless  night,  by  his  orderly,  who 
came  to  report  that  a  man  was  found  dead  on  the  parade, 
at  no  great  distance  from  his  quarters.  Throwing  on  his 
clothes,  he  proceeded  to  the  spot,  and  beheld  the  individ- 
ual with  whom  he  had  held  the  preceding  conference,  in 
the  precise  situation  in  which  he  had  first  been  found. 

The  miserable  wretch  had  fallen  a  victim  to  his  intem- 
perance. This  revolting  fact  was  sufficiently  proclaimed 
by  his  obtruding  eyeballs,  his  bloated  countenance,  and 
the  nearly  insufferable  odors  that  were  then  exhaling 
from  his  carcass.  Disgusted  with  the  odious  spectacle, 
the  youth  was  turnfng  from  the  sight,  after  ordering  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  175 

corpse  to  be  removed,  when  the  position  of  one  of  the 
dead  man's  hands  struck  him.  On  examination,  he  found 
the  forefinger  extended,  as  if  in  the  act  of  writing  in  the 
sand,  with  the  following  incomplete  sentence,  nearly  il- 
legible, but  yet  in  a  state  to  be  deciphered  :  "  Captain,  it  is 

true,  as  I  am  a  gentle "     He  had  either  died,  or  fallen 

into  a  sleep,  the  forerunner  of  his  death,  before  the  latter 
word  was  finished. 

Concealing  this  fact  from  the  others  Middleton  repeated 
his  orders  and  departed.  The  pertinacity  of  the  deceased, 
and  all  the  circumstances  united,  induced  him  to  set  on 
foot  some  secret  inquiries.  He  found  that  a  family  answer- 
ing the  description  which  had  been  given  him  had  in  fact 
passed  the  place  the  day  of  his  nuptials.  They  were  traced 
along  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi  for  some  distance,  until 
they  took  boat  and  ascended  the  river  to  its  confluence  with 
the  Missouri.  Here  they  disappeared,  like  hundreds  of 
others,  in  pursuit  of  the  hidden  wealth  of  the  interior. 

Furnished  with  these  facts,  Middleton  detailed  a  small 
guard  of  his  most  trusty  men,  took  leave  of  Don  Augus- 
tin  without  declaring  his  hopes  or  his  fears,  and  having 
arrived  at  the  indicated  point  he  pushed  into  the  wilder- 
ness in  pursuit.  It  was  not  difficult  to  trace  a  train  like 
that  of  Ishmael  until  he  was  assured  its  object  lay  far  be- 
yond the  usual  limits  of  the  settlements.  This  circum- 
stance in  itself  quickened  his  suspicions  and  gave  addi- 
tional force  to  his  hopes  of  final  success. 
,  After  getting  beyond  the  assistance  of  verbal  directions, 
the  anxious  husband  had  recourse  to  the  usual  signs  of  a 
trail,  in  order  to  follow  the  fugitives.  This  he  also  found 
a  task  of  no  difficulty,  until  he  reached  the  hard  and  un- 
yielding soil  of  the  rolling  prairies.  Here,  indeed,  he  was 
completely  at  fault.  He  found  himself,  at  length,  com- 
pelled to  divide  his  followers,  appointing  a  place  of  rendez- 
vous at  a  distant  day,  and  to  endeavor  to  find  the  lost  trail 
.by  multiplying,  as  much  as  possible,  the  number  of  his  eyes. 
He  had  been  alone  a  week,  when  accident  brought  him  in 
contact  with  the  trapper  and  the  bee-hunter.  Part  of  their 
interview  has  been  related,  and  the  reader  can  readily  im- 
agine the  explanations  that  succeeded  the  tale  he  recounted, 
and  which  led,  as  has  already  been,  seen,  to  the  recovery  of 
his  bride. 


I76  THE  PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

"These  likelihoods  c%onfirm  her  flight  from  hence  : 
Therefore,  I  pray  you,  stay  not  to  discourse, 
But  mount  you  presently." — SHAKESPEARE. 

AN  hour  had  slid  by  in  hasty  and  nearly  incoherent  ques- 
tions and  answers,  before  Middleton,  hanging  over  his  re- 
covered treasure  with  that  sort  of  jealous  watchfulness 
with  which  a  miser  would  regard  his  hoards,  closed  the 
disjointed  narrative  of  his  own  proceedings  by  demanding: 

"  And  you,  my  Inez — in  what  manner  were  you  treated  ? " 

"  In  everything,  but  the  great  injustice  they  did  in  sep- 
arating me  so  forcibly  from  my  friends,  as  well,  perhaps, 
as  the  circumstances  of  my  captors  would  allow.  I  think 
the  man,  who  is  certainly  the  master  here,  is  but  a  new  be- 
ginner in  wickedness.  He  quarrelled  frightfully  in  my 
presence  with  the  wretch  who  seized  me,  and  then  they 
made  an  impious  bargain,  to  which  I  was  compelled  to 
acquiesce,  and  to  which  they  bound  me,  as  well  as  them- 
selves, by  oaths.  Ah !  Middleton,  I  fear  the  heretics  are 
not  so  heedful  of  their  vows  as  we  who  are  nurtured  in  the 
bosom  of  the  true  Church  !  " 

"  Believe  it  not ;  these  villains  are  of  no  religion  !  Die' 
they  forswear  themselves  ?  " 

"No,  not  perjured  ;  but  was  it  not  awful  to  call  upon 
the  good  God  to  witness  so  sinful  a  compact  ? " 

"  And  so  we  think,  Inez,  as  truly  as  the  most  virtuous 
cardinal  of  Rome.  But  how  did  they  observe  their  oath, 
and  what  was  its  purport  ?  " 

"  They  conditioned  to  leave  me  unmolested,  and  free 
from  their  odious  presence,  provided  I  would  give  a  pledge 
to  make  no  effort  to  escape  ;  and  that  I  would  not  even 
show  myself  until  a  time  that  my  masters  saw  fit  to  name." 

:  *  And  that  time  ?"  demanded  the  impatient  Middleton, 
who  so  well  knew  the  religious  scruples  of  his  wife — "  that 
time  ? " 

"  It  is  already  passed.  I  was  sworn  by  my  patron  saint, 
and  faithfully  did  I  keep  the  vow  until  the  man  they  call 
Ishmael  forgot  the  terms  by  offering  violence.  I  then  made 
my  appearance  on  the  rock,  for  the  time  too  was  passed  ; 
though  I  even  think  Father  Ignatius  would  have  absolved 


THE  PRAIRIE.  177 

me  from  the  vow,  on  account  of  the  treachery  of  my  keep- 
ers." 

"  If  he  had  not,'"  muttered  the  youth  between  his  com- 
pressed teeth,  "  I  would  have  absolved  him  forever  from 
his  spiritual  care  of  your  conscience  !  " 

"  You,  Middleton  !  "  returned  his  wife,  looking  up  into 
his  flushed  face,  while  a  bright  flush  suffused  her  own  sweet 
countenance  ;  "  you  may  receive  my  vows,  but  surely  you 
can  have  no  power  to  absolve  me  from  their  observance  !  " 

"  No,  no,  no.  Inez,  you  are  right.  I  know  but  little  of 
these  conscientious  subtilities,  and  I  am  anything  but  a 
priest ;  yet  tell  me,  what  has  induced  these  monsters  to 
play  this  desperate  game — to  trifle  thus  with  my  happi- 
ness?" 

"  You  know  my  ignorance,  of  the  world,  and  how  ill  I  am 
qualified  to  furnish  reasons  for  the  conduct  of  beings  so 
different  from  any  I  have  ever  seen  before.  But  does  not 
love  of  money  drive  men  to  acts  even  worse  than  this  ?  I 
believe  they  thought  that  an  aged  and  wealthy  father  could 
be  tempted  to  pay  them  a  rich  ransom  for  his  child  ;  and 
perhaps,"  she  added,  stealing  an  inquiring  glance  through 
her  tears  at  the  attentive  Middleton,  "they  counted  some- 
thing on  the  fresh  affections  of  a  bridegroom." 

"They  might  have  extracted  the  blood  from  my  heart, 
drop  by  drop  !  " 

"  Yes,"  resumed  his  young  and  timid  wife,  instantly 
withdrawing  the  stolen  look  she  had  hazarded,  and  hur- 
riedly pursuing  the  train  of  the  discourse,  as  if  glad  to 
make  him  forget  the  liberty  she  had  just  taken,  "  I  have 
been  told  there  are  men  so  base  as  to  perjure  themselves 
at  the  altar  in  order  to  command  the  gold  of  ignorant  and 
confiding  girls  ;  and  if  love  of  money  will  lead  to  such 
baseness,  we  may  surely  expect  it  will  hurry  those  who 
devote  themselves  to  gain  into  acts  of  lesser  fraud." 

"  It  must  be  so  ;  and  now,  Inez,  though  I  am  here  to 
guard  you  with  my  life,  and  we  are  in  possession  of  this 
rock,  our  difficulties,  perhaps  our  dangers,  are  not  ended. 
Vou  will  summon  all  your  courage  to  meet  the  trial,  and 
prove  yourself  a  soldier's  wife,  my  Inez  ?" 

"  I  am  ready  to  depart  this  instant.  The  letter  you  sent 
by  the  physician  had  prepared  me  to  hope  for  the  best, 
and  I  have  everything  arranged  for  flight  at  the  shortest 
warning." 

"  Let  us,  then,  leave  this  place  and  join  our  friends." 

12 


178  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Friends  ! "  interrupted  Inez,  glancing  her  eyes  around 
the  tent  in  quest  of  the  form  of  Ellen.  "  I,  too,  have  a 
friend  who  must  not  be  forgotten,  but  who  is  pledged  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  her  life  with  us.  She  is  gone  ! " 

Middleton  gently  led  her  from  the  spot,  as  he  smilingly 
answered  : 

"  She  may  have  had,  like  myself,  her  own  private  com- 
munications for  some  favored  ear." 

The  young  man  had  not,  however,  done  justice  to  the 
motives  of  Ellen  Wade.  The  sensitive  and  intelligent  girl 
had  readily  perceived  how  little  her  presence  was  neces- 
sary in  the  interview  that  has  just  been  related,  and  had 
retired  with  that  intuitive  delicacy  of  feeling  which  seems 
to  belong  more  properly  to  her  sex.  She  was  now  to  be 
seen  seated  on  a  point  of  the  rock,  with  her  person  so  en- 
tirely enveloped  in  her  dress  as  to  conceal  her  features. 
Here  she  had  remained  for  near  an  hour,  no  one  approach- 
ing to  address  her,  and,  as  it  appeared  to  her  own  quick 
and  jealous  eyes,  totally  unobserved.  In  the  latter  partic- 
ular, however,  even  the  vigilance  of  the  quick-sighted  Ellen 
was  deceived. 

The  first  act  of  Paul  Hover,  on  finding  himself  the  mas- 
ter of  Ishmael's  citadel,  had  been  to  sound  the  note  of  vic- 
tory, after  the  quaint  and  ludicrous  manner  that  is  so  often 
practised  among  the  borderers  of  the  West.  Flapping  his 
sides  with  his  hands,  as  the  conquering  game-cock  is  wont 
to  do  with  his  wings,  he  raised  a  loud  and  laughable  imi- 
tation of  the  exultation  of  this  bird  ;  a  cry  which  might 
have  proved  a  dangerous  challenge  had  any  one  of  the 
athletic  sons  of  the  squatter  been  within  hearing. 

"This  has  been  a  regular  knock-down  and  drag-out," 
he  cried,  "  and  no  bones  broke  ! — How  now,  old  trapper  ! 
you  have  been  one  of  your  training,  platoon,  rank-and-file 
soldiers  in  your  day,  and  have  seen  forts  taken  and  batter- 
ies stormed  before  this — am  I  right  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ay,  that  have  I,"  answered  the  old  man,  who  still 
maintained  his  post  at  the  foot  of  the  rock,  so  little  dis- 
turbed by  what  he  had  just  witnessed  as  to  return  the  grin 
of  Paul  with  a  hearty  indulgence  in  his  own  silent  and 
peculiar  laughter  ;  "  you  have  gone  through  the  exploit 
like  men  !  " 

"  Now,  tell  me,  is  it  not  in  rule  to  call  over  the  names 
of  the  living,  and  to  bury  the  dead  after  every  bloody 
battle  ? " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  179 

"  Some  did  and  other  some  didn't.  When  Sir  William 
pushed  the  German,  Dieskau,  through  the  defiles  at  the 
foot  of  the  Hori— 

"  Your  Sir  William  was  a  drone  to  Sir  Paul,  and  knew 
nothing  of  regularity.  So  here  begins  the  roll-call — by- 
the-by,  old  man,  what  between  bee-hunting  and  buffalo- 
humps,  and  certain  other  matters,  I  have  been  too  busy  to 
ask  your  name  ;  for  I  intend  to  begin  with  my  rear-guard, 
well  knowing  that  my  man  in  front  is  too  busy  to  answer." 

"  Lord,  lad,  I've  been  called  in  my  time  by  as  many 
names  as  there  are  people  among  whom  I've  dwelt.  Now 
the  Delawares  named  me  for  my  eyes,  and  I  was  called 
after  the  far-sighted  hawk.  Then,  ag'in,  the  settlers  in  the 
Otsego  hills  christened  me  anew  from  the  fashion  of  my 
leggings  ;  and  various  have  been  the  names  by  which  I 
have  gone  through  life  ;  but  little  will  it  matter,  when  the 
time  shall  come  that  all  are  to  be  mustered  face  to  face,  by 
what  titles  a  mortal  has  played  his  part !  I  humbly  trust 
I  shall  be  able  to  answer  to  any  of  mine  in  a  loud  and 
manly  voice." 

Paul  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  this  reply,  more  than 
half  of  which  was  lost  in  the  distance,  but,  pursuing  the 
humor  of  the  moment,  he  called  out  in  a  stentorian  voice 
to  the  naturalist  to  answer  to  his  name.  Dr.  Battius  had 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  push  his  success  beyond  the 
comfortable  niche  which  accident  had  so  opportunely 
formed  for  his  protection,  and  in  which  he  now  reposed 
from  his  labors  with  a  pleasing  consciousness  of  security, 
added  to  great  exultation  at  the  possession  of  the  botanical 
treasure  already  mentioned. 

"Mount,  mount,  my  worthy  mole-catcher!  come  and 
behold  the  prospect  of  skirting  Ishmael ;  come  and  look 
Nature  boldly  in  the  face,  and  not  go  sneaking  any  longer 
among  the  prairie-grass  and  mullein-tops,  like  a  gobbler 
nibbling  for  grasshoppers." 

The  mouth  of  the  light-hearted  and  reckless  bee-hunter 
was  instantly  closed,  and  he  was  rendered  as  mute  as  he 
had  just  been  boisterous  and  talkative,  by  the  appearance 
of  Ellen  Wade.  When  the  melancholy  maiden  took  her 
seat  on  the  point  of  the  rock  as  mentioned,  Paul  affected 
to  employ  himself  in  conducting  a  close  inspection  of  the 
household  effects  of  the  squatter.  He  rummaged  the 
drawers  of  Esther  with  no  delicate  hands,  scattered  the 
rustic  finery  of  her  girls  on  the  ground  without  the  leasi 


/8o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

deference  to  its  quality  or  elegance,  and  tossed  her  pots 
and  kettles  here  and  there  as  though  they  had  been  vessels 
of  wood  instead  of  iron.  All  this  industry  was,  however, 
manifestly  without  an  object.  He  reserved  nothing  for 
himself,  not  even  appearing  conscious  of  the  nature  of  the 
articles  which  suffered  by  his  familiarity.  When  he  had 
examined  the  inside  of  every  cabin,  taken  a  fresh  survey 
of  the  spot  where  he  had  confined  the  children,  and  where 
he  had  thoroughly  secured  them  with  cords,  and  kicked 
one  of  the  pails  of  the  woman  like  a  foot-ball  fifty  feet  into 
the  air  in  sheer  wantonness,  he  returned  to  the  edge  of  the 
rock,  and,  thrusting  both  his  hands  through  his  wampum 
belt,  he  began  to  whistle  the  "Kentucky  Hunters  "  as  dili- 
gently as  if  he  had  been  hired  to  supply  his  auditors  with 
music  by  the  hour.  In  this  manner  passed  the  remainder 
of  the  time  until  Middleton,  as  has  been  related,  led  Inez 
forth  from  the  tent,  and  gave  a  new  direction  to  the 
thoughts  of  the  whole  party.  He  summoned  Paul  from 
his  flourish  of  music,  tore  the  doctor  from  the  study  of  his 
plant,  and,  as  acknowledged  leader,  gave  the  necessary 
orders  for  immediate  departure. 

In  the  bustle  and  confusion  that  were  likely  to  succeed 
such  a  mandate,  there  was  little  opportunity  to  indulge  in 
complaints  or  reflections.  As  the  adventurers  had  not 
come  unprepared  for  victory,  each  individual  employed 
himself  in  such  offices  as  were  best  adapted  to  his  strength 
and  situation.  The  trapper  had  already  made  himself 
master  of  the  patient  Asinus,  who  was  quietly  feeding  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  rock,  and  he  was  now  busy  in 
fitting  his  back  with  the  complicated  machinery  which  Dr. 
Battius  saw  fit  to  term  a  saddle  of  his  own  invention. 
The  naturalist  himself  seized  upon  his  portfolios,  herbals, 
and  collection  of  insects,  which  he  quickly  transferred 
from  the  encampment  of  the  squatter  to  certain  pockets 
in  the  aforesaid  ingenious  invention,  and  which  the  trap* 
per  as  uniformly  cast  away  the  moment  his  back  was 
turned.  Paul  showed  his  dexterity  in  removing  such  light 
articles  as  Inez  and  Ellen  had  prepared  for  their  flight  to 
the  foot  of  the  citadel  ;  while  Middleton,  after  mingling 
threats  and  promises  in  order  to  induce  the  children  to  re- 
main quietly  in  their  bondage,  assisted  the  females  fo  de- 
scend. As  time  began  to  press  upon  them,  and  there  was 
great  danger  of  Ishmael's  returning,  these  several  move 
ments  were  made  with  singular  industry  and  despatch. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  iSl 

The  trapper  bestowed  such  articles  as  he  conceived  were 
necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  weaker  and  more  delicate 
members  of  the  party,  in  those  pockets  from  which  he  had 
so  unceremoniously  expelled  the  treasures  of  the  uncon- 
scious naturalist,  and  then  gave  way  for  Middleton  to  place 
Inez  in  one  of  those  seats  which  he  had  prepared  on  the 
back  of  the  animal  for  her  and  her  companion. 

"Go,  child,"  the  old  man  said,  motioning  to  Ellen  to 
follow  the  example  of  the  lady,  and  turning  his  head  a 
little  anxiously  to  examine  the  waste  behind  him.  "  It 
cannot  be  long  afore  the  owner  of  this  place  will  be  com- 
ing to  look  after  his  household  ;  and  he  is  not  a  man  to 
give  up  his  property,  however  obtained,  without  com- 
plaint !" 

"  It  is  true,"  cried  Middleton;  "we  have  wasted  mo- 
ments that  are  precious,  and  have  the  utmost  need  of  in- 
dustry." 

"  Ay,  ay,  I  thought  it  ;  and  would  have  said  it,-  captain  ; 
but  I  remembered  how  your  grand'ther  used  to  love  to 
look  upon  the  face  of  her  he  led  away  for  a  wife,  in  the 
days  of  his  youth  and  his  happiness.  "Tis  natur',  'tis  na- 
tur',  and  'tis  wiser  to  give  way  a  little  before  its  feelings 
than  to  try  to  stop  a  current  that  will  have  its  course." 

Ellen  advanced  to  the  side  of  the  beast,  and  seizing  Inez 
by  the  hand,  she  said,  with  heart-felt  warmth,  after  strug* 
gling  to  suppress  an  emotion  that  nearly  choked  her  : 

"  God  bless  you,  sweet  lady  !  I  hope  you  will  forget 
and  forgive  the  wrongs  you  have  received  from  m} 
uncle " 

The  humbled  and  sorrowful  girl  could  say  no  more,  her 
voice  becoming  entirely  inaudible  in  an  ungovernable 
burst,  of  grief. 

"How  is  this?"  cried  Middleton  ;  "did  you  not  say, 
Inez,  that  this  excellent  young  woman  was  to  accompany 
us,  and  to  live  with  us  for  the  remainder  of  her  life  ;  or, 
at  least  until  she  found  some  more  agreeable  residence  for 
herself?" 

"  I  did  ;  and  I  still  hope  it.  She  has  always  given  me 
reason  to  believe  that,  after  having  shown  so  much  com- 
miseration and  friendship  in  my  misery,  she  would  not 
desert  me,  should  happier  times  return." 

"  I  cannot — I  ought  not,"  continued  Ellen,  getting  the 
better  of  her  momentary  weakness.  "  It  has  pleased  God 
to  cast  my  lot  am^ng  these  people,  and  I  ought  not  to  quif 


1 82  THE  PRAIRIE. 

them.  It  would  be  adding  the  appearance  of  treachery  tq 
what  will  already  seem  bad  enough,  with  one  of  his  opin- 
ions. He  has  been  kind  to  me,  an  orphan,  after  his  rough 
customs,  and  I  cannot  steal  from  him  at  such  a  moment." 

"She  is  just  as  much  a  relation  of  skirting  Ishmael  as  1 
am  a  bishop  !  "  said  Paul,  with  a  loud  hem,  as  if  his  throat 
wanted  clearing.  "If  the  old  fellow  has  done  the  honest 
thing  by  her,  in  giving  her  a  morsel  of  venison  now  and 
then,  or  a  spoon  around  his  hominy-dish,  hasn't  she  paid 
him  in  teaching  the  young  devils  to  read  their  Bible,  or  in 
helping  old  Esther  to  put  her  finery  in  shape  and  fashion  ? 
Tell  me  that  a  drone  has  a  sting,  and  I'll  believe  you  as  easily 
as  I  will  that  this  young  woman  is  a  debtor  to  any  of  the 
tribe  of  Bush  !  " 

"  It  is  but  little  matter  who  owes  me,  or  where  I  am  in 
debt.  There  are  none  to  care  for  a  girl  who  is  fatherless 
and  motherless,  and  whose  nearest  kin  are  the  offcasts  of 
all  honest  (people.  No,  no  ;  go,  lady,  and  Heaven  forever 
bless  you  !  I  am  better  here,  in  this  desert,  where  there 
are  none  to  know  my  shame." 

"  Now,  old  trapper,"  retorted  Paul,  "  this  is  what  I  call 
knowing  which  way  the  wind  blows  !  You  ar'  a  man  that 
has  seen  life,  and  you  know  something  of  fashions  ;  I  put 
it  to  your  judgment  plainly,  isn't  it  in  the  nature  of  things 
for  the  hive  to  swarm  when  the  young  get  their  growth, 
and,  if  children  will  quit  their  parents,  ought  one  who  is 
of  no  kith  or  kin " 

"  Hist  !  "  interrupted  the  man  he  addressed,  "  Hector  is 
discontented.  Say  it  out  plainly,  pup  ;  what  is  it,  dog — 
what  is  it  ?" 

The  venerable  hound  had  risen,  and  was  scenting  the 
fresh  breeze  which  continued  to  sweep  heavily  over,  the 
prairie.  At  the  words  of  his  master  he  growled  and  con- 
tracted the  muscles  of  his  lips,  as  if  half  disposed  to  threat- 
en with  the  remnants  of  his  teeth.  The  younger  dog,  who 
was  resting  after  the  chase  of  the  morning,  also  made  some 
signs  that  his  nose  detected  a  taint  in  the  air,  and, then 
the  two  resumed  their  slumbers,  as  if  they  had  done 
enough. 

The  trapper  seized  the  bridle  of  the  ass,  and  cried,  urg- 
ing the  beast  onward  : 

"There  is  no  time  for  words.  The  squatter  and  his 
brood  are  within  a  mile  or  two  of  this  blessed  spot  ! " 

Middleton  lost  all  recollection  of  Ellen  in  the  danger 


THE  PRAIRIE.  183 

which  now  so  imminently  beset  his  recovered  bride  ;  nor 
is  it  necessary  to  add  that  Dr  Battius  did  not  wait  for  a 
second  admonition  to  commence  his  retreat. 

Following  the  route  indicated  by  the  old  man,  they 
turned  the  rock  in  a  body,  and  pursued  their  way  as  fast 
as  possible  across  the  prairie'  under  the  favor  of  the  cover 
it  afforded. 

Paul  Hover,  however,  remained  in  his  tracks,  sullenly 
leaning  on  his  rifle.  Near  a  minute  had  elapsed  before  he 
was  observed  by  Ellen,  who  had  buried  her  face  in  her 
hands  to  conceal  her  fancied  desolation  from  herself. 

"  Why  do  you  not  fly  ?  "  the  weeping  girl  exclaimed,  the 
instant  she  perceived  she  was  not  alone. 

"  I  am  not  used  to  it." 

"  My  uncle  will  soon  be  here  !  you  have  nothing  to  hope 
from  his  pity." 

"  Nor  from  that  of  his  niece,  I  reckon.  Let  him  come  ; 
he  can  only  knock  me  on  the  head  ! " 

"  Paul,  Paul,  if  you  love  me,  fly  !  " 

"  Alone  !— if  I  do,  may  I  be " 

"  If  you  value  your  life,  fly!" 

"  I  value  it  not  compared  to  you." 

"  Paul !  " 

"  Ellen  ! " 

She  extended  both  her  hands,  and  burst  into  another 
and  a  still  more  violent  flood  of  tears.  The  bee-hunter 
put  one  of  his  sturdy  arms  around  her  waist,  and  in  an- 
other moment  he  was  urging  her  over  the  plain,  in  rapid 
pursuit  of  their  flying  friends. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

cc  Approach  the  chamber,  and  destroy  your  sight 
With  a  new  Gorgon. — Do  not  bid  me  speak  ; 
See,  and  then  speak  yourselves." — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  Httle  run  which  supplied  the  family  of  the  squatter 
with  water,  and  nourished  the  trees  and  bushes  that  grew 
near  the  base  of  the  rocky  eminence,  took  its  rise  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  latter,  in  a  small  thicket  of  cotton- 
wood  and  vines.  Hither,  then,  the  trapper  directed  the 
flight,  as  to  the  place  affording  the  only  available  cover  in 


184  THE  PRAIRIE. 

so  pressing  an  emergency.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  sagacity  of  the  old  man,  which,  from  long  practice  in 
similar  scenes,  amounted  nearly  to  an  instinct  in  all  cases 
of  sudden  danger,  had  first  induced  him  to  take  this  course, 
as  it  placed  the  hill  between  them  and  the  approaching 
party.  Favored  by  this  circumstance,  he  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  bushes  in  sufficient  time  ;  and  Paul  Hover 
had  just  hurried  the  breathless  Ellen  into  the  tangled 
bush  as  Ishrnael  gained  the  summit  of  the  rock  in  the 
manner  already  described,  where  he  stood  like  a  man  mo- 
mentarily bereft  of  sense,  gazing  at  the  confusion  which 
had  been  created  among  his  chattels,  or  at  his  gagged  and 
bound  children,  who  had  been  safely  bestowed,  by  the 
forethought  of  the  bee-hunter,  under  the  cover  of  a  bark 
roof,  in  a  sort  of  irregular  pile.  A  long  rifle  would  have 
thrown  a  bullet  from  the  height  on  which  the  squatter 
now  stood  into  the  very  cover  where  the  fugitives  who  had 
wrought  all  this  mischief  were  clustered. 

The  trapper  was  the  first  to  speak,  as  the  man  on  whose 
intelligence  and  experience  they  all  depended  for  counsel, 
after  running  his  eye  over  the  different  individuals  who 
gathered  about  him,  in  order  to  see  that  none  were  miss- 
ing. 

"  Ah  !  .natur'  is  natur',  and  has  done  its  work  ! "  he  said, 
nodding  to  the  exulting  Paul  with  a  smile  of  approbation. 
"  I  thought  it  would  be  hard  for  those  who  had  so  often 
met  in  fair  and  foul,  by  starlight  and  under  the  clouded 
moon,  to  part  at  last  in  anger.  Now  is  there  little  time  to 
lose  in  talk,  and  everything  to  gain  by  industry  !  It  can- 
not be  long  afore  some  of  yonder  brood  will  be  nosing 
along  the  'arth  for  our  trail,  and  should  they  find  it,  as  find 
it  they  surely  will,  and  should  they  push  us  to  stand  on 
our  courage,  the  dispute  must  be  settled  with  the  rifle  ; 
which  may  He  in  heaven  forbid  ! — Captain,  can  you  lead 
us  to  the  place  where  any  of  your  warriors  lie  ?  For  the 
stout  sons  of  the  squatter  will  make  a  manly  brush  of  it? 
or  I  am  but  little  of  a  judge  in  warlike  dispositions  ! " 

"  The  place  of  rendezvous  is  many  leagues  from  this,  on 
the  banks  of  La  Platte  !  " 

"It  is  bad — it  is  bad.  If  fighting  is  to  be  done,  it  is  al- 
ways wise  to  enter  on  it  on  equal  terms.  But  what  has 
one  so  near  his  time  to  do  with  ill  blood  and  hot  blood  at 
his  heart !  Listen  to  what  a  gray  head  and  some  experi- 
ence have  to  offer,  and  then  if  any  among  you  can  point 


THE  PRAIRIE.  igj 

out  a  wiser  fashion  for  a  retreat,  we  can  just  follow  his  de- 
sign and  forget  that  I  have  spoken.  This  thicket  stretches 
for  near  a  mile  as  it  may  be  slanting  from  the  rock,  and 
leads  toward  the  sunset  instead  of  the  settlements." 

"  Enough,  enough,"  cried  Middle  ton,  too  impatient  to 
wait  until  the  deliberate  and  perhaps  loquacious  old  man 
could  end  his  minute  explanation.  u  Time  is  too  precious 
for  words.  Let  us  fly." 

The  trapper  made  a  gesture  of  compliance,  and  turning 
in  his  tracks,  he  led  Asinus  across  the  trembling  earth  of 
the  swale,  and  quickly  emerged  on  the  hard  ground  on 
the  side  opposite  to  the  encampment  of  the  squatter. 

"  If  old  Ishmael  gets  a  squint  at  that  highway  through 
the  brush,"  cried  Paul,  casting,  as  he  left  the  place,  a  hasty 
glance  at  the  broad  trail  the  party  had  made  through  the 
thicket,  "  he'll  need  no  finger-board  to  tell  him  which  way 
his  road  lies.  But  let  him  follow  !  I  know  the  vagabond 
would  gladly  cross  his  breed  with  a  little  honest  blood,  but 
*f  any  son  of  his  ever  gets  to  be  the  husband  of " 

"Hush,  Paul,  hush!"  said  the  terrified  ^oung  woman, 
who  leaned  on  his  arm  for  support  ;  "  your  voice  might  be 
heard." 

The  bee-hunter  was  silent,  though  he  did  not  cease  to 
cast  ominous  looks  behind  him  as  they  flew  along  the  edge 
of  the  run,  which  sufficiently  betrayed  the  belligerent  con- 
dition of  his  mind.  As  each  one  was  busy  for  himself,  but 
a  few  minutes  elapsed  before  the  party  rose  a  swell  of  the 
prairie,  and,  descending  without  a  moment's  delay  on  the 
opposite  side,  they  were  at  once  removed  from  every  dan- 
ger of  being  seen  by  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  unless  the  pur- 
suers should  happen  to  fall  upon  their  trail.  The  old  man 
now  profited  by  the  formation  of  the  land  to  take  another 
direction  with  a  view  to  elude  pursuit,  as  a  vessel  changes 
her  course  in  fogs  and  darkness  to  escape  from  the  vigi- 
lance of  her  enemies. 

Two  hours  passed  in  the  utmost  diligence  enabled  them 
to  make  a  half  circuit  around  the  rock,  and  to  reach  a 
point  that  was  exactly  opposite  to  the  original  direction  of 
their  flight.  To  most  of  the  fugitives  their  situation  was 
as  entirely  unknown  as  is  that  of  a  ship  in  the  middle  of 
the  ocean  to  the  uninstructed  voyager  ;  but  the  old  man 
proceeded  at  every  turn,  and  through  every  bottom,  with 
a  decision  that  inspired  his  followers  with  confidence,  as  it 
spoke  favorably  of  his  own  knowledge  of  the  localities, 


1 86  THE  PRAIRIE. 

His  hound,  stopping  now  and  then  to  catch  the  expression 
of  his  eye,  had  preceded  the  trapper  throughout  the  whole 
distance  with  as  much  certainty  as  though  a  previous  and 
intelligible  communion  between  them  had  established  the 
route  by  which  they  were  to  proceed.  But,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  just  named,  the  dog  suddenly  came  to  a 
stand,  and  then,  seating  himself  on  the  prairie,  he  snuffed 
the  air  a  moment,  and  began  a  low  and  piteous  whining. 

"  Ay — pup — ay.  I  know  the  spot,  and  reason  there  is  to 
remember  it  well!  "  said  the  old  man,  stopping  by  the  side 
of  his  uneasy  associate,  until  those  who  followed  had  time 
to  come  up.  "  Now,  yonder  is  a  thicket  before  us,"  he 
continued,  pointing  forward,  "  where  we  may  lie  till  tall 
trees  grow  on  these  naked  fields  afore  any  of  the  squatter's 
kin  will  venture  to  molest  us." 

"  This  is  the  spot  where  the  body  of  the  dead  man  lay  ! " 
cried  Middleton,  examining  the  place  with  an  eye  that  re- 
volted at  the  recollection. 

"  The  very  same.  But  whether  his  friends  have  put  him 
in  the  bosom  .of  the  ground  or  not,  remains  to  be  seen. 
The  hound  knows  the  scent,  but 'seems  to  be  a  little  at  a 
loss,  too.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that  you  advance,  friend 
bee-hunter,  to  examine,  while  I  tarry  to  keep  the  dogs 
from  complaining  in  too  loud  a  voice." 

"  I  !  "  exclaimed  Paul,  thrusting  his  hand  into  his  shaggy 
locks,  like  one  who  thought  it  prudent  to  hesitate  before 
he  undertook  so  formidable  an  adventure.  "  Now,  hark'ee, 
old  trapper  ;  I've  stood  in  my  thinnest  cottons  in  the  midst 
of  many  a  swarm  that  had  lost  its  queen-bee,  without  wink- 
ing, and  let  me  tell  you  the  man  who  can  do  that  is  not 
likely  to  fear  any  living  son  of  skirting  Ishmael  ;  but  as  to 
meddling  with  dead  men's  bones,  why  it  is  neither  my  call- 
ing nor  my  inclination  ;  so,  after  thanking  you  for  the 
favor  of  your  choice,  as  they  say  when  they  make  a  man 
corporal  in  Kentucky,  I  decline  serving." 

The  old  man  turned  a  disappointed  look  toward  Mid- 
dleton, who  was  too  much  occupied  in  solacing  Inez  to  ob- 
serve his  embarrassment,  which  was,  however,  suddenly 
relieved  from  a  quarter  whence,  from  previous  circum- 
stances, there  was  little  reason  to  expect  such  demonstra- 
tion of  fortitude. 

Dr.  Battius  had  rendered  himself  a  little  remarkable 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  preceding  retreat,  for  the  ex- 
ceeding diligence  with  which  he  had  labored  to  effect  that 


THE  PRAIRIE.  187 

desirable  object.  So  very  conspicuous  was  his  zeal,  in- 
deed, as  to  hare  entirely  got  the  better  of  all  his  ordinary 
predilections.  The  worthy  naturalist  belonged  to  that 
species  of  discoverers  who  make  the  worst  possible  travel- 
ling companions  to  a  man  who  has  reason  to  be  in  a  hurry. 
No  stone,  no  bush,  no  plant,  is  ever  suffered  to  escape  the 
examination  of  their  vigilant  eyes,  and  thunder  may  mut- 
ter, and  rain  fall,  without  disturbing  the  abstraction  of 
their  reveries.  Not  so,  however,  with  the  disciple  of  Lin- 
naeus, during  the  momentous  period  that  it  remained  a 
mooted  point  at  the  tribunal  of  his  better  judgment,  whether 
the  stout  descendants  of  the  squatter  were  not  likely  to 
dispute  his  right  to  traverse  the  prairie  in  freedom.  The 
highest-blooded  and  best-trained  hound,  with  his  game  in 
view,  could  not  have  run  with  an  eye  more  riveted  than 
that  with  which  the  doctor  had  pursued  his  curvilinear 
course.  It  was  perhaps  lucky  for  his  fortitude  that  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  artifice  of  the  trapper  in  leading  them 
around  the  citadel  of  Ishmael,  and  that  he  had  imbibed  the 
soothing  impression,  that  every  inch  of  prairie  he  traversed 
was  just  so  much  added  to  the  distance  between  his  own 
person  and  the  detested  rock.  Notwithstanding  the  mo- 
mentary shock  he  certainly  experienced  when  he  discov- 
ered this  error,  he  now  boldly  volunteered  to  enter  the 
thicket  in  which  there  was  sbme  reason  to  believe  the 
body  of  the  murdered  Asa  still  lay.  Perhaps  the  naturalist 
was  urged  to  show  his  spirit  on  this  occasion,  by  some 
secret  consciousness  that  his  excessive  industry  in  the  re- 
treat might  be  liable  to  misconstruction  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  whatever  might  be  his  peculiar  notions  of  danger 
from  the  quick,  his  habits  and  his  knowledge  had  placed 
him  far  above  the  apprehension  of  suffering  harm  from 
any  communication  with  the  dead. 

"  If  there  is  any  service  to  be  performed  which  requires 
the  perfect  command  of  the  nervous  system,"  said  the  man 
of  science,  with  a  look  that  was  slightly  blustering,  "you 
have  only  to  give  a  direction  to  his  intellectual  faculties, 
and  here  stands  one  on  whose  physical  powers  you  may 
depend." 

"The  man  is  given  to  speak  in  parables,"  muttered  the 
single-minded  trapper;  "but  I  conclude  there  is  always 
some  meaning  hidden  in  his  words,  though  it  is  as  hard 
to  find  sense  in  his  speeches  as  to  discover  three  eagles  on 
the  same  tree.  It  will  bo  wise,  friend,  to  make  a  cover. 


188  THE  PRAIRIE. 

lest  the  sons  of  the  squatter  should  be  out  skirting  on  ouf 
trail,  and,  as  you  well  know,  there  is  some  reason  to  fear 
yonder  thicket  contains  a  sight  that  may  horrify  a  woman's 
mind.  Are  you  man  enough  to  look  death  in  the  face,  or 
shall  I  run  the  risk  of  the  hounds  raising  an  outcry,  and 
go  in  myself  ?  You  see  the  pup  is  willing  to  run  in  with 
an  open  mouth  already." 

"  Am  I  man  enough  !  Venerable  trapper,  our  commu- 
nications  have  a  recent  origin,  or  thy  interrogatory  might 
have  a  tendency  to  embroil  us  in  angry  disputation.  Am 
I  man  enough !  I  claim  to  be  of  the  class,  mammalia  ; 
order,  primates  ;  genus,  homo !  Such  are  my  physical  at^ 
tributes  ;  of  my  moral  properties  let  posterity  speak  ;  it 
becomes  me  to  be  mute." 

"  Physic  may  do  for  such  as  relish  it ;  to  my  taste  and 
judgment  it  is  neither  palatable  nor  healthy  ;  but  morals 
never  did  harm  to  any  living  mortal,  be  it  that  he  was  a 
sojourner  in  the  forest,  or  a  dweller  in  the  midst  of  glazed 
windows  and  smoking  chimneys.  It  is  only  a  few  hard 
words  that  divide  us,  friend ;  for  I  am  of  opinion  that 
with  use  and  freedom  we  should  come  to  understand  one 
another,  and  mainly  settle  down  into  the  same  judgments 
of  mankind,  and  of  the  ways  of  the  world. — Quiet,  Hector, 
quiet !  what  ruffles  your  temper,  pup  ;  is  it  not  used  to 
the  scent  of  human  blood  ?  " 

The  doctor  bestowed  a  gracious  but  commiserating 
smile  on  the  philosopher  of  Nature,  as  he  retrograded  a 
step  or  two  from  the  place  whither  he  had  been  impelled 
by  his  excess  of  spirit,  in  order  to  reply  with  less  expendi- 
ture of  breath,  and  with  a  greater  freedom  of  air  and  at- 
titude. 

"A  homo  is  certainly  a  homo,"  he  said,  stretching  forth 
an  arm  in  an  argumentative  manner  ;  "  so  far  as  the  ani- 
mal functions  extend,  there  are  the  connecting  links  of 
harmony,  order,  conformity,  and  design,  between  the  whole 
genus  ;  but  there  the  resemblance  ends.  Man  may  be 
degraded  to  the  very  margin  of  the  line  which  separ- 
ates him  from  the  brute,  by  ignorance  ;  or  he  may  be 
elevated  to  a  communion  with  the  great  Master-spirit  of 
all,  by  knowledge  ;  nay,  I  know  not,  if  time  and  oppor- 
tunity were  given  him,  but  he  might  become  the  master 
of  all  learning,  and  consequently  equal  to  the  great  mov' 
ing  principle/ 

The  old  man,  wno  stood  leaning  on  his  rifle  in  a  thought 


THE  PRAIRIE.  189 

ful  attitude,  shook  his  head  as  he  answered  with  a  native 
steadiness  that  entirely  eclipsed  the  imposing  air  which  his 
antagonist  had  seen  fit  to  assume. 

"  This  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  human  wickedness  J 
Here  have  I  been  a  dweller  on  the  earth  for  four-score- 
and-six  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  all. that  time  have  I 
looked  at  the  growing  and  the  dying  trees,  and  yet  do  I 
not  know  the  reason  why  the  bud  starts  under  the  sum« 
mer  sun,  or  the  leaf  falls  when  it  is  pinched  by  the  frosts. 
Your  Taming,  though  it  is  man's  boast,  is  folly  in  the  eyes 
of  Him  who  sits  in  the  clouds,  and  looks  down  in  sorrow 
at  the  pride  and  vanity  of  his  creatur's.  Many  is  the  hour 
that  I've  passed  lying  in  the  shades  of  the  woods,  or 
stretched  upon  the  hills  of  these  open  fields,  looking  up 
into  the  blue  skies,  where  I  could  fancy  the  Great  One 
had  taken  His  stand,  and  was  solemnizing  on  the  way- 
wardness of  man  and  brute  below,  as  I  myself  had  often 
looked  at  the  ants  tumbling  over  each  other  in  their  eager- 
ness, though  in  a  way  and  a  fashion  more  suited  to  His 
mightiness  and  power.  Knowledge  !  It  is  his  plaything. 
Say,  you  who  think  it  is  so  easy  to  climb  into  the  judg- 
ment-seat above,  can  you  tell  me  anything  of  the  begin* 
ning  and  the  end  ?  Nay,  you're  a  dealer  in  ailings  and 
cures  ;  what  is  life,  and  what  is  death  ?  Why  does  the 
eagle  live  so  long,  and  why  is  the  time  of  the  butterfly  so 
short  ?  Tell  me  a  simpler  thing  :  why  is  the  hound  so  un- 
easy, while  you,  who  have  passed  your  days  in  looking 
into  books,  can  see  no  reason  to  be  disturbed?" 

The  doctor,  who  had  been  a  little  astounded  by  the 
dignity  and  energy  of  the  old  man,  drew  a  long  breath, 
like  a  sullen  wrestler  who  is  just  released  from  the  throt- 
tling grasp  of  his  antagonist,  and  seized  on  the  opportunity 
of  the  pause  to  reply  : 

"  It  is  his  instinct." 

"  And  what  is  the  gift  of  instinct  ?  " 

"An  inferior  gradation  of  reason.  A  sort  of  mysterious 
combination  of  thought  and  matter." 

"  And  what  is  that  which  you  call  thought  ?" 

"  Venerable  venator,  this  is  a  method  of  reasoning  which 
sets  at  naught  the  uses  of  definitions,  and  such  as  I  do  as- 
sure you  is  not  at  all  tolerated  in  the  schools." 

"  Then  is  there  more  cunning  in  your  schools  than  I  had 
thought,  for  it  is  a  certain  method  of  showing  them  their 
vanity,"  returned  the  trapper,  suddenly  abandoning  a  di» 


rpo  THE  PRAIRIE. 

cussion  from  which  the  naturalist  was  just  beginning  to  an- 
ticipate great  delight,  by  turning  to  his  dog,  whose  restless- 
ness he  attempted  to  appease  by  playing  with  his  ears. 
"  This  is  foolish,  Hector  ;  more  like  an  untamed  pup  than 
a  sensible  hound  ;  one  who  has  got  his  education  by  hard 
experience  and  not  by  nosing  over  the  trails  of  other  dogs, 
as  a  boy  in  the  settlements  follows  on  the  track  of  his  mas- 
ters, be  it  right  or  be  it  wrong.  Well,  friend,  you  who  can 
do  so  much,  are  you  equal  to  looking  into  the  thicket  ;  or 
must  I  go  in  myself  ?  " 

The  doctor  again  assumed  his  air  of  resolution,  and  with- 
out further  parlance  proceeded  to  do  as  desired.  The  dogs 
were  so  fair  restrained  by  the  remonstrances  of  the  old  man 
as  to  confine  their  noise  to  low  but  often  repeated  whin- 
ings.  When  they  saw  the  naturalist  advance,  the  pup,  how- 
ever, broke  through  all  restraint  and  made  a  swift  circuit 
around  bis  person,  scenting  the  earth  as  he  proceeded,  and, 
returning  to  his  companion,  he  howled  aloud. 

"The  squatter  and  his  brood  have  left  a  strong  scent  on 
the  earth,"  said  the  old  man,  watching  as  he  spoke  for  some 
signal  from  his  learned  pioneer  to  follow  ;  "  I  hope  yonder 
school-bred  man  knows  enough  to  remember  the  errand 
on  whicb  I  have  sent  him." 

Dr.  Battius  had  already  disappeared  in  the  bushes,  and 
the  trapper  was  beginning  to  betray  additional  evidences 
of  impatience,  when  the  person  of  the  former  was  seen  re- 
tiring frcm  the  thicket  backward,  with  his  face  fastened  on 
the  place  he  had  just  left,  as  if  his  look  was  bound  in  the 
thraldom  of  some  charm. 

"  Here  is  something  skeary,  by  the  wildness  of  the  crea- 
tur's  countenance  !  "  exclaimed  the  old  man,  relinquishing 
his  hold  of  Hector,  and  moving  stoutly  to  the  side  of  the 
totally  unconscious  naturalist.  "  How  is  it,  friend ;  have 
you  fouftil  a  new  leaf  in  your  book  of  wisdom  ?" 

"  It  i?  J*  basilisk ! "  muttered  the  doctor,  whose  altered 
visage  betrayed  the  utter  confusion  which  beset  his  facul- 
ties. "  An  animal  of  the  order  serpens.  I  had  thought  its 
attributes  were  fabulous,  but  mighty  Nature  is  equal  to  all 
that  man  can  imagine  ! " 

"  What  is't  ?  what  is't  ?  The  snakes  of  the  prairies  are 
harmless,  unless  it  be  now  and  then  an  angered  rattler,  and 
he  always  gives  you  notice  with  his  tail  afore  he  works  his 
mischief  with  his  fangs.  Lord,  Lord,  what  a  humbling 
thing  is  fear  !  Here  is  one  who  in  common  delivers  wordj 


THE  PRAIRIE.  I91 

too  big  for  a  humble  mouth  to  hold,  so  much  beside  him« 
self  that  his  voice  is  as  shrill  as  the  whistle  of  the  whip* 
poorwill !  Courage  ! — what  is  it,  man  ? — what  is  it  ? " 

"  A  prodigy  !  a  lusus  naturae  !  a  monster  that  Nature  has 
delighted  to  form  in  order  to  exhibit  her  power !  Never 
before  have  I  witnessed  such  an  utter  confusion  in  her 
laws,  or  a  specimen  that  so  completely  bids  defiance  to  the 
distinctions  of  class  and  genera.  Let  me  record  its  appear* 
ance,"  fumbling  for  his  tablets  with  hands  that  trembled 
too  much  to  perform  their  office,  "  while  time  and  oppor- 
tunity are  allowed — eyes,  enthralling  ;  color  ^  various,  com- 
plex, and  profound " 

"  One  would  think  the  man  was  crazed  with  his  enthral- 
ling looks  and  piebald  colors  !  "  interrupted  the  discon- 
tented trapper,  who  began  to  grow  a  little  uneasy  that  his 
party  was  all  this  time  neglecting  to  seek  the  protection  of 
some  cover.  "  If  there  is  a  reptile  in  the  brush,  show  me 
the  creatur',  and  should  it  refuse  to  depart  peaceably,  why 
there  must  be  a  quarrel  for  the  possession  of  the  place." 

"  There  !  "  said  the  doctor,  pointing  into  a  dense  mass 
of  the  thicket,  to  a  spot  within  fifty  feet  of  that  where  they 
both  stood.  The  trapper  turned  his  look  with  perfect 
composure  in  the  required  direction,  but,  the  instant  his 
practised  glance  met  the  object  which  had  so  utterly  up- 
set the  philosophy  of  the  naturalist,  he  gave  a  start  him- 
self, threw  his  rifle  rapidly  forward,  and,  as  instantly 
recovered  it,  as  if  a  second  flash  of  thought  convinced 
him  he  was  wrong.  Neither  the  instinctive  movement 
nor  the  sudden  recollection  was  without  a  sufficient  ob- 
ject. At  the  very  margin  of  the  thicket  and  in  absolute 
contact  with  the  earth,  lay  an  animate  ball  that  might 
easily,  by  the  singularity  and  fierceness  of  its  aspect,  have 
justified  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  naturalist's  mind. 
It  were  difficult  to  describe  the  shape  or  colors  of  this 
extraordinary  substance,  except  to  say,  in  general  terms, 
that  it  was  nearly  spherical,  and  exhibited  all  the  hues  of 
the  rainbow,  intermingled  without  reference  to  harmony, 
and  without  any  very  ostensible  design.  The  predomi- 
nant hues  were  a  black  and  bright  vermilion.  With  these, 
however,  the  several  tints  of  white,  yellow,  and  crimson, 
were  strangely  and  wildly  blended.  Had  this  been  all  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  have  pronounced  that  the 
object  was  possessed  of  life,  for  it  lay  motionless  as  any 
stone  ;  but  a  pair  of  dark,  glaring,  and  moving  eyeballs, 


I92  THE  PRAIRIE. 

which  watched  with  jealousy  the  smallest  movements  of 
the  trapper  and  his  companion,  sufficiently  established  the 
important  fact  of  its  possessing  vitality. 

"  Your  reptile  is  a  scouter,  or  I'm  no  judge  of  Indian 
paints  and  Indian  deviltries  ! "  muttered  the  old  man, 
dropping  the  butt  of  his  weapon  to  the  ground,  and  gaz- 
ing with  a  steady  eye  at  the  frightful  object,  as  he  leaned 
on  its  barrel,  in  an  attitude  of  great  composure.  "  He 
wants  to  face  us  out  of  sight  and  reason,  and  make  us  think 
the  head  of  a  red-skin  is  a  stone  covered  with  the  autumn 
leaf  ;  or  he  has  some  other  devilish  artifice  in  his  mind  !  " 

"  Is  the  animal  human  ?  "  demanded  the  doctor,  "of  the 
genus  homo  ?  I  had  fancied  it  a  nondescript." 

"  It's  as  human,  and  as  mortal  too,  as  a  warrior  of  these 
prairies  is  ever  known  to  be.  I  have  seen  the  time  when 
a  red-skin  would  have  shown  a  foolish  daring  to  peep  out 
of  his  ambushment  in  that  fashion  on  a  hunter  I  could 
name,  but  who  is  too  old  now,  and  too  near  his  time,  to 
be  anything  better  than  a  miserable  trapper.  It  will  be 
well  to  speak  to  the  imp,  and  to  let  him  know  he  deals 
with  men  whose  beards  are  grown.  Come  forth  from  your 
cover,  friend,"  he  continued,  in  the  language  of  the  ex- 
tensive tribes  of  the  Dahcotahs  ;  "  there  is  room  on  the 
prairie  for  another  warrior." 

The  eyes  appeared  to  glare  more  fiercely  than  before  ; 
but  the  mass  which,  according  to  the  trapper's  opinion, 
was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  human  head,  shorn,  as 
usual  among  the  warriors  of  the  West,  of  its  hair,  still  con- 
tinued without  motion  or  any  other  sign  of  life. 

*'  It  is  a  mistake  !  "  exclaimed  the  doctor.  "  The  ani- 
mal is  not  even  of  the  class  mammalia,  much  less  a  man." 

"  So  much  for  your  knowledge  !  "  returned  the  trapper, 
laughing  with  great  exultation.  "  So  much  for  the  1'arn- 
ing  of  one  who  has  looked  into  so  many  books,  that  his 
eyes  are  not  able  to  tell  a  moose  from  a  wild-cat !  Now, 
my  Hector,  here,  is  a  dog  of  education  after  his  fashion, 
and,  though  the  meanest  primer  in  the.  settlements  would 
puzzle  his  information,  you  could  not  cheat  the  hound  in 
a  matter  like  this.  As  you  think  the  object  no  man,  you 
shall  see  his  whole  formation,  and  then  let  an  ignorant 
old  trapper,  who  never  willingly  passed  a  day  within  reach 
of  a  spelling-book  in  his  life,  know  by  what  name  to  call 
it.  Mind,  I  mean  no  violence  ;  but  just  to  start  the  devil 
from  his  ambushment." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  193 

The  trapper  very  deliberately  examined  the  priming  of 
his  rifle,  taking  care  to  make  as  great  a  parade  as  possible 
of  his  hostile  intentions,  in  going  through  the  necessary 
evolutions  with  the  weapon.  When  he  thought  the  stranger 
began  to  apprehend  some  danger,  he  very  deliberately 
presented  the  piece,  and  called  aloud : 

"Now,  friend,  I  am  all  for  peace,  or  all  for  war,  as  you 
may  say.  No  !  well  it  is  no  man,  as  the  wiser  one  here 
says,  and  there  can  be  no  harm  in  just  firing  into  a  bunch 
of  leaves. 

The  muzzle  of  the  rifle  fell  as  he  concluded,  and  the 
weapon  was  gradually  settling  into  a  steady,  and  what 
would  easily  have  proved  a  fatal  aim,  when  a  tall  Indian 
sprang  from  beneath  that  bed  of  leaves  and  brush,  which 
he  had  collected  about  his  person  at  the  approach  of  the 
party,  and  stood  upright,  uttering  the  exclamation  : 

"  Wagh ! " 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

"My  visor  is  Philemon's  roof ;  within  the  house  is  Jove." 

— SHAKESPEARE, 

THE  trapper,  who  had  meditated  no  violence,  dropped 
his  rifle  again,  and  laughing  at  the  success  of  his  experi- 
ment, with  great  seeming  self-complacency,  he  drew  the 
astounded  gaze  of  the  naturalist  from  the  person  of  the 
savage  to  himself,  by  saying  : 

"The  imps  will  lie  for  hours,  like  sleeping  alligators, 
brooding  their  deviltries  in  dreams  and  other  craftiness, 
until  such  a  time  as  they  see  some  real  danger  is  at  hand, 
and  then  they  look  to  themselves  the  same  as  other  mor- 
tals. But  this  is  a  scouter  in  his  war-paint !  There  should 
be  more  of  his  tribe  at  no  great  distance.  Let  us  draw  the 
truth  oat  of  him  :  for  an  unlucky  war-party  may  prove 
more  dangerous  to  us  than  a  visit  from  the  whole  family 
of  the  squatter." 

"  It  is  truly  a  desperate  and  a  dangerous  species !  "  said 
the  doctor,  relieving  his  amazement  by  a  breath  that  seemed 
to  exhaust  his  lungs  of  air  ;  "  a  violent  race,  and  one  that 
is  difficult  to  define  or  class,  within  the  usual  boundaries 
of  definition.  Speak  to  him,  therefore  ;  but  let  thy  words 
be  strong  in  amity." 


194  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  old  man  cast  a  "keen  eye  on  every  side  of  him,  to 
ascertain  the  important  particular  whether  the  stranger 
was  supported  by  any  associates,  and  then  making  the 
usual  signs  of  peace,  by  exhibiting  the  palm  of  his  naked 
hand,  he  boldly  advanced.  In  the  meantime,  the  Indian 
betrayed  no  evidence  of  uneasiness.  He  suffered  the  trap- 
per to  draw  nigh,  maintaining  by  his  own  mien  and  atti- 
tude a  striking  air  of  dignity  and  fearlessness.  Perhaps 
the  wary  warrior  also  knew  that,  owing  to  the  difference 
in  their  weapons,  he  should  be  placed  more  on  an  equality 
by  being  brought  nearer  to  the  strangers. 

As  a  description  of  this  individual  may  furnish  some 
idea  of  the  personal  appearance  of  a  whole  race,  it  may  be 
well  to  detain  the  narrative,  in  order  to  present  it  to  the 
reader,  in  our  hasty  and  imperfect  manner.  Would  the 
truant  eyes  of  Allston  or  Greenough  turn,  but  for  a  time, 
from  their  gaze  at  the  models  of  antiquity,  to  contemplate 
this  wronged  and  humbled  people,  little  would  be  left  for 
such  inferior  artists  as  ourselves  to  delineate. 

The  Indian  in  question  was  in  every  particular  a  warrior 
of  fine  stature  and  admirable  proportions.  As  he  cast 
aside  his  mask,  composed  of  such  party-colored  leaves  as 
he  had  hurriedly  collected,  his  countenance  appeared  in 
all  the  gravity,  the  dignity,  and  it  may  be  added,  in  the 
terror  of  his  profession.  The  outlines  of  his  lineaments 
were  strikingly  noble,  and  nearly  approaching  to  Roman, 
though  the  secondary  features  of  his  face  were  slightly 
marked  with  the  well-known  traces  of  his  Asiatic  origin. 
The  peculiar  tint  of  the  skin,  which  in  itself  is  so  well  de- 
signed to  aid  the  effect  of  a  martial  expression,  had  received 
an  additional  aspect  of  wild  ferocity  from  the  colors  of  the 
war-paint.  But,  as  if  he  disdained  the  usual  artifices  of 
his  people,  he  bore  none  of  those  strange  and  horrid  de- 
vices with  which  the  children  of  the  forest  are  accustomed, 
like  the  more  civilized  heroes  of  the  mustache,  to  back 
their  reputation  for  courage,  contenting  himself  with  a 
broad  and  deep  shadowing  of  black,  that  served  as  a  suffi- 
cient and  an  admirable  foil  to  the  brighter  gleam  ings  of 
his  native  swarthiness.  His  head  was,  as  usual,  shaved  to 
the  crown,  where  a  large  and  gallant  scalp-lock  seemed  to 
challenge  the  grasp  of  his  enemies.  The  ornaments  that 
were  ordinarily  pendent  from  the  cartilages  of  his  ears  had 
been  removed,  on  account  of  his  present  pursuit.  His 
body,  notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  season,  was  nearly 


THE  PRAIRIE.  19$ 

naked,  and  the  portion  which  was  clad,  bore  a  vestment  no 
warmer  than  a  light  robe  of  the  finest  dressed  deer-skin, 
beautifully  stained  with  a  rude  design  of  some  daring  ex- 
ploit, and  which  was  carelessly  worn,  as  if  more  in  pride 
than  from  any  unmanly  regard  to  comfort.  His  leggings 
were  of  bright  scarlet  cloth,  the  only  evidence  about  his 
person  that  he  bad  held  communion  with  the  traders  of 
the  pale-faces.  But  as  if  to  furnish  some  offset  to  this  sol- 
itary submission  to  a  womanish  vanity,  they  were  fearfully 
fringed,  from  the  gartered  knee  to  the  bottom  of  the  moc- 
casin, with  the  hair  of  human  scalps.  He  leaned  lightly 
with  one  hand  on  a  short  hickory  bow,  while  the  other 
rather  touched  than  sought  support  from  the  long,  delicate 
handle  of  an  ashen  lance.  A  quiver  made  of  the  cougar- 
skin,  from  which  the  tail  of  the  animal  depended,  as  a 
characteristic  ornament,  was  slung  at  his  back  ;  and  a 
shield  of  hides,  quaintly  emblazoned  with  another  of  his 
warlike  deeds,  was  suspended  from  his  neck  by  a  thong 
of  sinews. 

As  the  trapper  approached,  this  warrior  maintained  his 
calm,  upright  attitude,  discovering  neither  an  eagerness 
to  ascertain  the  character  of  those  who  advanced  upon 
him,  nor  the  smallest  wish  to  avoid  a  scrutiny  in  his  own 
person.  An  eye  that  was  darker  and  more  shining  than 
that  of  the  stag  was  incessantly  glancing,  however,  from 
one  to  another  of  the  stranger  party,  seemingly  never 
knowing  rest  for  an  instant. 

"  Is  my  brother  far  from  his  village  ?"  demanded  the  old 
man,  in  the  Pawnee  language,  after  examining  the  paint 
and  those  other  little  signs  by  which  a  practised  eye  knows 
the  tribe  of  the  warrior  he  encounters  in  the  American 
deserts,  with  the  same  readiness,  and  by  the  same  sort  of 
mysterious  observation,  as  that  by  which  the  seaman 
knows  the  distant  sail. 

"  It  is  farther  to  the  towns  of  the  Big-knives,"  was  the 
laconic  reply. 

"  Why  is  a  Pawnee-Loup  so  far  from  the  fork  of  his  own 
river,  without  a  horse  to  journey  on,  and  in  a  spot  empty 
as  this  ?  " 

"  Can  the  women  and  children  of  a  pale-face  live  with' 
out  the  meat  of  the  bison  ?  There  was  hunger  in  my 
lodge." 

"  My  brother  is  very  young  to  be  already  the  master  of 
a  lodge,"  returned  the  trapper,  looking  steadily  into  the 


196  THE  PRAIRIE. 

unmoved  countenance  of  the  youthful  warrior  ;  "  but  I  dare 
say  he  is  brave,  and  that  many  a  chief  has  offered  him  his 
daughters  for  wives.  But  he  has  been  mistaken,"  pointing 
to  the  arrow  which  was  dangling  from  the  hand  that  held 
the  bow,  "  in  bringing  a  loose  and  barbed  arrow-head  to 
kill  the  buffalo.  Do  the  Pawnees  wish  the  wounds  they 
give  their  game  to  rankle  ?  " 

"  It  is  good  to  be  ready  for  the  Sioux.  Though  not  in 
sight,  a  bush  may  hide  him." 

"  The  man  is  a  living  proof  of  the  truth  of  his  words," 
muttered  the  trapper,  in  English,  "  and  a  close-jointed  and 
gallant-looking  lad  he  is  ;  but  far  too  young  for  a  chief  of 
any  importance.  It  is  wise,  however,  to  speak  him  fair, 
for  a  single  arm  thrown  into  either  party,  if  we  come  to 
blows  with  the  squatter  and  his  brood,  may  turn  the  day. 
You  see  my  children  are  weary,"  he  continued,  in  the  dia- 
lect of  the  prairies,  pointing  as  he  spoke  to  the  rest  of  the 
party,  who  by  this  time  were  also  approaching.  "We  wish 
to  camp  and  eat.  Does  my  brother  claim  this  spot  ?" 

"  The  runners  from  the  people  on  the  big  river  tell  us 
that  your  nation  have  traded  with  the  tawny-faces  who  live 
beyond  the  salt-lake,  and  that  the  prairies  are  now  the 
hunting-grounds  of  the  Big-knives  !" 

"  It  is  true,  as  I  hear  also  from  the  hunters  and  trappers 
on  La  Platte.  Though  it  is  with  the  Frenchers,  and  not 
with  the  men  who  claim  to  own  the  Mexicos,  that  my  peo- 
ple have  bargained." 

"And  warriors  are  going  up  the  Long-river  to  see  that 
they  have  not  been  cheated  in  what  they  have  bought  ?" 

"  Ay,  that  is  partly  true,  too,  I  fear  ;  and  it  will  not  be 
long  before  an  accursed  band  of  choppers  and  loggers  will 
be  following  on  their  heels,  to  humble  the  wilderness  which 
lies  so  broad  and  rich  on  the  western  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  then  the  land  will  be  a  peopled  desert,  from  the 
shores  of  the  main  sea  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ; 
filled  with  all  the  abominations  and  craft  of  man,  and 
stripped  of  the  comforts  and  loveliness  it  received  from 
the  hands  of  the  Lord  !  " 

"  And  where  were  the  chiefs  of  the  Pawnee-Lou ps  when 
this  bargain  was  made  ? "  suddenly  demanded  the  youth- 
ful warrior,  a  look  of  startling  fierceness  gleaming,  at  the 
same  instant,  athwart  his  dark  visage.  "  Is  a  nation  to  be 
sold  like  the  skin  of  a  beaver?  " 

"  Right  enough — right  enough,  and  where  were  truth 


THE  PRAIRIE.  197 

and  honesty  also  ?  But  might  is  right,  according  to  the 
fashions  of  the  'arth  ;  and  what  the  strong  chooses  to  do, 
the  weak  must  call  justice.  If  the  law  of  the  Wahcondah 
was  as  much  hearkened  to,  Pawnee,  as  the  laws  of  the 
Long-knives,  your  right  to  the  prairies  would  be  as  good 
as  that  of  the  greatest  chief  in  the  settlements  to  the  house 
which  covers  his  head." 

"  The  skin  of  the  traveller  is  white,"  said  the  young  na- 
tive, laying  a  finger  impressively  on  the  hard  and  wrin- 
kled hand  of  the  trapper.  "Does  his  heart  say  one  thing 
and  his  tongue  another?" 

"  The  Wahcondah  of  a  white  man  has  ears,  and  he  shuts 
them  to  a  lie.  Look  at  my  head  ;  it  is  like  a  frosted  pine, 
and  must  soon  be  laid  in  the  ground.  Why  then  should 
I  wish  to  meet  the  Great  Spirit  face  to  face,  while  his 
countenance  is  dark  upon  me." 

The  Pawnee  gracefully  threw  his  shield  over  one  shoul- 
der, and,  placing  a  hand  on  his  chest,  he  bent  his  head,  in 
deference  to  the  gray  locks  exhibited  by  the  trapper  ;  after 
which  his  eye  became  more  steady,  and  his  countenance 
less  fierce.  Still  he  maintained  every  appearance  of  a  dis- 
trust and  watchfulness  that  were  rather  tempered  and  sub- 
dued than  forgotten.  When  this  equivocal  species  of 
amity  was  established  between  the  warrior  of  the  prairies 
and  the  experienced  old  trapper,  the  latter  proceeded  to 
give  his  directions  to  Paul  concerning  the  arrangements 
of  the  contemplated  halt.  While  Inez  and  Ellen  were 
dismounting,  and  Middleton  and  the  bee-hunter  were  at- 
tending to  their  comforts,  the  discourse  was  continued, 
sometimes  in  the  language  of  the  natives,  but  often,  as 
Paul  and  the  doctor  mingled  their  opinions  with  the  two 
principal  speakers,  in  the  English  tongue.  There  was  a 
keen  and  subtle  trial  of  skill  between  the  Pawnee  and  the 
trapper,  in  which  each  endeavored  to  discover  the  objects 
of  the  other,  without  betraying  his  own  interest  in  the  in- 
vestigation. As  might  be  expected,  when  the  struggle 
was  between  adversaries  so  equal,  the  result  of  the  en- 
counter answered  the  expectations  of  neither.  The  latter 
had  put  all  the  interrogatories  his  ingenuity  and  practice 
could  suggest  concerning  the  state  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Loups,  their  crops,  their  store  of  provisions  for  the  ensu- 
ing winter,  and  their  relations  with  their  different  warlike 
neighbors,  without  extorting  any  answer  which  in  the 
slightest  degree  elucidated  the  cause  of  his  finding  a  soli- 


198  THE  PRAIRIE. 

tary  warrior  so  far  from  his  people.  On  the  other  hand, 
while  the  questions  of  the  Indian  were  far  more  dignified 
and  delicate,  they  were  equally  ingenious.  He  commented 
on  the  state  of  the  trade  in  peltries,  spoke  of  the  good  or 
ill  success  of  many  white  hunters,  whom  he  had  either  en- 
countered or  heard  named,  and  even  alluded  to  the  steady 
march  which  the  nation  of  his  great  father,  as  he  cautiously 
termed  the  government  of  the  States,  was  making  toward 
the  hunting-grounds  of  his  tribe.  It  was  apparent,  how- 
ever, by  the  singular  mixture  of  interest,  contempt,  and  in- 
dignation, that  were  occasionally  gleaming  through  the 
reserved  manner  of  this  warrior,  that  he  knew  the  strange 
people,  who  were  thus  trespassing  on  his  native  rights, 
much  more  by  report  than  by  any  actual  intercourse. 
This  personal  ignorance  of  the  whites  was  as  much  be- 
trayed by  the  manner  in  which  he  regarded  the  females, 
as  by  the  brief  but  energetic  expressions  which  occasion- 
ally escaped  him. 

While  speaking  to  the  trapper  he  suffered  his  wander- 
ing glances  to  stray  toward  the  intellectual  and  nearly  in- 
fantile beauty  of  Inez,  as  one  might  be  supposed  to  gaze 
upon  tha  loveliness  of  an  ethereal  being.  It  was  very  evi- 
dent that  he  now  saw,  for  the  first  time,  one  of  those  fe- 
males, of  whom  the  fathers  of  his  tribe  so  often  spoke,  and 
who  were  considered  of  such  rare  excellence  as  to  equal 
all  that  savage  ingenuity  could  imagine  in  the  way  of  love- 
liness. His  observation  of  Ellen  was  less  marked,  but, 
notwithstanding  the  warlike  and  chastened  expression  of 
his  eye,  there  was  much  of  the  homage  which  man  is 
made  to  pay  to  woman,  even  in  the  more  cursory  look  he 
sometimes  turned  on  her  maturer  and  perhaps  more  ani- 
mated beauty.  This  admiration,  however,  was  so  tempered 
by  his  habits,  and  so  smothered  in  the  pride  of  a  warrior, 
as  completely  to  elude  every  eye  but  that  of  the  trapper, 
who  was  too  well  skilled  in  Indian  customs,  and  was  too 
well  instructed  in  the  importance  of  rightly  conceiving  the 
character  of  the  stranger,  to  let  the  smallest  trait,  or  the 
most  trifling  of  his  movements,  escape  him.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  unconscious  Ellen  herself  moved  about  the  fee- 
ble and  less  resolute  Inez,  with  her  accustomed  assiduity 
and  tenderness,  exhibiting  in  her  frank  features  those 
changing  emotions  of  joy  and  regret  which  occasionally 
beset  her,  as  her  active  mind  dwelt  on. the  decided  step 
she  had  just  taken,  with  the  contending  doubts  and 


THE  PRAIRIE.  199 

and  possibly  with  some  of  the  mental  vacillation,  that  was 
natural  to  her  situation  and  sex. 

Not  so  Paul  ;  conceiving  himself  to  have  obtained  the 
two  things  dearest  to  his  heart,  the  possession  of  Ellen  and 
a  triumph  over  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  he  now  enacted  his 
part  in  the  business  of  the  moment  with  as  much  coolness 
as  though  he  was  already  leading  his  willing  bride,  from 
solemnizing  their  nuptials  before  a  border  magistrate,  to 
the  security  of  his  own  dwelling.  He  had  hovered  around 
the  moving  family,  during  the  tedious  period  of  their 
weary  march,  concealing  himself  by  day,  and  seeking  in- 
terviews with  his  betrothed  as  opportunities  offered,  in  the 
manner  already  described,  until  fortune  and  his  own  intre- 
pidity had  united  to  render  him  successful,  at  the  very 
moment  when  he  was  beginning  to  despair,  and  he  now 
cared  neither  for  distance,  nor  violence,  nor  hardships. 
To  this  sanguine  fancy  and  determined  resolution  all  the 
rest  was  easily  to  be  achieved.  Such  were  his  feelings  and 
such  in  truth  they  seemed  to  be.  With  his  cap  cast  on 
one  side,  and  whistling  a  low  air,  he  thrashed  among  the 
bushes,  in  order  to  make  a  place  suitable  for  the  females 
to  repose  on,  while,  from  time  to  time,  he  cast  an  approv- 
ing glance  at  the  agile  form  of  Ellen,  as  she  tripped  past 
him,  engaged  in  her  own  share  of  the  duty. 

"  And  so  the  Wolf-tribe  of  the  Pawnees  have  buried  the* 
hatchet  with  their  neighbors  the  Konzas  ? "  said  the  trap- 
per, pursuing  a  discourse  which  he  had  scarcely  permitted 
to  flag,  though  it  had  been  occasionally  interrupted  by  the 
different  directions  with  which  he  occasionally  saw  fit  to 
interrupt  it.  (The  reader  will  remember  that,  while  he 
spoke  to  the  native  warrior  in  his  own  tongue,  he  neces- 
sarily addressed  his  white  companions  in  English.)  "The 
Loups  and  the  light-faced  red-skins  are  again  friends. — 
Doctor,  that  is  a  tribe  of  which  I'll  engage  you've  often 
read,  and  of  which  many  a  round  lie  has  been  whispered 
in  the  ears  of  the  ignorant  people  who  live  in  the  settle, 
ments.  There  was  a  story  of  a  nation  of  Welshers,  that 
lived  here  away  in  the  prairies,  and  how  they  came  into 
the  land  afore  the  uneasy-minded  man  who  first  let  in  the 
Christians  to  rob  the  heathens  of  their  inheritance,  had  ever 
dreamt  that  the  sun  set  on  a  country  as  big  as  that  it  rose 
from.  And  how  they  knew  the  white  ways  and  spoke  with 
white  tongues,  and  a  thousand  other  follies  and  idle  conceits." 

"  Have  I  not  heard  of  them  ? "  exclaimed  the  naturalist, 


200  THE  PRAIRIE. 

dropping  a  piece  of  jerked  bison's  meat,  which  he  was 
rather  roughly  discussing,  at  the  moment.  "  I  should  be 
greatly  ignorant  not  to  have  often  dwelt  with  delight  on  so 
beautiful  a  theory,  and  one  which  so  triumphantly  estab- 
lishes two  positions,  which  I  have  often  maintained  are 
unanswerable,  even  without  such  living  testimony  in  their 
favor — viz.,  that  this  continent  can  claim  a  more  remote 
affinity  with  civilization  than  the  time  of  Columbus,  and 
that  color  is  the  fruit  of  climate  and  condition,  and  not  a 
regulation  of  Nature. — Propound  the  latter  question  to  this 
Indian  gentleman,  venerable  hunter; -he  is  of  a  reddish 
tint  himself,  and  his  opinion  may  be  said  to  make  us  mas- 
ters of  the  two  sides  of  the  disputed  point." 

"  Do  you  think  a  Pawnee  is  a  reader  of  books,  and  a  be- 
liever of  printed  lies,  like  the  idlers  in  the  towns  ?"  retorted 
the  old  man,  laughing.  "  But  it  may  be  as  well  to  humor 
the  likings  of  the  man,  which  after  all,  is  quite  possible, 
are  neither  more  nor  less  than  his  natural  gift,  and  there- 
fore to  be  followed,  although  they  may  be  pitied.  What 
does  my  brother  think  ?  all  whom  he  sees  here  have  pale 
skins,  but  the  Pawnee  warriors  are  red  ;  does  he  believe 
that  man  changes  with  the  season,  and  that  the  son  is  not 
like  his  father  ?" 

The  young  warrior  regarded  his  interrogator  for  a  mo- 
ment with  a  steady  and  deliberating  eye  ;  then,  raising  his 
finger  upward,  he  answered  with  dignity  : 

"  The  Wahcondah  pours  the  rain  from  his  clouds  ;  when 
he  speaks,  he  shakes  the  hills  ;  and  the  fire,  which  scorches 
the  trees,  is  the  anger  of  his  eye  ;  but  he  fashioned  his 
children  with  care  and  thought.  What  he  has  thus  made, 
never  alters  ! " 

"  Ay,  'tis  in  the  reason  of  natur'  that  it  should  be  so.  doc- 
tor," continued  the  trapper,  when  he  had  interpreted  this 
answer  to  the  disappointed  naturalist.  "  The  Pawnees 
are  a  wise  and  a  great  people,  and  I'll  engage  they  abound 
in  many  a  wholesome  and  honest  tradition.  The  hunters 
and  trappers  that  I  sometimes  see,  speak  of  a  great  war- 
rior of  your  race." 

"  My  tribe  are  not  women.  A  brave  is  no  stranger  in 
my  village." 

"  Ay  ;  but  he  they  speak  of  most  is  a  chief  far  beyond 
the  renown  of  common  warriors,  and  one  that  might  have 
done  credit  to  that  once  mighty  but  now  fallen  people,  the 
Delawares  of  the  hills." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  201 

"  Such  a  warrior  should  have  a  name  ? " 

"  They  call  him  Hard-heart,  from  the  stoutness  of  his 
resolution  ;  and  well  is  he  named,  if  all  I  have  heard  of  his 
deeds  be  true." 

The  stranger  cast  a  glance  which  seemed  to  read  tho 
guileless  soul  of  the  old  man,  as  he  demanded  : 

"  Has  the  pale-face  seen  the  partisan  of  my  people  ?" 

"  Never.  It  is  not  with  me  now  as  it  used  to  be  some 
forty  years  ago,  when  warfare  and  bloodshed  were  my  call* 
ing  and  my  gifts  !  " 

A  loud  shout  from  the  reckless  Paul  interrupted  hia 
speech,  and  at  the  next  moment  the  bee-hunter  appeared, 
leading  an  Indian  war-horse  from  the  side  of  the  thicket 
opposite  to  the  one  occupied  by  the  party. 

"  Here  is  a  beast  for  a  red-skin  to  straddle  !  "  he  cried, 
as  he  made  the  animal  go  through  some  of  its  wild  paces. 
"  There's  not  a  brigadier  in  all  Kentucky  that  can  call  him- 
self master  of  so  sleek  and  well-jointed  a  nag  !  A  Spanish 
saddle,  too,  like  a  grandee  of  the  Mexicos  !  and  look  at  the 
mane  and  tail  braided  and  plaited  down  with  little  silver 
balls,  as  if  it  were  Ellen  herself  getting  her  shining  hair 
ready  for  a  dance  or  a  husking  frolic  !  Isn't  this  a  reaf 
trotter,  old  trapper,  to  eat  out  of  the  manger  of  a  savage  ?" 

"  Softly,  lad,  softly.  The  Loups  are  famous  for  their 
horses,  and  it  is  often  that  you  see  a  warrior  on  the  prairies 
far  better  mounted  than  a  Congressman  in  the  settlements. 
But  this,  indeed,  is  a  beast  that  none  but  a  powerful  chief 
should  ride  !  The  saddle,  as  you  rightly  rhink,  has  beer.i 
sat  upon  in  its  day  by  a  great  Spanish  captain,  who  has  lost 
it  and  his  life  together  in  some  of  the  battles  which  this 
people  often  fight  against  the  southern  provinces.  I  war- 
rant me,  I  warrant  me  the  youngster  is  the  son  of  a  great 
chief  ;  maybe  of  the  mighty  Hard-heart  himself!  " 

During  this  rude  interruption  to  the  discourse,  the  young 
Pawnee  manifested  neither  impatience  nor  displeasure  ; 
but  when  he  thought  his  beast  had  been  the  subject  of  suf- 
ficient comment,  he  very  coolly,  and  with  an  air  of  one  ac- 
customed to  have  his  will  respected,  relieved  Paul  of  the 
bridle,  and,  throwing  the  reins  on  the  neck  of  the  animal, 
he  sprang  upon  his  back  with  the  activity  of  a  professor  of 
the  equestrian  art.  Nothing  could  be  finer  or  firmer  than 
the  seat  of  the  savage.  The  highly  wrought  and  cumbrous 
saddle  was  evidently  more  for  show  than  use.  Indeed, 
it  impeded  rather  than  aided  the  action  of  limbs  whici* 


30*  THE  PRAIRIE. 

disdained  to  seek  assistance  or  admit  of  restraint  from  so 
womanish  inventions  as  stirrups.  The  horse,  which  im- 
mediately began  to  prance,  was,  like  its  rider,  wild  and 
untutored  in  all  its  motions,  but  while  there  was  so  little 
of  art  there  was  all  the  freedom  and  grace  of  Nature  in 
the  movement  of  both.  The  animal  was  probably  indebted 
to  the  blood  of  Araby  for  its  excellence,  through  a  long 
pedigree  that  embraced  the  steed  of  Mexico,  the  Spanish 
barb,  and  the  Moorish  charger.  The  rider,  in  obtaining 
his- steed  from  the  provinces  of  Central  America,  had  also 
obtained  that  spirit  and  grace  in  controlling  him  which 
unite  to  form  the  most  intrepid  and  perhaps  the  most  skil- 
ful horseman  in  the  world. 

Notwithstanding  this  sudden  occupation  of  his  animal, 
the  Pawnee  discovered  no  hasty  wish  to  depart.  More  at 
his  ease,  and  possibly  more  independent,  now  that  he  found 
himself  secure  of  the  means  of.  retreat,  he  rode  back  and 
forth,  eying  the  different  individuals  of  the  party  with  far 
greater  freedom  than  before.  But  at  each  extremity  of  his 
ride,  just  as  the  sagacious  trapper  expected  to  see  him  profit 
by  his  advantage  and  fly,  he  would  turn  his  horse  and  pass 
over  the  same  ground,  sometimes  with  the  rapidity  of  the 
flying  deer,  and  at  others  more  slowly  and  with  greater 
dignity  of  mien  and  attitude.  Anxious  to  ascertain  such 
facts  as  might  have  an  influence  on  his  future  movements, 
the  old  man  determined  to  invite  him  to  a  renewal  of  their 
conference.  He  therefore  made  a  gesture  expressive 
at  the  same  time  of  his  wish  to  resume  the  interrupted 
discourse,  and  of  his  own  pacific  intentions.  The  quick 
eye  of  the  stranger  was  not  slow  to  note  the  action,  but  it 
was  not  until  a  sufficient  time  had  passed  to  allow  him  to 
debate  the  prudence  of  the  measure  in  his  own  mind,  that 
he  seemed  willing  to  trust  himself  again  so  near  a  party 
that  was  so  much  superior  to  himself  in  physical  power, 
and  consequently  one  that  was  able  at  any  instant  to  com- 
mand his  life,  or  control  his  personal  liberty.  When  he 
did  approach  nigh  enough  to  converse  with  facility,  it  was 
with  a  singular  mixture  of  haughtiness  and  of  distrust. 

"  It  is  far  to  the  village  of  the  Loups,"  he  said,  stretch- 
ing his  arm  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that  in  which  the 
trapper  well  knew  the  tribe  dwelt,  "  and  the  road  is  crooked. 
What  has  the  Big-knife  to  say  ?" 

"  Ay,  crooked  enough  ! "  muttered  the  old  man  in  Eng- 
lish, "  if  you  are  to  set  out  on  your  journey  by  that  path, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  203 

but  not  half  so  winding  as  the  cunning  of  an  Indian's  mind. 
Say,  my  brother,  do  the  chiefs  of  the  Pawnees  love  to  see 
strange  faces  in  their  lodges  ?  " 

The  young  warrior  bent  his  head  gracefully,  though  but 
slightly,  over  the  saddle-bow,  as  he  replied  : 

"When  have  my  people  forgotten  to  give  food  to  the 
stranger  ? " 

"  If  I  lead  my  daughters  to  the  doors  of  the  Loups,  will 
the  women  take  them  by  the  hand  ;  and  will  the  warriors 
smoke  with  my  young  men  ?  " 

"  The  country  of  the  pale-faces  is  behind  them.  Why 
do  they  journey  so  far  toward  the  setting  sun  ?  Have  they 
lost  the  path,  or  are  these  the  women  of  the  white  warriors 
that  I  hear  are  wadingup  the  river  of  the  troubled  waters  ?  " 

"Neither.  They  who  wade  the  Missouri  are  the  war- 
riors of  my  great  father,  who  has  sent  them  on  his  message  ; 
but  we  are  peace-runners.  The  white  men  and  the  red  are 
neighbors,  and  they  wish  to  be  friends.  Do  not  the  Oma- 
haws  visit  the  Loups  when  the  tomahawk  is  buried  in  the 
path  between  the  two  nations  ? " 

"The  Omahaws  are  welcome." 

"And  the  Yanktons,  and  the  burnt-wood  Tetons,  who 
live  in  the  elbow  of  the  river  *  with  muddy  water  ; '  do  they 
not  come  into  the  lodges  of  the  Loups  and  smoke  ?" 

"The  Tetons  are  liars!"  exclaimed  the  other.  "They 
dare  not  shut  their  eyes  in  the  night.  No  ;  they  sleep  in 
the  sun.  See,"  he  added,  pointing  with  fierce  triumph  to 
the  frightful  ornaments  of  his  leggings,  "their  scalps  are 
so  plenty  that  the  Pawnees  tread  on  them  !  Go  ;  let  a 
Sioux  live  in  banks  of  snow  ;  the  plains  and  buffaloes  are 
for  men  ! " 

"  Ah  !  the  secret  is  out,"  said  the  trapper  to  Middleton, 
who  was  an  attentive,  because  a  deeply  interested,  observer 
of  what  was  passing.  "This  good-looking  young  Indian 
is  scouting  on  the  track  of  the  Siouxes — you  may  see  it  by 
his  arrow-heads  and  his  paint  ;  ay,  and  by  his  eye,  too  ; 
for  red-skin  lets  his  natur'  follow  the  business  he  is  on,  be 
it  for  peace  or  be  it  for  war. — Quiet,  Hector,  quiet ',  Have 
you  never  scented  a  Pawnee  afore,  pup  ? — keep  down,  dog 
— keep  down. — My  brother  is  right.  The  Siouxes  are 
thieves.  Men  of  all  colors  and  nations  say  it  of  them,  and 
truly.  But  the  people  from  the  rising  sun  are  not  Siouxes, 
and  they  wish  to  visit  the  lodges  of  the  Loups." 

"  The  head  of  my  brother  is  white,"  returned  the  Paw 


104  THE  PRAIRIE. 

aee,  throwing  one  of  those  glances  at  the  trapper  which 
were  so  remarkably  expressive  of  distrust,  intelligence,  and 
pride  ;  and  then  pointing,  as  he  continued,  toward  the 
eastern  horizon,  "and  his  eyes  have  looked  on  many  things 
— can  he  tell  me  the  name  of  what  he  sees  yonder — is  it  a 
buftalo  ? " 

"  It  looks  more  like  a  cloud  peeping  above  the  skirt  of 
the  plain,  with  the  sunshine  lighting  its  edges.  It  is  thi 
smoke  of  the  heavens." 

"  It  is  a  hill  of  the  earth,  and  on  its  top  are  the  lodges 
of  pale-faces  !  Let  the  women  of  my  brother  wash  thei* 
feet  among  the  people  of  their  own  color." 

"  The  e-yes  of  a  Pawnee  are  good  if  he  can  see  a  white- 
skin  so  far." 

The  Indian  turned  slowly  toward  the  speaker,  and  aftel 
a  pause  of  a  moment  he  sternly  demanded  : 

"  Can  my  brother  hunt  ?  " 

"  Alas  !  I  claim  to  be  no  better  than  a  miserable  trapper  ! " 

"When  the  plain  is  covered  with  the  buffaloes,  can  he 
see  them  ? " 

"  No  doubt,  no  doubt — it  is  far  easier  to  see  than  to  take 
a  scampering  bull." 

"  And  when  the  birds  are  flying  from  the  cold,  and  the 
clouds  are  black  with  their  feathers,  can  he  see  them  too  ? " 

"  Ay,  ay,  it  is  not  hard  to  find  a  duck  or  a  goose  when 
millions  are  darkening  the  heavens." 

"When  the  snow  falls  and  covers  the  lodges  of  the 
Long-knives,  can  the  stranger  see  flakes  in  the  air  ? " 

"  My  eyes  are  none  of  the  best  now,"  returned  the  old 
man,  a  little  resentfully,  "  but  the  time  has  been  when  I 
had  a  name  for  my  sight  !  " 

"  The  red-skins  find  the  Big-knives  as  easily  as  the 
strangers  see  the  buffalo,  or  the  travelling  birds,  or  the 
falling  snow.  Your  warriors  think  the  Master  of  life  has 
made  the  whole  earth  white.  They  are  mistaken.  They 
are  pale,  and  it  is  their  own  faces  that  they  see.  Go  !  a 
Pawnee  is  not  blind,  that  he  need  look  long  for  your  peo« 
pie!" 

The  warrior  suddenly  paused  and  bent  his  face  aside, 
like  one  who  listened  with  all  his  faculties  absorbed  in  th» 
act.  Then,  turning  the  head  of  his  horse,  he  rode  to  thq 
nearest  angle  of  the  thicket,  and  looked  intently  across  the 
bleak  prairie,  in  a  direction  opposite  to  the  side  on  which 
the  party  stood.  Returning  slowly  from  this  unaccount* 


THE  PRAIRIE.  205 

able,  and,  to  his  observers,  startling  procedure,  he  riveted 
his  eyes  on  Inez,  and  paced  back  and  forth  several  times,, 
with  the  air  of  one  who  maintained  a  warm  struggle  on 
some  difficult  point  in  the  recesses  of  his  own  thoughts. 
He  had  drawn  the  reins  of  his  impatient  steed,  and  was 
seemingly  about  to  speak,  when  his  head  again  sank  on 
his  chest,  and  he  resumed  his  former  attitude  of  attention. 
Galloping  like  a  deer  to  the  place  of  his  former  observa- 
tions, he  rode  for  a  moment  swiftly  in  short  and  rapid  cir- 
cles, as  if  still  uncertain  of  his  course,  and  then  darted 
away  like  a  bird  that  had  been  fluttering  around  its  nest 
before  it  takes  a  distant  flight.  After  scouring  the  plain 
for  a  minute,  he  was  lost  to  the  eye  behind  a  swell  of  the 
land. 

The  hounds,  who  had  also  manifested  great  uneasiness 
for  some  time,  followed  him  for  a  little  distance,  and  then 
terminated  their  chase  by  seating  themselves  on  the  ground 
and  raising  their  usual  low,  whining,  and  warning  howls. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

«*  How  if  he  will  not  stand  ?  " — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  several  movements  related  in  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  had  passed  in  so  short  a  space  of  time,  that 
the  old  man,  while  he  neglected  not  to  note  the  smallest 
incident,  had  no  opportunity  of  expressing  his  opinion 
concerning  the  stranger's  motives.  After  the  Pawnee  had 
disappeared,  however,  he  shook  his  head  and  muttered, 
while  he  walked  slowly  to  the  angle  of  the  thicket  that  the 
Indian  had  just  quitted  : 

"  There  are  both  scents  and  sounds  in  the  air,  though 
my  miserable  senses  are  not  good  enough  to  hear  the  one 
or  to  catch  the  taint  of  the  other." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  be  seen,"  cried  Middleton,  who 
kept  close  at  his  side.  "  My  eyes  and  my  ears  are  good, 
and  yet  I  can  assure  you  that  I  neither  hear  nor  see  any- 
thing." 

"  Your  eyes  are  good  !  and  you  are  not  deaf  !"  returned 
the  other,  with  a  slight  air  of  contempt  ;  "  no,  lad,  no,  they 
may  be  good  to  see  across  a  church,  or  to  hear  a  town- 
bell,  but  afore  you  had  passed  a  year  in  these  prairies  you 


206  THE  PRAIRIE. 

would  find  yourself  taking  a  turkey  for  a  buffalo,  or  con« 
ceiting  fifty  times  that  the  roar  of  a  buffalo-bull  was  thq 
thunder  of  the  Lord  !  There  is  a  deception  of  Natur'  in 
these  naked  plains  in  which  the  air  throws  up  the  images 
like  water,  and  then  it  is  hard  to  tell  the  prairies  from  a  sea. 
But  yonder  is  a  sign  that  a  hunter  never  fails  to  know!  " 

The  trapper  pointed  to  a  flight  of  vultures  that  were 
sailing  over  the  plain  at  no  great  distance,  and  apparently 
in  the  direction  in  which  the  Pawnee  had  riveted  his  eyes. 
At  first,  Middleton  could  not  distinguish  the  small,  dark 
objects  that  were  dotting  the  dusky  clouds  ;  but,  as  they 
came  swiftly  onward,  first  their  forms  and  then  their  heavy, 
waving  wings  became  distinctly  visible. 

"  Listen,"  said  the  trapper,  when  he  had  succeeded  in 
making  Middleton  see  the  moving  column  of  birds. 
"  Now  you  hear  the  buffaloes,  or  bisons,  as  your  knowing 
doctor  sees  fit  to  call  them,  though  buffaloes  is  their  name 
among  all  the  hunters  of  these  regions.  And  I  conclude 
that  a  hunter  is  a  better  judge  of  a  beast  and  of  its  name," 
he  added,  winking  to  the  young  soldier,  "  than  any  man 
who  has  turned  over  the  leaves  of  a  book  instead  of  trav- 
elling over  the  face  of  the  'arth,  in  order  to  find  out  the 
natur  of  its  inhabitants." 

"  Of  their  habits,  I  will  grant  you,"  cried  the  naturalist, 
who  rarely  missed  an  opportunity  to  agitate  any  disputed 
point  in  his  favorite  studies.  "  That  is,  provided  always 
deference  is  had  to  the  proper  use  of  definitions,  and  that 
they  are  contemplated  with  scientific  eyes." 

"  Eyes  of  a  mole  !  as  if  any  man's  eyes  were  not  as  good 
for  names  as  the  eyes  of  any  other  creatur'  !  Who  named 
the  works  of  His  hand  ?  can  you  tell  me  that,  with  your 
books  and  college  wisdom  ?  Was  it  not  the  first  man  in 
the  Garden,  and  is  it  not  a  plain  consequence  that  his  chil- 
dren inherit  his  gifts  ?  " 

"  That  is  certainly  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  event,"  said 
the  doctor  ;  "  though  your  reading  is  by  far  too  liberal ! " 

"  My  reading  !  nay,  if  you  suppose  that  I  have  wasted 
my  time  in  schools,  you  do  such  a  wrong  to  my  knowledge 
as  one  mortal  should  never  lay  to  the  door  of  another 
without  sufficient  reason.  If  I  have  ever  craved  the  art 
of  reading,  it  has  been  that  I  might  better  know  the  say- 
ings of  the  book  you  name,  for  it  is  a  book  which  speaks 
in  every  line  according  to  human  feelings,  and  therein 
according  to  reason." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  205 

*  And  do  you  then  believe,"  said  the  doctor,  a  little  pro- 
voked by  the  dogmatism  of  his  stubborn  adversary,  and 
perhaps  secretly  too  confident  in  his  own  more  liberal 
though  scarcely  as  profitable  attainments,  "  do  you  then 
believe  that  all  these  beasts  were  literally  collected  in  a 
garden  to  be  enrolled  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  first 
man  ? " 

"  Why  not  ?  I  understand  your  meaning  ;  for  it  is  not 
needful  to  live  in  towns  to  hear  all  the  devilish  devices 
that  the  conceit  of  man  can  invent  to  upset  his  own  happi- 
ness. What  does  it  prove,  except  indeed  it  may  be  said 
to  prove  that  the  garden  He  made  was  not  after  the  mis- 
erable fashions  of  our  times,  thereby  directly  giving  the 
lie  to  what  the  world  calls  its  civilizing  ?  No,  no  ;  the 
garden  of  the  Lord  was  the  forest  then,  and  is  the  forest 
now,  where  the  fruits  do  grow  and  the  birds  do  sing  ac- 
cording to  his  own  wise  ordering.  Now,  lady,  you  may 
see  the  mystery  of  the  vultures !  There  come  the  buffa- 
loes themselves,  and  a  noble  herd  it  is  !  I  warrant  me  that 
Pawnee  has  a  troop  of  his  people  in  some  of  the  hollows 
nigh  by  ;  and,  as  he  has  gone  scampering  after  them,  you 
are  about  to  see  a  glorious  chase.  It  will  serve  to  keep 
the  squatter  and  his  brood  under  cover,  and  for  ourselves 
there  is  little  reason  to  fear.  A  Pawnee  is  not  apt  to  be  a 
malicious  savage." 

Every  one  was  now  drawn  to  the  striking  spectacle  that 
succeeded.  Even  the  timid  Inez  hastened  to  the  side  of 
Middleton  to  gaze  at  the  sight,  and  Paul  summoned  Ellen 
from  her  culinary  labors  to  become  a  witness  of  the  lively 
scene. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  those  moving  events  which  it 
has  been  our  duty  to  record,  the  prairies  had  lain  in  the 
majesty  of  perfect  solitude.  The  heavens  had  been  black- 
ened with  the  passage  of  the  migratory  birds,  it  is  true  ; 
but  the  dogs  of  the  party  and  the  ass  of  the  doctor  were 
the  only  quadrupeds  that  enlivened  the  broad  surface  of 
the  waste  beneath.  There  was  now  a  sudden  exhibition 
of  animal  life  which  changed  the  scene,  as  it  were  by  magic, 
to  the  very  opposite  extreme. 

A  few  enormous  bison  bulls  were  first  observed,  scour- 
ing along  the  most  distant  roll  of  the  prairie,  and  then 
succeeded  long  files  of  single  beasts,  which,  in  their  turns, 
were  followed  by  a  dark  mass  of  bodies,  until  the  dun-col- 
ored herbage  of  the  plain  was  entirely  lost  in  the  deepei 


208  THE  PRAIRIE. 

hue  of  their  shaggy  coats.  The  herd,  as  the  column  spread 
and  thickened,  was  like  the  endless  flocks  of  the  smaller 
Dirds  whose  extended  flanks  are  so  often  seen  to  heave  up 
out  of  the  abyss  of  the  heavens,  until  they  appear  as  count- 
less as  the  leaves  in  those  forests  over  which  they  wing 
their  endless  flight.  Clouds  of  dust  shot  up  in  little  col- 
umns from  the  centre  of  the  mass,  as  some  animal,  more 
furious  than  the  rest,  ploughed  the  plains  with  his  horns, 
and  from  time  to  time,  a  deep  hollow  bellowing  was  borne 
along  on  the  wind,  as  if  a  thousand  throats  vented  their 
plaints  in  a  discordant  murmuring. 

A  long  and  musing  silence  reigned  in  the  party,  as  they 
gazed  on  this  spectacle  of  wild  and  peculiar  grandeur.  It 
was  at  length  broken  by  the  trapper,  who  having  been 
long  accustomed  to  similar  sights,  felt  less  of  its  influence, 
or,  rather  felt  it  in  a  less  thrilling  and  absorbing  manner, 
than  those  to  whom  the  scene  was  more  novel. 

"There  go  ten  thousand  oxen  in  one  drove,  without 
keeper  or  master,  except  Him  who  made  them,  and  gave 
them  these  open  plains  for  their  pasture  !  Ay,  it  is  here 
that  man  may  see  the  proofs  of  his  wantonness  and  folly ! 
Can  the  proudest  governor  in  all  the  States  go  into  his 
fields  and  slaughter  a  nobler  bullock  than  is  here  offered  to 
the  meanest  hand  ;  and  when  he  has  gotten  his  sirloin  or 
his  steak,  can  he  eat  it  with  as  good  a  relish  as  he  who  has 
sweetened  his  food  with  wholesome  toil,  and  earned  it  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  Natur'  by  honestly  mastering  that 
which  the  Lord  hath  put  before  him  ? " 

"  If  the  prairie  platter  is  smoking  with  a  buffalo's  hump, 
I  answer,  No,"  interrupted  the  luxurious  bee-hunter. 

"Ay,  boy,  you  have  tasted,  and  you  feel  the  genuine 
reasoning  of  the  thing  !  But  the  herd  is  heading  a  little  this- 
a-way,  and  it  behooves  us  to  make  ready  for  their  visit.  If 
we  hide  ourselves  altogether,  the  horned  brutes  will  break 
through  the  place  and  trample  us  beneath  their  feet,  like 
so  many  creeping  worms  ;  so  we  will  just  put  the  weak 
ones  apart,  and  take  post,  as  becomes  men  and  hunters,  in 
the  van." 

As  there  was  but  little  time  to  make  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements, the  whole  party  set  about  them  in  good  ear- 
nest. Inez  and  Ellen  were  placed  in  the  edge  of  the  thicket 
on  the  side  farthest  from  the  approaching  herd.  Asinus 
was  posted  in  the  centre,  in  consideration  of  his  nerves  ; 
and  then  the  old  man,  with  his  three  male  companions, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  2of 

divided  themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  they  thought 
would  enable  them  to  turn  the  head  of  the  rushing  column,, 
should  it  chance  to  approach  too  nigh  their  position.  By 
the  vacillating  movements  of  some  fifty  or  a  hundred 
bulls  that  led  the  advance,  it  remained  questionable,  fot 
many  moments,  what  course  they  intended  to  pursue. 
But  a  tremendous  and  painful  roar,  which  came  from  be- 
hind the  cloud  of  dust  that  rose  in  the  centre  of  the  herd, 
and  which  was  horridly  answered  by  the  screams  of  the 
carrion  birds  that  were  greedily  sailing  directly  above  the 
flying  drove,  appeared  to  give  a  new  impulse  to  their  flight, 
and  at  once  to  remove  every  symptom  of  indecision.  As  if 
glad  to  seek  the  smallest  signs  of  the  forest,  the  whole  of  the 
affrighted  herd  became  steady  in  its  direction,  rushing  in  a 
straight  line  toward  the  little  cover  of  bushes  which  has 
already  been  so  often  named. 

The  appearance  of  danger  was  now,  in  reality,  of  a 
character  to  try  the  stoutest  nerves.  The  flanks  of  the 
dark,  moving  mass  were  advanced  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  a  concave  line  of  the  front,  and  every  fierce  eye, 
that  was  glaring  from  the  shaggy  wilderness  of  hair  in 
which  the  entire  heads  of  the  males  were  enveloped,  was 
riveted  with  mad  anxiety  on  the  thicket.  It  seemed  as  if 
each  beast  strove  to  outstrip  his  neighbor,  in  gaining  this 
desired  cover ;  and,  as  thousands  in  the  rear  pressed 
blindly  on  those  in  front,  there  was  the  appearance  of  an 
imminent  risk  that  the  leaders  of  the  herd  would  be  pre- 
cipitated on  the  concealed  party,  in  which  case  the  de- 
struction of  every  one  of  them  was  certain.  Each  of  our 
adventurers  felt  the  danger  of  his  situation  in  a  manner 
peculiar  to  his  individual  character  and  circumstances. 

Middleton  wavered.  At  times  he  felt  inclined  to  rush 
through  the  bushes,  and,  seizing  Inez,  attempt  to  fly. 
Then  recollecting  the  impossibility  of  outstripping  the 
furious  speed  of  an  alarmed  bison,  he  felt  for  his  arms, 
determined  to  make  head  against  the  countless  drove. 
The  faculties  of  Dr.  Battius  were  quickly  wrought  up  to 
.he  very  summit  of  mental  delusion.  The  dark  forms  of 
the  herd  lost  their  distinctness,  and  then  the  naturalist  be- 
gan to  fancy  he  beheld  a  wild  collection  of  all  the  creatures 
of  the  world,  rushing  upon  him  in  a  body,  as  if  to  revenge 
the  various  injuries  which,  in  the  course  of  a  life  of  inde- 
fatigable labor  in  behalf  of  the  natural  sciences,  he  had 
inflicted  on  their  several  genera.  The  paralysis  it  occa- 


210  THE  PRAIRIE. 

sioned  in  his  system  was  like  the  effect  of  the  incubus. 
Equally  unable  to  fly  or  to  advance,  he  stood  riveted  to 
the  spot,  until  the  infatuation  became  so  complete  that 
the  worthy  naturalist  was  beginning,  by  a  desperate  effort 
of  scientific  resolution,  even  to  class  the  different  speci- 
mens. On  the  other  hand,  Paul  shouted  and  called  on 
Ellen  to  come  and  assist  him  in  shouting,  but  his  voice 
was  lost  in  the  bellowings  and  trampling  of  the  herd. 
Furious,  and  yet  strangely  excited  by  the  obstinacy  of  the 
brutes  and  the  wildness  of  the  sight,  and  nearly  maddened 
by  sympathy  and  a  species  of  conscious  apprehension,  in 
which  the  claims  of  Nature  were  singularly  mingled  with 
concern  for  his  mistress,  he  nearly  split  his  throat  in  ex- 
horting his  aged  friend  to  interfere. 

"  Come  forth,  old  trapper,"  he  shouted,  "  with  your 
prairie  inventions !  or  we  shall  be  all  smothered  under  a 
mountain  of  buffalo  humps  !  " 

The  old  man,  who  stood  all  this  while  leaning  on  his 
rifle,  and  regarding  the  movements  of  the  herd  with  a 
steady  eye,  now  deemed  it  time  to  strike  his  blow.  Level- 
ling his  piece  at  the  foremost  bull,  with  an  agility  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  his  youth,  he  fired.  The  ani- 
mal received  the  bullet  on  the  matted  hair  between  his 
horns,  and  fell  to  his  knees  ;  but  shaking  his  head,  he  in- 
stantly arose,  the  very  shock  seeming  to  increase  his  ex- 
ertions. There  was  no  longer  time  to  hesitate.  Throw- 
ing down  his  rifle,  the  trapper  stretched  forth  his  arms, 
and  advanced  from  the  cover  with  naked  hands,  directly 
toward  the  rushing  column  of  the  beasts. 

The  figure  of  a  man,  when  sustained  by  the  firmness 
and  steadiness  that  intellect  can  only  impart,  rarely  fails 
of  commanding  respect  from  all  the  inferior  animals  of 
the  creation.  The  leading  bulls  recoiled,  and  for  a  single 
instant  there  was  a  sudden  stop  to  their  speed,  a  dense 
mass  of  bodies  rolling  up  in  front,  until  hundreds  were 
seen  floundering  and  tumbling  on  the  plain.  Then  came 
another  of  those  hollow  bellowings  from  the  rear,  and  set 
the  herd  again  in  motion.  The  head  of  the  column,  how- 
ever, divided  ;  the  immovable  form  of  the  trapper  cutting 
it,  as  it  were,  into  two  gliding  streams  of  life.  Middleton 
and  Paul  instantly  profited  by  his  example,  and  extended 
the  feeble  barrier  by  a  similar  exhibition  of  their  own  per- 
sons. 

For  a  few  moments  the  new  impulse  given  to  the  ani» 


THE  PRAIRIE.  211 

.•nals  in  front  served  to  protect  the  thicket.  But,  as  the 
body  of  the  herd  pressed  more  and  more  upon  the  open 
line  of  its  defenders,  and  the  dust  thickened,  so  as  to  ob- 
scure their  persons,  there  was,  at  each  instant,  a  renewed 
danger  of  the  beasts  breaking  through.  It  became  neces- 
sary for  the  trapper  and  his  companions  to  become  still 
more  and  more  alert  ;  and  they  were  gradually  yielding 
before  the  headlong  multitude,  when  a  furious  bull  darted 
by  Middleton  so  near  as  to  brush  his  person,  and,  at  the 
next  instant,  swept  through  the  thicket  with  the  velocity 
of  the  wind. 

"  Close,  and  die  for  the  ground  ! "  shouted  the  old  man, 
"or  a  thousand  of  the  devils  will  be  at  his  heels !  " 

All  their  efforts  would  have  proved  fruitless,  however, 
against  the  living  torrent,  had  not  Asinus,  whose  domains 
had  just  been  so  rudely  entered,  lifted  his  voice  in  the 
midst  of  the  uproar.  The  most  sturdy  and  furious  of  the 
bulls  trembled  at  the  alarming  and  unknown  cry,  and  then 
each  individual  brute  was  seen  madly  pressing  from  that 
very  thicket,  which  the  moment  before  he  had  endeavored 
to  reach,  with  the  eagerness  with  which  the  murderer 
seeks  the  sanctuary. 

As  the  stream  divided,  the  place  became  clear ;  the  two 
dark  columns  moving  obliquely  from  the  copse,  to  unite 
again,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  on  its  opposite  side.  The 
instant  the  old  man  saw  the  sudden  effect  which  the  voice 
of  Asinus  had  produced,  he  coolly  commenced  reloading 
his  rifle,  indulging  at  the  same  time  in  a  heartfelt  fit  of 
his  silent  and  peculiar  merriment. 

"  There  they  go,  like  dogs  with  so  many  half-filled  shot- 
pouches  dangling  at  their  tails,  and  no  fear  of  their  break- 
ing their  order  ;  for  what  the  brutes  in  the  rear  didn't  hear 
with  their  own  ears,  they'll  conceit  they  did  ;  besides,  if 
they  change  their  minds,  it  may  be  no  hard  matter  to  get 
the  jack  to  sing  the  rest  of  his  tune !  " 

"  The  ass  has  spoken,  but  Balaam  is  silent  !  "  cried  the 
bee-hunter,  catching  his  breath  after  a  repeated  burst  of 
noisy  mirth,  that  might  possibly  have  added  to  the  panic 
of  the  buffaloes  by  its  vociferation.  "  The  man  is  as  com- 
pletely dumfoundered  as  if  a  swarm  of  young  bees  had 
settled  on  the  end  of  his  tongue,  and  he  not  willing  to 
speak,  for  fear  of  their  answer." 

"  How  now,  friend,"  continued  the  trapper,  addressing 
the  still  motionless  and  entranced  naturalist  ;  "  hew  no\f 


212  THE  PRAIRIE. 

friend  ;  are  you,  who  make  your  livelihood  by  booking 
the  names  and  the  natur's  of  the  beasts  of  the  field  and 
the  fowls  of  the  air  frightened  at  a  herd  of  scampering 
buffaloes  ?  Though,  perhaps,  you  are  ready  to  dispute 
my  right  to  call  them  by  a  word  that  is  in  the  mouth  of 
every  hunter  and  trader  on  the  frontier  !  " 

The  old  man  was,  however,  mistaken  in  supposing  he 
could  excite  the  benumbed  faculties  of  the  doctor,  by  pro^ 
voking  a  discussion.  From  that  time,  henceforth,  he  was 
never  known,  except  on  one  occasion,  to  utter  a  word  that 
indicated  either  the  species  or  the  genus  of  the  animal. 
He  obstinately  refused  the  nutritious  food  of  the  whole  ox 
family  ;  and  even  to  the  present  hour,  now  that  he  is  es- 
tablished in  all  the  scientific  dignity  and  security  of  a 
savant  in  one  of  the  maritime  towns,  he  turns  his  back  with 
a  shudder  on  those  delicious  and  unrivalled  viands,  that 
are  so  often  seen  at  the  suppers  of  the  craft,  and  which 
are  unequalled  by  anything  that  is  served  under  the  same 
name,  at  the  boasted  chop-houses  of  London,  or  at  the 
most  renowned  of  the  Parisian  restaurants.  In  short,  the 
distaste  of  the  worthy  naturalist  for  beef  was  not  unlike 
that  which  the  shepherd  sometimes  produces,  by  first 
muzzling  and  fettering  his  delinquent  dog,  and  then  leav- 
ing him  as  a  stepping-stone  for  the  whole  flock  to  use  in  its 
transit  over  a  wall,  or  through  the  opening  of  a  sheepfold  ; 
a  process  which  is  said  to  produce  in  the  culprit  a  species 
of  surfeit,  on  the  subject  of  mutton,  forever  after.  By  the 
time  Paul  and  the  trapper  saw  fit  to  terminate  the  fresh 
bursts  of  merriment  which  the  continued  abstraction  of 
their  learnod  companion  did  not  fail  to  excite,  he  com- 
menced breathing  again,  as  if  the  suspended  action  of  his 
lungs  had  been  renewed  by  the  application  of  a  pair  of 
artificial  bellows,  and  was  heard  to  make  use  of  the  ever- 
afterward  prescribed  term,  on  that  solitary  occasion  to 
which  we  have  just  alluded. 

"  Boves  Americani  horridi!"  exclaimed  the  doctor,  lay- 
ing great  stress  on  the  latter  word  ;  after  which  he  contin- 
ued  mute,  like  one  who  pondered  on  strange  and  unac- 
countable events. 

"Ay,  horrid  eyes  enough,  I  will  willingly  allow,"  re- 
turned the  trapper;  "and  altogether  the  creatur'  has  a 
frightful  look,  to  one  unused  to  the  sights  and  bustle  of  a 
natural  life  ;  but  then  the  courage  of  the  beast  is  in  no 
way  equal  to  its  countenance.  Lord,  man,  if  you  should 


THE  PRAIRIE.  213 

get  fairly  beset  by  a  brood  of  grizzly  bears,  as  happened 

to  Hector  and  I,  at  the  great  falls  of  the  Miss Ah, 

here  comes  the  tail  of  the  herd,  and  yonder  goes  a  pack  of 
hungry  wolves,  ready  to  pick  up  the  sick,  or  such  as  get  a 
disjointed  neck  by  a  tumble.  Ha !  there  are  mounted 
men  on  their  trail,  or  I'm  no  sinner ! — Here,  lad  ;  you  may 
see  them  here-away,  just  where  the  dust  is  scattering  afore 
the  wind.  They  are  hovering  around  a  wounded  buffalo, 
making  an  end  of  the  surly  devil  with  their  arrows  ! " 

Middleton  and  Paul  soon  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  dark 
group  that  the  quick  eye  of  the  old  man  so  readily  de- 
tected. Some  fifteen  or  twenty  horsemen  were,  in  truth, 
to  be  seen  riding  in  quick  circuits  about  a  noble  bull  which 
stood  at  bay,  too  grievously  hurt  to  fly,  and  yet  seeming 
to  disdain  to  fall,  notwithstanding  his  hardy  body  had  al- 
ready been  the  target  for  a  hundred  arrows.  A  thrust 
from  the  lance  of  a  powerful  Indian,  however,  completed 
his  conquest,  and  the  brute  gave  up  his  obstinate  hold  of 
life  with  a  roar  that  passed  bellowing  over  the  place  where 
our  adventurers  stood,  and,  reaching  the  ears  of  the  af- 
frighed  herd,  added  a  new  impulse  to  their  flight. 

"  How  well  the  Pawnee  knew  the  philosophy  of  a  buffalo- 
hunt  ! "  said  the  old  man,  after  he  stood  regarding  the  ani- 
mated scene  for  a  few  moments  with  evident  satisfaction. 
"  You  saw  how  he  went  off  like  the  wind  before  the  drove. 
It  was  in  order  that  he  might  not  taint  the  air,  and  that  he 
might  turn  the  flank  and  join — Ha!  how  is  this  ?  yonder 
red-skins  are  no  Pawnees  !  The  feathers  in  their  heads 
are  from  the  wings  and  tails  of  owls.  Ah  !  as  I  am  but  a 
miserable  half-sighted  trapper,  it  is  a  band  of  the  accursed 
Siouxes !  To  cover,  lads,  to  cover !  A  single  cast  of  an 
eye  this-away  would  strip  us  of  every  rag  of  clothes,  as 
surely  as  the  lightning  scorches  the  bush,  and  it  might  be 
that  our  very  lives  would  be  far  from  safe. 

Middleton  had  already  turned  away  from  the  spectacle 
to  seek  that  which  pleased  him  better — the  sight  of  his 
young  and  beautiful  bride.  Paul  seized  the  doctor  by  the 
arm  ;  and,  as  the  trapper  followed  with  the  smallest  pos- 
sible delay,  the  whole  party  was  quickly  collected  within 
the  cover  of  the  thicket.  After  a  few  short  explanations 
concerning  the  character  of  this  new  danger,  the  old  man, 
on  whom  the  whole  duty  of  directing  their  movements  was 
devolved  in  deference  to  his  great  experience,  continued 
his  discourse  as  follows  : 


/I4  THE  PRAIRIE. 

f<  This  is  a  region,  as  you  must  all  know,  where  a  strong 
arm  is  far  better  than  the  right,  and  where  the  white  law 
is  as  little  known  as  needed.  Therefore  does  everything 
now  depend  on  judgment  and  power.  If,"  he  continued, 
laying  his  finger  on  his  cheek  like  one  who  considered 
deeply  all  sides  of  the  embarrassing  situation  in  which  he 
found  himself — "  if  an  invention  could  be  framed  which 
would  set  these  Siouxes  and  the  brood  of  the  squatter  by 
the  ears,  then  might  we  come  in,  like  the  buzzards  after  a 
fight  atween  the  beasts,  and  pick  up  the  gleanings  off  the 
ground — there  are  Pawnees  nigh  us,  too  !  It  is  a  certain 
matter,  for  yonder  lad  is  not  so  far  from  his  village  with- 
out an  errand.  Here  are  therefore  four  parties  within 
sound  of  a  cannon,  not  one  of  whom  can  trust  the  other. 
All  which  makes  movement  a  little  difficult  in  a  district 
where  covers  are  far  from  plenty.  But  we  are  three  well- 
armed,  and  I  think  I  may  say  three  stout-hearted  men " 

"  Four,"  interrupted  Paul. 

"  Anan,"  said  the  old  man,  looking  up  simply  at  his 
companion. 

"  Four,"  repeated  the  bee-hunter,  pointing  to  the  natur- 
alist. 

"  Every  army  has  its  hangers-on  and  idlers,"  rejoined 
the  blunt  border-man. — "  Friend,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
slaughter  this  ass." 

"To  slay  Asinus!  Such  a  deed  would  be  an  act  of 
supererogatory  cruelty." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  your  words,  which  hide  their  mean- 
ing in  sound  ;  but  that  is  cruel  which  sacrifices  a  Christian 
to  a  brute.  This  is  what  I  call  the  reason  of  mercy.  It 
would  be  just  as  safe  to  blow  a  trumpet  as  to  let  the  ani- 
mal raise  his  voice  again,  inasmuch  as  it  would  prove  a 
manifest  challenge  to  the  Siouxes." 

"  I  will  answer  for  the  discretion  of  Asinus,  who  seldom 
speaks  without  reason." 

"They  say  a  man  can  be  known  by  the  company  he 
keeps,"  retorted  the  old  man,  "  and  why  not  a  brute  ?  I 
once  made  a  forced  march  and  went  through  a  great  deal 
of  jeopardy  with  a  companion  who  never  opened  his  mouth 
but  to  sing  ;  and  trouble  enough  and  great  concern  of 
mind  did  the  fellow  give  me.  It  was  in  that  very  business 
with  your  grand'ther,  captain.  But  then  he  had  a  human 
throat,  and  well  did  he  know  how  to  use  it,  on  occasion, 
though  he  didn't  always  stop  to  regard  the  time  and  sea- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  215 

son  fit  for  such  outcries.  Ah's  me  !  if  I  was  now  as  I  was 
then,  it  wouldn't  be  a  band  of  thieving  Siouxes  that  should 
easily  drive  me  from  such  a  lodgment  as  this  !  But  what 
signifies  boasting  when  sight  and  strength  are  both  failing  ? 
The  warrior  that  the  Delawares  once  saw  fit  to  call  after 
the  hawk  for  the  goodness  of  his  eyes,  would  now  be  bet- 
ter termed  the  mole !  In  my  judgment,  therefore,  it  will 
be  well  to  slay  the  brute." 

"  There's  argument  and  good  logic  in  it,"  said  Paul  ; 
"  music  is  music,  and  it's  always  noisy,  whether  it  comes 
from  a  fiddle  or  a  jackass.  Therefore  I  agree  with  the  old 
man,  and  say,  kill  the  beast." 

"  Friends,"  said  the  naturalist,  looking  with  a  sorrowful 
eye  from  one  to  the  other  of  his  bloodily  disposed  com- 
panions, "slay  not  Asinus  ;  he  is  a  specimen  of  his  kind 
of  whom  much  good  and  little  evil  can  be  said.  Hardy 
and  docile  for  his  genus ;  abstemious  and  patient  even  for 
his  humble  species.  We  have  journeyed  much  together, 
and  his  death  would  grieve  me.  How  would  it  trouble 
thy  spirit,  venerable  venator,  to  separate  in  such  an  un- 
timely manner  from  your  faithful  hound  ? " 

"  The  animal  shall  not  die,"  said  the  old  man,  suddenly 
clearing  his  throat  in  a  manner  that  proved  he  felt  the 
force  of  the  appeal ;  "but  his  voice  must  be  smothered. 
Bind  his  jaws  with  the  halter,  and  then  I  think  we  must 
trust  the  rest  to  Providence." 

With  this  double  security  for  the  discretion  of  Asinus,  for 
Paul  instantly  bound  the  muzzle  of  the  ass  in  the  manner 
required,  the  trapper  seemed  content.  After  which  he 
proceeded  to  the  margin  of  the  thicket  to  reconnoitre. 

The  uproar  which  attended  the  passage  of  the  herd  was 
now  gone,  or  rather  it  was  heard  rolling  along  the  prairie 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile.  The  clouds  of  dust  were  already 
blown  away  by  the  wind,  and  a  clear  range  was  left  to  the 
eye  in  that  place  where  ten  minutes  before  there  existed  a 
scene  of  so  much  wildness  and  confusion. 

The  Sioux  had  completed  their  conquest,  and  apparent- 
ly satisfied  with  this  addition  to  the  numerous  previous 
captures  they  had  made,  they  now  seemed  content  to  let 
the  remainder  of  the  herd  escape.  A  dozen  remained 
around  the  carcass,  over  which  a  few  buzzards  wrere  balanc- 
ing themselves  with  steady  wings  and  greedy  eyes,  while 
the  rest  were  riding  about  in  quest  of  such  further  booty 
as  might  come  in  their  way  on  the  trail  of  so  vast  a 


216  THE  PRAIRIE. 

drove.  The  trapper  measured  the  proportions  and  scanned 
the  equipments  of  such  individuals  as  drew  nearer  to  the 
side  of  the  thicket  with  careful  eyes.  At  length  he  pointed 
out  one  among  them  to  Middleton  as  Weucha. 

u  Now  know  we  not  only  what  they  are,  but  their  errand,"* 
the  old  man  continued,  deliberately  shaking  his  head. 
"  They  have  lost  the  trail  of  the  squatter,  and  are  on  itfc 
hunt.  These  buffaloes  have  crossed  their  path,  and  in 
chasing  the  animals  bad  luck  has  led  them  in  open  sight 
of  the  hill  on  which  the  brood  of  Ishmael  have  harbored. 
Do  you  see  yon  birds  watching  for  the  offals  of  the  beast 
they  have  killed  ?  Therein  is  a  moral  which  teaches  the 
manner  of  a  prairie-life.  A  band  of  Pawnees  are  outlying 
for  these  very  Siouxes,  as  you  see  the  buzzards  looking 
down  for  their  food  ;  and  it  behooves  us,  as  Christian  men 
who  have  so  much  at  stake,  to  look  down  upon  them  both. 
Ha  !  what  brings  yonder  two  skirting  reptiles  to  a  stand  > 
As  you  live,  they  have  found  the  place  where  the  misera- 
ble son  of  the  squatter  met  his  death  !  " 

The  old  man  was  not  mistaken.  Weucha,  and  a  savage 
who  accompanied  him,  had  reached  that  spot  which  has 
already  been  mentioned  as  furnishing  the  frightful  evi- 
dences  of  violence  and  bloodshed.  There  they  sat  on  their 
horses,  examining  the  well-known  signs  with  the  intelli- 
gence that  distinguishes  the  habits  of  Indians.  Their  scru- 
tiny was  long,  and  apparently  not  without  distrust.  At 
length  they  raised  a  cry  that  was  scarcely  less  piteous  and 
startling  than  that  which  the  hounds  had  before  made  over 
the  same  fatal  signs,  and  which  did  not  fail  to  draw  the 
whole  band  immediately  around  them,  as  the  fell  bark  of 
the  jackal  is  said  to  gather  his  comrades  to  the  chase. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"Welcome,  ancient  Pistol." — SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  was  not  long  before  the  trapper  pointed  out  the  com- 
manding person  of  Mahtoree  as  the  leader  of  the  Sioux. 
This  chief,  who  had  been  among  the  last  to  obey  the  vocif, 
erous  summons  of  Weucha,  no  sooner  reached  the  spot 
where  his  whole  party  was  now  gathered,  than  he  threw 
himself  from  his  horse,  and  proceeded  to  examine  the 


THE  rRAIRIE.  217 

marks  of  che  extraordinary  trail  with  that  degree  of  dignity 
and  attention  which  became  his  high  and  responsible  sta- 
tion. The  warriors,  for  it  was  but  too  evident  that  they 
were  to  a  man  of  that  fearless  and  ruthless  class,  awaited 
the  result  of  his  investigation  with  patient  reserve  ?  none 
but  a  few  of  the  principal  braves  presuming  even  to  speak 
while  their  .leader  was  thus  gravely  occupied.  It  was 
several  minutes  before  Mahtoree  seemed  satisfied.  He 
then  directed  his  eyes  along  the  ground  to  those  several 
places  where  Ishmael  had  found  the  same  revolting  evi- 
dences of  the  passage  of  some  bloody  struggle,  and  mo- 
tioned to  his  people  to  follow. 

The  whole  band  advanced  in  a  body  toward  the  thicket, 
until  they  came  to  a  halt  within  a  few  yards  of  the  precise 
spot  where  Esther  had  stimulated  her  slugglish  sons  to 
break  into  the  cover.  The  reader  will  readily  imagine 
that  the  trapper  and  his  companions  were  not  indifferent 
observers  of  so  threatening  a  movement.  The  old  man 
summoned  all  who  were  capable  of  bearing  arms  to  his 
side,  and  demanded  in  very  unequivocal  terms,  though 
in  a  voice  that  was  suitably  lowered  in  order  to  escape  the 
ears  of  their  dangerous  neighbors,  whether  they  were  dis- 
posed to  make  battle  for  their  liberty,  or  whether  they 
should  try  the  milder  expedient  of  conciliation.  As  it  was 
a  subject  in  which  all  had  an  equal  interest,  he  put  the 
question  as  to  a  council  of  war,  and  not  without  some 
slight  exhibition  of  the  lingering  vestiges  of  a  nearly  ex- 
tinct military  pride.  Paul  and  the  doctor  were  diametri- 
cally opposed  to  each  other  in  opinion  ;  the  former  declar- 
ing for  an  immediate  appeal  to  arms,  arid  the  latter  was 
warmly  espousing  the  policy  of  pacific  measures.  Middle- 
ton,  who  saw  that  there  was  great  danger  of  a  *hot  verbal 
dispute  between  two  men  who  were  governed  by  feelings  so 
diametrically  opposed,  saw  fit  to  assume  the  office  of  arbi- 
ter ;  or  rather  to  decide  the  question,  his  situation  making 
him  a  sort  of  umpire.  He  also  leaned  to  the  side  of  peace, 
for  he  evidently  saw  that,  in  consequence  of  the  vast 
superiority  of  their  enemies,  violence  would  irretrievably 
lead  to  their  destruction. 

The  trapper  listened  to  the  reasons  of  the  young  soldier 
with  great  attention  ;  and,  as  they  were  given  with  the 
steadiness  of  one  who  did  not  suffer  apprehension  to  blind 
his  judgment,  they  did  not  fail  to  produce  a  suitable  im- 
pression. 


2i8  THE  PRAIRIE. 

11  It  is  rational,"  rejoined  the  trapper,  when  the  other 
had  delivered  his  reasons  :  "  it  is  very  rational,  for,  what 
man  cannot  move  with  his  strength,  he  must  circumvent  with 
his  wits.  It  is  reason  that  makes  him  stronger  than  the 
buffalo  and  swifter  than  the  moose.  Now,  stay  you  here 
and  keep  yourselves  close.  My  life  and  my  traps  are  but 
of  little  value  when  the  welfare  of  so  many  human  souls  is 
concerned  ;  and,  moreover,  I  may  say  that  I  know  the 
windings  of  Indian  cunning.  Therefore  will  I  go  alone 
upon  the  prairie.  It  may  so  happen  that  I  can  yet  draw 
the  eyes  of  a  Sioux  from  this^spot,  and  give  you  time  and 
room  to  fly." 

As  if  resolved  to  listen  to  no  remonstrance,  the  old  man 
quietly  shouldered  his  rifle,  and,  moving  leisurely  through 
the  thicket,  he  issued  on  the  plain  at  a  point  whence  he 
might  first  appear  before  the  eyes  of  the  Sioux  without 
exciting  their  suspicions  that  he  came  from  its  cover. 

The  instant  that  the  figure  of  a  man  dressed  in  the  garb 
of  a  hunter,  and  bearing  the  well-known  and  much-dread- 
ed rifle,  appeared  before  the  eyes  of  the  Sioux,  there  was 
a  sensible  though  a  suppressed  sensation  in  the  band. 
The  artifice  of  the  trapper  had  so  far  succeeded  as  to  ren- 
der it  extremely  doubtful  whether  he  came  from  some 
point  on  the  open  prairie  or  from  the  thicket ;  though  the 
Indians  still  continued  to  cast  frequent  and  suspicious 
glances  at  the  cover.  They  had  made  their  halt  at  the 
distance  of  an  arrow-flight  from  the  bushes  ;  but  when  the 
stranger  came  sufficiently  nigh  to  show  that  the  deep  coat- 
ing of  red  and  brown  which  time  and  exposure  had  given 
to  his  features,  was  laid  upon  the  original  color  of  a  pale- 
face, they  slowly  receded  from  the  spot  until  they  reached 
a  distance  that  might  defeat  the  aim  of  fire-arms. 

In  the  meantime  the  old  man  continued  to  advance,  un- 
til he  had  got  nigh  enough  to  make  himself  heard  without 
difficulty.  Here  he  stopped,  and,  dropping  his  rifle  to  the 
earth,  he  raised  his  hand  with  the  palm  outward,  in  token 
of  peace.  After  uttering  a  few  words  of  reproach  to  his 
hound,  who  watched  the  savage  group  with  eyes  that 
seemed  to  recognize  them,  he  spoke  in  the  Sioux  tongue  : 

"  My  brothers  are  welcome,"  he  said,  cunningly  consti- 
tuting himself  the  master  of  the  region  in  which  they  had 
met,  and  assuming  the  offices  of  hospitality.  "  They  are 
far  from  their  villages,  and  are  hungry.  Will  they  follow 
to  my  lodge,  to  eat  and  sleep  ? " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  219 

No  sooner  was  his  voice  heard,  than  the  yell  of  pleasure 
which  burst  from  a  dozen  mouths,  convinced  the  sagacious 
trapper  that  he  also  was  recognized  Feeling  that  it  was 
too  late  to  retreat  he  profited  by  the  confusion  which  pre- 
vailed among  them,  while  Weucha  was  explaining  his 
character,  to  advance,  until  he  was  again  face  to  face  with 
the  redoubtable  Mahtoree.  The  second  interview  between 
these  two  men,  each  of  whom  was  extraordinary  in  his 
way,  was  marked  by  the  usual  caution  of  the  frontiers. 
They  stood  for  nearly  a  minute,  examining  each  other 
without  speaking. 

"  Where  are  your  young  men  ?  "  sternly  demanded  the 
Teton  chieftain,  after  he  found  that  the  immovable  features 
of  the  trapper  refused  to  betray  any  of  their  master's  se- 
crets, under  his  intimidating  look. 

"The  Long-knives  do  not  come  in  bands  to  trap  the 
beaver!  I  am  alone." 

"  Your  head  is  white,  but  you  have  a  forked  tongue. 
Mahtoree  has  been  in  your  camp.  He  knows  that  you  are 
not  alone.  Where  is  your  young  wife,  and  the  warrior 
that  I  found  upon  the  prairie  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  wife.  I  have  told  my  brother  that  the  wom- 
an and  her  friends  were  strangers.  The  words  of  a  gray 
head  should  be  heard,  and  not  forgotten.  The  Dahcotahs 
found  travellers  asleep,  and  they  thought  they  had  no  need 
of  horses.  The  women  and  children  of  a  pale-face  are  not 
used  to  go  far  on  foot.  Let  them  be  sought  where  you 
left  them." 

The  eyes  of  the  Teton  flashed  fire  as  he  answered  : 

"  They  are  gone  :  but  Mahtoree  is  a  wise  chief,  and  his 
eyes  can  see  a  great  distance  !  " 

"  Does  the  partisan  of  the  Tetons  see  men  on  these  na- 
ked fields  ?  "  retorted  the  trapper,  with  great  steadiness  of 
mien.  "  I  am  very  old,  and  my  eyes  grow  dim.  Where 
do  they  stand  ? " 

The  chief  remained  silent  a  moment,  as  if  he  disdained 
to  contest  any  further  the  truth  of  a  fact,  concerning  which 
he  was  already  satisfied.  Then,  pointing  to  the  traces  on 
the  earth,  he  said,  with  a  sudden  transition  to  mildness 
in  his  eye  and  manner, : 

"  My  father  has  learned  wisdom  in  many  winters  ;  can 
he  tell  me  whose  moccasin  has  left  this  trail  ? " 

44  There  have  been  wolves  and  buffaloes  on  the  prairies 
and  there  may  have  been  cougars  too." 


220  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Mahtoree  glanced  his  eye  at  the  thicket,  as  if  he  thought 
the  latter  suggestion  not  impossible.  Pointing  to  the  place, 
he  ordered  his  young  men  to  reconnoitre  it  more  closely, 
cautioning  them  at  the  same  time,  with  a  stern  look  at  the 
trapper,  to  beware  of  treachery  from  the  Big-knives.  Three 
or  four  half-naked,  eager-looking  youths  lashed  their  horses 
at  the  word,  and  darted  away  to  obey  the  mandate.  The 
old  man  trembled  a  little  for  the  discretion  of  Paul,  when 
he  saw  this  demonstration.  The  Tetons  encircled  the 
place  two  or  three  times,  approaching  nigher  and  nigher 
at  each  circuit,  and  then  galloped  back  to  their  leader  to 
report  that  the  copse  seemed  empty.  Notwithstanding  the 
trapper  watched  the  eye  of  Mahtoree,  to  detect  the  inward 
movements  of  his  mind,  and  if  possible  to  anticipate,  in 
order  to  direct  his  suspicions,  the  utmost  sagacity  of  one 
so  long  accustomed  to  study  the  cold  habits  of  the  Indian 
race  could,  however,  detect  no  symptom  nor  expression 
that  denoted  how  far  he  credited  or  distrusted  this  intelli- 
gence. Instead  of  replying  to  the  information  of  his 
scouts,  he  spoke  kindly  to  his  horse,  and  motioning  to  a 
youth  to  receive  the  bridle,  or  rather  halter,  by  which  he 
governed  the  animal,  he  took  the  trapper  by  the  arm,  and 
led  him  a  little  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  band. 

"  Has  my  brother  been  a  warrior?"  said  the  wily  Teton, 
in  a  tone  that  he  intended  should  be  conciliating. 

"  Do  the  leaves  cover  the  trees  in  the  season  of  fruits  ? 
Go.  The  Dahcotahs  have  not  seen  as  many  warriors  liv- 
ing as  I  have  looked  on  in  their  blood!  But  what  signi- 
fies idle  remembrancing,"  he  added,  in  English,  "  when 
limbs  grow  stiff  and  sight  is  failing  ?" 

The  chief  regarded  him  a  moment  with  a  severe  look,  as 
if  he  would  lay  bare  the  falsehood  he  had  heard  ;  but, 
meeting  in  the  calm  eye  and  steady  mien  of  the  trapper 
a  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  what  he  said,  he  took  the 
hand  of  the  old  man,  and  laid  it  gently  on  his  head  in 
token  of  the  respect  that  was  due  to  the  other's  years  and 
experience. 

"  Why,  then,  do  the  Big-knives  tell  their  red  brethren 
to  bury  the  tomahawk,"  he  said,  "when  their  own  young 
men  never  forget  that  they  are  braves,  and  meet  each  other 
so  often  with  bloody  hands  ?" 

"  My  nation  is  more  numerous  than  the  buffaloes  on  the 
prairies,  or  the  pigeons  in  the  air.  Their  quarrels  are 
frequent ;  yet  their  warriors  are  few.  None  go  out  on  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  221 

war-path  but  they  who  are  gifted  with  the  qualities  of  a 
brave,  and  therefore  such  see  many  battles." 

"  It  is  not  so — my  father  is  mistaken,"  returned  Mahtoree, 
indulging  in  a  smile  of  exulting  penetration  at  the  very 
instant  he  corrected  the  force  of  his  denial  in  deference  to 
the  years  and  services  of  one  so  aged.  "  The  Big-knives 
are  very  wise,  and  they  are  men  ;  all  of  them  would  be 
warriors.  They  would  leave  the  red-skins  to  dig  roots  and 
hoe  the  corn.  But  a  Dahcotah  is  not  born  to  live  like  a 
woman  ;  he  must  strike  the  Pawnee  and  the  Omahaw,  or 
he  will  lose  the  name  of  his  fathers." 

"The  Master  of  Life  looks  with  an  open  eye  on  his  chil- 
dren who  die  in  a  battle  that  is  fought  for  the  right  ;  but 
he  is  blind  and  his  ears  are  shut  to  the  cries  of  an  Indian 
who  is  killed  when  plundering  or  doing  evil  to  his  neigh- 
bor." 

"  My  father  is  old,"  said  Mahtoree,  looking  at  his  aged 
companion  with  an  expression  of  irony  that  sufficiently 
denoted  he  was  one  of  those  who  overstep  the  trammels 
of  education,  and  who  are  perhaps  a  little  given  to  abuse 
the  mental  liberty  they  thus  obtain.  "  He  is  very  old  :  has 
he  made  a  journey  to  the  far  country,  and  has  he  been  at 
the  trouble  to  come  back  to  tell  the  young  men  what  he 
has  seen  ?" 

"  Teton,"  returned  the  trapper,  throwing  the  breech  of 
his  rifle  to  the  earth  with  startling  vehemence,  and  regard- 
ing his  companion  with  steady  serenity,  "  I  have  heard 
that  there  are  men  among  my  people  who  study  their 
great  medicines  until  they  believe  themselves  to  be  gods, 
and  who  laugh  at  all  faith  except  in  their  own  vanities. 
It  may  be  true.  It  is  true  ;  for  I  have  seen  them.  When 
man  is  shut  up  in  towns  and  schools  with  his  own  follies, 
it  may  be  easy  to  believe  himself  greater  than  the  Master 
of  Life  ;  but  a  warrior  who  lives  in  a  house  with  the  clouds 
for  its  roof,  where  he  can  at  any  moment  look  both  at  the 
heavens  and  at  the  earth,  and  who  daily  sees  the  power  of 
the  Great  Spirit,  should  be  more  humble.  A  Dahcotah 
chieftain  ought  to  be  too  wise  to  laugh  at  justice." 

The  crafty  Mahtoree,  who  saw  that  his  free-thinking  was 
not  likely  to  produce  a  favorable  impression  on  the  old 
man,  instantly  changed  his  ground,  by  alluding  to  the 
more  immediate  subject  of  their  interview.  Laying  his 
hand  gently  on  the  shoulder  of  the  trapper,  he  led  him 
forward  until  they  both  stood  within  fifty  feet  of  the  mar« 


222  THE  PRAIRIE. 

gin  of  the  thicket.  Here  he  fastened  his  penetrating  eyes 
on  the  other's  honest  countenance,  and  continued  the  dis* 
course  : 

"  If  my  father  has  hid  his  young  men  in  the  bush,  let 
him  tell  them  to  come  forth  You  see  that  a  Dahcotah  is 
not  afraid.  Mahtoree  is  a  great  chief !  A  warrior  whose 
head  is  white,  and  who  is  about  to  go  to  the  Land  of  Spir- 
its, cannot  have  a  tongue  with  two  ends,  like  a  serpent." 

"  Dahcotah,  I  have  told  no  lie.  Since  the  Great  Spirit 
made  me  a  man  I  have  lived  in  the  wilderness,  or  on  these 
naked  plains,  without  lodge  or  family.  I  am  a  hunter,  and 
go  on  my  path  alone." 

"  My  father  has  a  good  carabine.  Let  him  point  it  in 
the  bush  and  fire." 

The  old  man  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  slowly  pre- 
pared himself  to  give  this  delicate  assurance  of  the  truth 
of  what  he  said,  without  which  he  plainly  perceived  the 
suspicions  of  his  crafty  companion  could  not  be  lulled. 
As  he  lowered  his  rifle,  his  eye,  although  greatly  dimmed 
and  weakened  by  age,  ran  over  the  confused  collection  of 
objects  that  lay  embedded  amid  the  party-colored  foliage 
of  the  thicket,  until  it  succeeded  in  catching  a  glimpse  of 
the  brown  covering  of  the  stem  of  a  small  tree.  With  this 
object  in  view,  he  raised  the  piece  to  a  level  and  fired. 
The  bullet  had  no  sooner  glided  from  the  barrel  than  a 
tremor  seized  the  hands  of  the  trapper,  which,  had  it  oc- 
curred a  moment  sooner,  would  have  utterly  disqualified 
him  for  so  hazardous  an  experiment.  A  frightful  silence 
succeeded  the  report,  during  which  he  expected  to  hear 
the  shrieks  of  the  females  ;  and  then,  as  the  smoke  whirled 
away  in  the  wind,  he  caught  a  view  of  the  fluttering  bark, 
and  felt  assured  that  all  his  former  skill  was  not  entirely 
departed  from  him.  Dropping  the  piece  to  the  earth,  he 
turned  again  to  his  companion  with  an  air  of  the  utmost 
composure,  and  demanded  : 

"  Is  my  brother  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Mahtoree  is  a  chief  of  the  Dahcotahs,"  returned  the 
cunning  Teton,  laving  his  hand  on  his  chest,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  other's  sincerity.  "  He  knows  that  a  warrior, 
who  has  smoked  at  so  many  council-fires,  until  his  head 
has  grown  white,  would  not  be  found  in  wicked  company. 
But  did  not  my  father  once  ride  on  a  horse,  like  a  rich 
chief  of  the  pale-faces,  instead  of  travelling  on  foot  like  a 
hungry  Konza  ? " 


THE  PRAIRIE.  223 

"  Never  !  The  Wahcondah  has  given  me  legs,  and  he 
has  given  me  resolution  to  use  them.  For  sixty  summers 
and  winters  did  I  journey  in  the  woods  of  America,  and 
ten  tiresome  years  have  I  dwelt  on  these  open  fields,  with- 
out finding  need  to  call  often  upon  the  gifts  of  the  other 
creatur's  of  the  Lord  to  carry  me  from  place  to  place." 

"  If  my  father  has  so  long  lived  in  the  shade,  why  has  he 
come  upon  the  prairies?  The  sun  will  scorch  him." 

The  old  man  looked  sorrowfully  about  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  turning  with  a  confidential  air  to  the  other,  he 
replied  : 

"  I  passed  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn  of  life  among 
the  trees.  The  winter  of  my  days  had  come,  and  found 
me  where  I  loved  to  be,  in  the  quiet — ay,  and  in  the 
honesty  of  the  woods  !  Teton,  then  I  slept  happily,  where 
my  eyes  could  look  up  through  the  branches  of  the 
pines  and  the  beeches,  to  the  very  dwelling  of  the  Good 
Spirit  of  my  people.  If  I  had  need  to  open  my  heart  to 
him,  while  his  fires  were  burning  above  my  head,  the  door 
was  open  and  before  my  eyes.  But  the  axes  of  the  chop- 
pers awoke  me.  For  a  long  time  my  ears  heard  nothing 
but  the  uproar  of  clearings.  I  bore  it  like  a  warrior  and  a 
man  ;  there  was  reason  that  I  should  bear  it ;  but  when 
that  reason  was  ended,  I  bethought  me  to  get  beyond  the 
accursed  sounds.  It  was  trying  to  the  courage  and  to  the 
habits,  but  I  had  heard  of  these  vast  and  naked  fields,  and 
I  come  hither  to  escape  the  wasteful  temper  of  my  people. 
Tell  me,  Dahcotah,  have  I  not  done  well  ? " 

The  trapper  laid  his  long,  lean  finger  on  the  naked 
shoulder  of  the  Indian  as  he  ended,  and  seemed  to  demand 
his  felicitations  on  his  ingenuity  and  success  with  a  ghastly 
smile,  in  which  triumph  was  singularly  blended  with  re- 
gret. His  companion  listened  intently,  and  replied  to  the 
question  by  saying,  in  the  sententious  manner  of  his  race  : 

"  The  head  of  my  father  is  very  gray ;  he  has  always 
lived  with  men  and  he  has  seen  everything.  What  he  does 
is  good  ;  what  he  speaks  is  wise.  Now  let  him  say  is  he 
sure  that  he  is  a  stranger  to  the  Big-knives,  who  are  look- 
ing for  their  beasts  on  every  side  of  the  prairies  and  can- 
not find  them  ?  " 

"  Dahcotah,  what  I  have  said  is  true.  I  live  alone,  and 
never  do  I  mingle  with  men  whose  skins  are  white,  if " 

His  mouth  was  suddenly  closed  by  an  interruption  that 
was  as  mortifying  as  it  was  unexpected.  The  words  were 


224  THE  PRAIRIE. 

stiil  on  his  tongue,  when  the  bushes  on  the  side  of  the 
thicket  where  they  stood  opened,  and  the  whole  of  the 
party  whom  he  had  just  left,  and  in  whose  behalf  he  was 
endeavoring  to  reconcile  his  love  of  truth  to  the  necessity 
of  prevaricating,  came  openly  into  view.  A  pause  of  mute 
astonishment  succeeded  this  u nlooked-for  spectacle.  Then 
Mahtoree,  who  did  not  suffer  a  muscle  or  a  joint  to  betray 
the  wonder  and  surprise  he  actually  experienced,  motioned 
toward  the  advancing  friends  of  the  trapper  with  an  air 
of  assumed  civility,  and  a  smile  that  lighted  his  fierce,  dark 
visage,  as  the  glare  of  the  setting  sun  reveals  the  volume 
and  load  of  the  cloud,  that  is  charged  to  bursting  with  the 
electric  fluid.  He,  however,  disdained  to  speak,  or  to  give 
any  other  evidence  of  his  intentions  than  by  calling  to  his 
side  the  distant  band,  who  sprang  forward  at  his  beck 
with  the  alacrity  of  willing  subordinates. 

In  the  meantime  the  friends  of  the  old  man  continued 
to  advance.  Middleton  himself  was  foremost,  supporting 
the  light  and  aerial-looking  figure  of  Inez,  on  whose  anxious 
countenance  he  cast  such  occasional  glances  of  tender  in- 
terest as,  in  similar  circumstances,  a  father  would  have 
given  to  his  child.  Paul  led  Ellen,  close  in  their  rear. 
But,  while  the  eye  of  the  bee-hunter  did  not  neglect  his 
blooming  companion,  it  scowled  angrily,  resembling  more 
the  aspect  of  the  sullen  and  retreating  bear  than  the  soft 
intelligence  of  a  favored  suitor.  Obed  and  Asinus  came 
last,  the  former  leading  his  companion  with  a  degree  of 
fondness  that  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  exceeded  by  any 
other  of  the  party.  The  approach  of  the  naturalist  was 
far  less  rapid  than  that  of  those  who  preceded  him.  His 
feet  seemed  equally  reluctant  to  advance  or  to  remain 
stationary  ;  his  position  bearing  a  great  analogy  to  that  of 
Mohammed's  coffin,  with  the  exception  that  the  quality  of 
repulsion  rather  than  that  of  attraction  held  him  in  a  state 
of  rest.  The  repulsive  power  in  his  rear,  however,  ap- 
peared to  predominate  ;  and,  by  a  singular  exception,  as 
he  would  have  said  himself,  to  all  philosophical  principles, 
it  rather  increased  that  diminished  by  distance.  As  the 
eyes  of  the  naturalist  steadily  maintained  a  position  that 
was  the  opposite  of  his  route,  they  served  to  give  a  direc- 
tion to  those  of  the  observers  of  all  these  movements,  ind 
at  once  furnished  a  sufficient  clew  by  which  to  unravel  the 
mystery  of  so  sudden  a  debouchement  from  the  cover. 

Another  cluster  of  stout  and  armed  men  was  seen  at   BO 


THE  PRAIRIE.  225 

great  distance,  just  rounding  a  point  of  the  thicket,  and 
moving  directly  though  cautiously  toward  the  place  where 
the  band  of  the  Sioux  was  posted,  as  a  squadron  of  cruisers 
is  often  seen  to  steer  across  the  waste  of  waters  toward  the 
rich  but  well-protected  convoy.  In  short,  the  family  of 
the  squatter,  or  at  least  such  among  them  as  were  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  appeared  in  view  on  the  broad  prairie, 
evidently  bent  on  revenging  their  wrongs. 

Mahtoree  and  his  party  slowly  retired  from  the  thicket, 
the  moment  they  caught  a  view  of  the  strangers,  until  they 
halted  on  a  swell  that  commanded  a  wide  and  unobstructed 
view  of  the  naked  fields  on  which  they  stood.  Here  the 
Dahcotah  appeared  disposed  to  make  a  stand,  and  to  bring 
matters  to  an  issue.  Notwithstanding  this  retreat,  in  which 
he  compelled  the  trapper  to  accompany  him,  Middleton 
still  advanced  until  he  too  halted  on  the  same  elevation, 
and  within  speaking  distance  of  the  warlike  Sioux.  The 
borderers  in  their  turn  took  a  favorable  position,  though 
at  a  much  greater  distance.  The  three  groups  now  re- 
sembled so  many  fleets  at  sea,  lying  with  their  topsails  to 
the  masts,  with  the  commendable  precaution  of  reconnoi- 
tering,  before  each  could  ascertain  who  among  the  stran- 
gers might  be  considered  as  friends,  and  who  as  foes. 
During  this  moment  of  suspense,  the  dark,  threatening  eye 
of  Mahtoree  rolled  from  one  of  the  strange  parties  to  the 
other,  in  keen  and  hasty  examination,  and  then  it  turned 
its  withering  look  on  the  old  man,  as  the  chief  said,  in  a 
tone  of  high  and  bitter  scorn  : 

"The  Big-knives  are  fools!  It  is  easier  to  catch  the 
cougar  asleep  than  to  find  a  blind  Dahcotah.  Did  the 
white-head  think  to  ride  on  the  horse  of  a  Sioux?" 

The  trapper,  who  had  found  time  to  collect  his  per- 
plexed faculties,  saw  at  once  that  Middleton,  having  per- 
ceived Ishmael  on  the  trail  by  which  they  had  fled,  pre- 
ferred trusting  to  the  hospitality  of  the  savages  than  to 
the  treatment  he  would  be  likely  to  receive  from  the  hands 
of  the  squatter.  He  therefore  disposed  himself  to  clear 
the  way  for  the  favorable  reception  of  his  friends,  since  he 
found  that  the  unnatural  coalition  became  necessary  to 
secure  the  liberty,  if  not  the  lives,  of  his  party. 

"  Did  my  brother  ever  go  on  a  war-path  to  strike  my 
people  ? "  he  calmly  demanded  of  the  indignant  chief,  who 
still  awaited  his  reply. 

The  lowering  aspect  of  the  Teton  warrior  so  far  lost  its 

15 


226  THE  PR  AIRJ E. 

severity  as  to  suffer  a  gleam  of  p-easure  and  triumph  td 
lighten  its  ferocity,  as,  sweeping  his  arm  in  an  entire  circle 
around  his  person,  he  answered  : 

"What  tribe  or  nation  has  not  felt  the  blows  of  the 
Dahcotahs  ?  Mahtoree  is  their  partisan." 

"  And  has  he  found  the  Big-knives  women,  or  has  he 
found  them  men  ?" 

A  multitude  of  fierce  passions  were  struggling  in  the 
tawny  countenance  of  the  Indian.  For  a  moment  inextin- 
guishable hatred  seemed  to  hold  the  mastery,  and  then  a 
nobler  expression,  and  one  that  better  became  the  charac- 
ter of  a  brave,  got  possession  of  his  features,  and  main- 
tained itself  until,  first  throwing  aside  his  light  robe  of 
pictured  deerskin,  and  pointing  to  the  scar  of  a  bayonet 
in  his  breast,  he  replied  : 

"  It  was  given  as  it  was  taken,  face  to  face." 

"  It  is  enough.  My  brother  is  a  brave  chief,  and  he 
should  be  wise.  Let  him  look  :  is  that  a  warrior  of  the 
pale-faces  ?  Was  it  one  such  as  that  who  gave  the  great 
Dahcotah  his  hurt  ?  " 

The  eyes  of  Mahtoree  followed  the  direction  of  the  old 
man's  extended  arm,  until  they  rested  on  the  drooping 
form  of  Inez.  The  look  of  the  Teton  was  long,  riveted, 
and  admiring.  Like  that  of  the  young  Pawnee,  it  resem- 
bled more  the  gaze  of  a  mortal  on  some  heavenly  image, 
than  the  admiration  with  which  man  is  wont  to  contem- 
plate even  the  loveliness  of  women.  Starting,  as  if  sud- 
denly self-convicted  of  forgetfulness,  the  chief  next  turned 
his  eyes  on  Ellen,  where  they  lingered  an  instant  with  a 
much  more  intelligible  expression  of  admiration,  and  then 
pursued  their  course  until  they  had  taken  another  glance 
at  each  individual  of  the  party. 

"  My  brother  sees  that  my  tongue  is  not  forked,"  con- 
tinued the  trapper,  watching  the  emotions  the  other  be- 
jtrayed  with  a  readiness  of  comprehension  little  inferior  to 
'that  of  the  Teton  himself.  "The  Big-knives  do  not  send 
their  women  to  war.  I  know  that  the  Dahcotahs  will 
smoke  with  the  strangers." 

"  Mahtoree  is  a  great  chief  !  The  Big-knives  are  wel- 
come," said  the  Teton,  laying  his  hand  on  his  breast  with 
an  air  of  lofty  politeness  that  would  have  done  credit  to 
any  state  of  society.  "  The  arrows  of  my  voung  men  are 
in  their  quivers." 

The  trapper  motioned  to  Middleton  to  approach,  ana  ii> 


THE  PRAIRIE.  227 

a  few  moments  the  two  parties  were  blended  in  one,  each 
of  the  males  having  exchanged  friendly  greetings,  after 
the  fashions  of  the  prairie  warriors.  But,  even  while  en- 
gaged in  this  hospitable  manner,  the  Dahcotah  did  not 
fail  to  keep  a  strict  watch  on  the  more  distant  party  of 
white  men,  as  if  he  still  distrusted  an  artifice,  or  sought 
further  explanation.  The  old  man,  in  his  turn,  perceived 
the  necessity  of  being  more  explicit,  and  of  securing  the 
slight  and  equivocal  advantage  he  had  already  obtained. 
While  affecting  to  examine  the  group  which  still  lingered 
at  the  spot  where  it  had  first  halted,  as  if  to  discover  the 
characters  of  those  who  composed  it,  he  plainly  saw  that 
Ishmael  contemplated  immediate  hostilities.  The  result 
of  a  conflict  on  the  open  prairie  between  a  dozen  resolute 
bordermen  and  the  half-armed  natives,  even  though  sec- 
onded by  their  white  allies,  was,  in  his  experienced  judg- 
ment, a  point  of  great  uncertainty  ;  and,  though  far  from 
reluctant  to  engage  in  the  struggle  on  account  of  himself, 
the  aged  trapper  thought  it  far  more  worthy  of  his  years 
and  his  character,  to  avoid  than  to  court  the  contest. 
His  feelings  were,  for  obvious  reasons,  in  accordance  with 
those  of  Paul  and  Middleton,  who  had  lives  still  more 
precious  than  their  own  to  watch  over  and  protect.  In 
this  dilemma  the  three  consulted  on  the  means  of  escaping 
the  frightful  consequences  which  might  immediately  fol- 
low a  single  act  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  borderers  ; 
the  old  man  taking  care  that  their  communication  sho'uld, 
in  the  eyes  of  those  who  noted  the  expression  of  their 
countenances  with  jealous  watchfulness,  bear  the  appear- 
ance of  explanations  as  to  the  reason  why  such  a  party  of 
travellers  was  met  so  far  in  the  deserts. 

"  I  know  that  the  Dahcotahs  are  a  wise  and  great  peo- 
ple," at  length  the  trapper  commenced,  again  addressing 
himself  to  the  chief  ;  "  but  does  not  their  partisan  know  a 
single  brother  who  is  base  ?  " 

The  eye  of  Mahtoree  wandered  proudly  around  his  band, 
but  rested  a  moment  reluctantly  on  Weucha,  as  he  an- 
swered, "  The  Master  of  life  has  made  chiefs,  and  warriors, 
and  women  ; "  conceiving  that  he  thus  embraced  all  the 
gradations  of  human  excellence,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest. 

"And  he  has  also  made  pale-faces  who  are  wicked. 
Such  are  they  who  my  brother  sees  yonder." 

"Do  they  go  on  foot  to  do  wrong?"  demanded  the 


12$  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Teton,  with  a  wild  gleam  from  his  eye,  that  sufficiently 
betrayed  how  well  he  knew  the  reason  why  they  were  re* 
duced  to  so  humble  an  expedient. 

"  Their  beasts  are  gone  ;  but  their  powder,  and  theii 
lead,  and  their  blankets  remain." 

"  Do  they  carry  their  riches  in  their  hands,  like  miser, 
able  Konzas  ?  or  are  they  brave,  and  leave  them  with  th% 
vvomen,  as  men  should  do,  who  know  where  to  find  what 
they  lose  ? " 

"  My  brother  sees  the  spot  of  blue  across  the  prairie  ; 
look,  the  sun  has  touched  it  for  the  last  time  to-day." 

"Mahtoree  is  not  a  mole." 

"  It  is  a  rock  ;  on  it  are  the  goods  of  the  Big-knives." 

An  expression  of  savage  joy  shot  into  the  dark  counte* 
nance  of  the  Teton  as  he  listened  ;  turning  to  the  old  man 
he  seemed  to  read  his  soul,  as  if  to  assure  himself  he  was 
not  deceived.  Then  he  bent  his  look  on  the  party  of  Ish- 
mael,  and  counted  its  number. 

"  One  warrior  is  wanting,"  he  said. 

"  Does  my  brother  see  the  buzzards  ?  there  is  his  grave. 
Did  he  find  blood  on  the  prairie  ?  it  was  his." 

"  Enough  !  Mahtoree  is  a  wise  chief.  Put  your  women 
on  the  horses  of  the  Dahcotahs  ;  we  shall  see,  for  our  eyes 
are  open  very  wide." 

The  trapper  wasted  no  unnecessary  words  in  explana 
tion.  Familiar  with  the  brevity  and  promptitude  of  the 
natives,  he  immediately  communicated  the  result  to  his 
companions.  Paul  was  mounted  in  an  instant,  with  Ellen 
at  his  back.  A  few  more  moments  were  necessary  to  as- 
sure Middleton  of  the  security  and  ease  of  Inez.  While 
he  was  thus  engaged,  Mahtoree  advanced  to  the  side  of 
the  beast  he  had  allotted  to  this  service,  which  was  his 
own,  and  manifested  an  intention  to  occupy  his  customary 
'place  on  its  back.  The  young  soldier  seized  the  reins  of 
the  animal,  and  glances  of  sudden  anger  and  lofty  pride 
were  exchanged  between  them. 

"No  man  takes  this  seat  but  myself,"  said  Middleton, 
sternly,  in  English. 

"  Mahtoree  is  a  great  chief  !  "  retorted  the  savage  ; 
neither  conprehending  the  meaning  of  the  other's  words. 

;<  The  Dahcotah  will  be  too  late,"  whispered  the  old  man 
at  his  elbow  ;  "  see !  the  Big-knives  are  afraid,  and  they 
will  soon  run." 

The    Teton  chief    instantly  abandoned   his  claim,  and 


THE  PRAIRIE.  229 

threw  himself  on  another  horse,  directing  one  of  his  young 
men  to  furnish  a  similar  accommodation  for  the  trapper. 
The  warriors  who  were  dismounted  got  up  behind  as  many 
Gf  their  companions.  Dr.  Battius  bestrode  Asinus  ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  brief  interruption,  in  half  the  time  we 
have  taken  to  relate  it  the  whole  party  were  prepared  to 
move. 

When  he  saw  that  all  were  ready,  Mahtoree  gave  the 
signal  to  advance.  A  few  of  the  best  mounted  of  the  war- 
riors, the  chief  himself  included,  moved  a  little  in  front, 
and  made  a  threatening  demonstration,  as  if  they  intended 
to  attack  the  strangers.  The  squatter,  who  was  in  truth 
slowly  retiring,  instantly  halted  his  party,  and  showed  a 
willing  front.  Instead,  however,  of  coming  within  reach 
of  the  dangerous  aim  of  the  Western  rifle,  the  subtle  sav- 
ages kept  wheeling  about  the  strangers  until  they  had  made 
a  half  circuit,  keeping  the  latter  in  constant  expectation 
of  an  assault.  Then,  perfectly  secure  of  their  object,  the 
Tetons  raised  a  loud  shout,  and  darted  across  the  prairie 
in  a  line  for  the  distant  rock,  with  the  directness  and  nearly 
with  the  velocity  of  the  arrow  that  has  just  been  shot  from 
its  bow. 


CHAPTER   XXL 

"Dally  not  with  the  gods,  but  get  thee  gone." — SHAKESPEARE. 

MAHTOREE  had  scarcely  given  the  first  intimation  of  his 
design,  before  a  general  discharge  from  the  borderers 
proved  how  well  they  understood  it.  The  distance  and 
the  rapidity  of  the  flight,  however,  rendered  the  fire  harm- 
less. As  a  proof  how  little  he  regarded  the  hostility  of 
their  party,  the  Dahcotah  chieftain  answered  the  report 
with  a  yell  ;  and,  flourishing  his  carabine  above  his  head, 
he  made  a  circuit  of  the  plain,  followed  by  his  chosen  war- 
riors, in  scorn  of  the  impotent  attempt  of  his  enemies.  As 
the  main  body  continued  the  direct  course,  this  little  band 
of  the  /lite,  in  returning  from  its  wild  exhibition  of  savage 
contempt,  took  its  place  in  the  rear,  with  a  dexterity  and 
a  concert  of  action  that  showed  the  manoeuvre  had  been 
contemplated. 

Volley  swiftly  succeeded  volley,  until  the  enraged  squat- 
ter was  reluctantly  compelled  to  abandon  the  idea  of  in- 


230  THE  PRAIRIE. 

juring  his  enemies  by  means  so  feeble.  Relinquishing 
this  fruitless  attempt,  he  commenced  a  rapid  pursuit,  oc- 
casionally discharging  a  rifle  in  order  to  give  the  alarm  to 
the  garrison,  which  he  had  prudently  left  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  redoubtable  Esther  herself.  In  this  manner 
the  chase  was  continued  for  many  minutes,  the  horsemen 
gradually  gaining  on  their  pursuers,  who  maintained  the 
race,  however,  with  an  incredible  power  of  foot. 

As  the  little  speck  of  blue  rose  against  the  heavens,  like 
an  island  issuing  from  the  deep,  the  savages  occasionally 
raised  a  yell  of  triumph.  But  the  mists  of  evening  were 
already  gathering  along  the  whole  of  the  eastern  margin 
of  the  prairie,  and  before  the  band  had  made  half  of  the 
necessary  distance  the  dim  outline  of  the  rock  had  melted 
into  the  haze  of  the  background.  Indifferent  to  this  cir- 
cumstance, which  rather  favored  than  disconcerted  his 
plans,  Mahtoree,  who  had  again  ridden  in  front,  held  on 
his  course  with  the  accuracy  of  a  hound  of  the  truest 
scent,  merely  slackening  his  speed  a  little,  as  the  horses  of 
his  party  were  by  this  time  thoroughly  blown.  It  was  at 
this  stage  of  the  enterprise  that  the  old  man  rode  up  to 
the  side  of  Middleton  and  addressed  him  as  follows  in 
English  : 

"  Here  is  likely  to  be  a  thieving  business,  and  one  in 
which  I  must  say  I  have  but  little  wish  to  be  a  partner." 

''What  would  you  do?  It  would  be  fatal  to  trust  our- 
selves in  the  hands  of  the  miscreants  in  our  rear." 

"Tut  for  miscreants,  be  they  red  or  be  they  white! 
Look  ahead,  lad,  as  if  ye  were  talking  of  our  medicines, 
or  perhaps  praising  the  Teton  beasts.  For  the  knaves 
love  to  hear  their  horses  commended,  the  same  as  a  fool- 
ish mother  in  the  settlements  is  fond  of  hearing  the  praises 
of  her  wilful  child.  So — pat  the  animal,  and  lay  your 
hand  on  the  gewgaws  with  which  the  redskins  have  orna- 
mented his  mane,  giving  your  eye  as  it  were  to  one  thing, 
and  your  mind  to  another.  Listen  :  if  matters  are  man- 
aged with  judgment  we  may  leave  these  Tetons  as  the 
night  sets  in." 

"A  blessed  thought!"  exclaimed  Middleton,  who  re- 
tained a  painful  remembrance  of  the  look  of  admiration 
with  which  Mahtoree  had  contemplated  the  loveliness  of 
Inez,  as  well  as  of  his  subsequent  presumption  in  daring 
to  wish  to  take  the  office  of  her  protector  on  himself. 

"Lord,  Lord!  what  a  weak  creatur'  is  man,  when  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  231 

gifts  of  Natur'  are  smothered  in  bookish  knowledge  and 
womanly  manners  !  Such  another  start  would  tell  these 
imps  at  our  elbows  that  we  were  plotting  against  them, 
just  as  plainly  as  if  it  were  whispered  in  their  ears  by  a 
Sioux  tongue.  Ay,  ay,  I  know  the  devils  ;  they  look  as 
innocent  as  so  many  frisky  fawns,  but  there  is  not  one 
among  them  all  that  has  not  an  eye  on  our  smallest  mo~ 
tions.  Therefore,  what  is  to  be  done  is  to  be  done  in  wis- 
dom, in  order  to  circumvent  their  cunning.  That  is  right ; 
pat  his  neck  and  smile,  as  if  you  praised  the  horse,  and 
keep  the  ear  on  my  side  open  to  my  words.  Be  careful 
not  to  worry  your  beast,  for,  though  but  little  skilled  in 
horses,  reason  teaches  that  breath  is  needful  in  a  hard 
push,  and  that  a  weary  leg  makes  a  dull  race.  Be  ready  to 
mind  the  signal,  when  you  hear  a  whine  from  old  Hector. 
The  first  will  be  to  make  ready  ;  the  second,  to  edge  out 
of  the  crowd  ;  and  the  third,  to  go — am  I  understood  ? " 

"Perfectly,  perfectly,"  said  Middleton,  trembling  in  his 
excessive  eagerness  to  put  the  plan  in  instant  execution, 
and  pressing  the  little  arm,  which  encircled  his  body,  to 
his  heart.  "  Perfectly.  Hasten,  hasten  ! " 

"Ay,  the  beast  is  no  sloth,"  continued  the  trapper  in  the 
Teton  language,  as  if  he  continued  the  discourse,  edging 
cautiously  through  the  dusky  throng  at  the  same  time,  un- 
til he.  found  himself  riding  at  the  side  of  Paul.  He  com- 
municated his  intentions  in  the  same  guarded  manner  as 
before.  The  high-spirited  and  fearless  bee-hunter  received 
the  intelligence  with  delight,  declaring  his  readiness  to  en- 
gage the  whole  of  the  savage  band,  should  it  become  neces- 
sary to  effect  their  object.  When  the  old  man  drew  off 
from  the  side  of  this  pair  also,  he  cast  his  eyes  about  him 
to  discover  the  situation  occupied  by  the  naturalist. 

The  doctor,  with  infinite  labor  to  himself  and  Asinus, 
had  maintained  a  position  in  the  very  centre  of  the  Sioux, 
so  long  as  there  existed  the  smallest  reason  for  believing 
that  any  one  of  the  missiles  of  Ishmael  might  arrive  in 
contact  with  his  person.  After  this  danger  had  diminished, 
or  rather  disappeared  entirely,  his  own  courage  revived, 
while  that  of  his  steed  began  to  droop.  To  this  mutual 
but  very  material  change  was  owing  the  fact  that  the  rider 
and  the  ass  were  now  to  be  sought  among  that  portion 
of  the  band  who  formed  a  sort  of  rear-guard.  Hither 
then,  the  trapper  contrived  to  turn  his  steed,  without  ex* 
citing  the  suspicions  of  any  of  his  subtle  companions. 


f32  THE  PRAIRIE. 

*  Friend,"  commenced  the  old  man,  when  he  found  him- 
self  in  a  situation  favorable  to  discourse,  "  should  you  like 
to  pass  a  dozen  years  among  the  savages  with  a  shaved 
head,  and  a  painted  countenance,  with,  perhaps,  a  couple 
of  wives  and  five  or  six  children  of  the  half-breed  to  call 
you  father  ? " 

"  Impossible  !  "  exclaimed  the  startled  naturalist.  "  I  am 
indisposed  to  matrimony  in  general,  and  more  especially 
to  all  admixture  of  the  varieties  of  species,  which  only  tend 
to  tarnish  the  beauty  and  to  interrupt  the  harmony  of 
Nature.  Moreover,  it  is  a  painful  innovation  on  the  order 
of  all  nomenclatures." 

"Ay,  ay,  you  have  reason  enough  for  your  distaste  to 
such  a  life  ;  but  should  these  Siouxes  get  you  fairly  into 
their  village,  such  would  be  your  luck,  as  certain  as  that 
the  sun  rises  and  sets  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord." 

"  Marry  me  to  a  woman  who  is  not  adorned  with  the 
comeliness  of  the  species  !  "  responded  the  doctor.  "  Of 
what  crime  have  I  been  guilty,  that  so  grievous  a  punish- 
ment should  await  the  offence  ?  To  marry  a  man  against 
the  movements  of  his  will,  is  to  do  a  violence  to  human 
nature." 

"  Now  that  you  speak  of  natur',  I  have  hopes  that  the 
gift  of  reason  has  not  altogether  deserted  your  brain,"  re- 
turned the  old  man,  with  a  covert  expression  playing  about 
the  angles  of  his  deep-set  eyes,  which  betrayed  he  was  not 
entirely  destitute  of  humor.  "Nay,  they  may  conceive 
you  a  remarkable  subject  for  their  kindness,  and  for  that 
matter  marry  you  to  five  or  six.  I  have  known  in  my  days, 
favored  chiefs  who  had  numberless  wives." 

"But  why  should  they  meditate  this  vengeance  ?"  de- 
manded the  doctor,  whose  hair  began  to  rise,  as  if  each 
fibre  was  possessed  of  sensibility ;  "  what  evil  have  I  done  ?" 

"  It  is  the  fashion  of  their  kindness.  When  they  come 
to  learn  that  you  are  a  great  medicine,  they  will  adopt  you 
into  the  tribe,  and  some  mighty  chief  will  give  you  his 
name,  and  perhaps  his  daughter,  or  it  may  be  a  wife  or  two 
of  his  own,  who  have  dwelt  long  in  his  lodge,  and  of  whose 
value  he  is  a  judge  by  experience." 

"  The  Governor  and  Founder  of  natural  harmony  pro- 
tect me  ! "  ejaculated  the  doctor.  "  I  have  no  affinity  to  a 
single  consort,  much  less  to  duplicates  and  triplicates  of 
the  class!  I  shall  certainly  essay  a  flight  from  their  abodes 
before  I  mingle  in  so  violent  a  conjunction." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  233 

"  There  is  reason  in  your  words  ;  but  why  not  attempt 
the  race  you  speak  of  now  ? " 

The  naturalist  looked  fearfully  around,  as  if  he  had  an 
inclination  to  make  an  instant  exhibition  of  his  desperate 
intention  ;  but  the  dusky  figures  who  were  riding  on  every 
side  of  him  seemed  suddenly  tripled  in  number,  and  the 
darkness  that  was  already  thickening  on  the  prairie  ap« 
peared  in  his  eyes  to  possess  the  glare  of  high  noon. 

"  It  would  be  premature,  and  reason  forbids  it,"  he  an- 
swered. "  Leave  me,  venerable  venator,  to  the  counsel  of 
my  own  thoughts  ;  and,  when  my  plans  are  properly 
classed,  I  will  advise  you  of  my  resolutions." 

"  Resolutions  !  "  repeated  the  old  man,  shaking  his  head 
a  little  contemptuously,  as  he  gave  the  rein  to  his  horse, 
and  allowed  him  to  mingle  with  the  steeds  of  the  savages. 
"  Resolution  is  a  word  that  is  talked  of  in  the  settlements, 
and  felt  on  the  borders.  Does  my  brother  know  the  beast 
on  which  the  pale-face  rides  ?"  he  continued,  addressing  a 
gloomy-looking  warrior  in  his  own  tongue,  and  making  a 
motion  with  his  arm  that  at  the  same  time  directed  his  at- 
tention to  the  naturalist  and  the  meek  Asinus. 

The  Teton  turned  his  eyes  for  a  minute  on  the  animal, 
but  disdained  to  manifest  the  smallest  portion  of  that  won- 
der he  had  felt  in  common  with  all  his  companions,  on 
first  viewing  so  rare  a  quadruped.  The  trapper  was  not 
ignorant  that,  while  asses  and  mules  were  beginning  to  be 
known  to  those  tribes  who  dwelt  nearest  the  Mexicos, 
they  were  not  usually  encountered  so  far  north  as  the 
waters  of  the  La  Platte.  He  therefore  managed  to  read 
the  mute  astonishment  that  lay  so  deeply  concealed  in  the 
tawny  visage  of  the  savage,  and  took  his  measures  accord- 
ingly. 

"  Does  my  brother  think  that  the  rider  is  a  warrior  of  the 
pale-faces  ?"  he  demanded,  when  he  believed  that  sufficient 
time  had  elapsed  for  a  full  examination  of  the  pacific  mien 
V)f  the  naturalist. 

The  flash  of  scorn  which  shot  across  the  features  of  the 
Teton  was  visible  even  by  the  dim  light  of  the  stars. 

"  Is  a  Dahcotah  a  fool  ?"  was  the  answer. 

"  They  are  a  wise  nation,  whose  eyes  are  never  shut  ; 
much  do  I  wonder  that  they  have  not  seen  the  great 
medicine  of  the  Big-knives  !  " 

"  Wagh  !  "  exclaimed  his  companion,  suffering  the  whole 
of  his  amazement  to  burst  out  of  his  dark,  rigid  counte- 


234  THE  PRAIRIE. 

nance  at  the  surprise,  like  a  flash  of  lightning  illuminating 
the  gloom  of  midnight. 

"  The  Dahcotah  knows  that  my  tongue  is  net  forked. 
Let  him  open  his  eyes  wider.  Does  he  not  see  a  very 
great  medicine  ? " 

The  light  was  not  necessary  to  recall  to  the  savage  each 
feature  in  the  really  remarkable  costume  and  equipage  of 
Dr.  Battius.  In  common  with  the  rest  of  the  band,  and 
in  conformity  with  the  universal  practice  of  the  Indians, 
this  warrior,  while  he  had  suffered  no  gaze  of  idle  curiosity 
to  disgrace  his  manhood,  had  not  permitted  a  single  dis- 
tinctive mark  which  might  characterize  any  one  of  the 
strangers  to  escape  his  vigilance.  He  knew  the  air,  the 
stature,  the  dress,  and  the  features,  even  to  the  color  of 
the  eyes  and  of  the  hair,  of  every  one  of  the  Big-knives 
whom  he  had  thus  strangely  encountered,  and  deeply  had 
he  ruminated  on  the  causes  which  could  have  led  a  party 
so  singularly  constituted  into  the  haunts  of  the  rude  in- 
habitants of  his  native  wastes.  He  had  already  considered 
the  several*  physical  powers  of  the  whole  party,  and  had 
duly  compared  their  abilities  with  what  he  supposed  might 
have  been  their  intentions.  Warriors  they  were  not,  for 
the  Big-knives,  like  the  Sioux,  left  their  women  in  their 
villages  when  they  went  out  on  the  bloody  path.  The 
same  objections  applied  to  them  as  hunters,  and  even  as 
traders,  the  two  characters  under  which  the  white  man 
commonly  appeared  in  their  villages.  He  had  heard  of  a 
great  council  at  which  the  Menahashah,  or  Long-knives, 
and  the  Washsheomantiqua,  or  Spaniards,  had  smoked  to- 
gether, when  the  latter  had  sold  to  the  former  their  incom- 
prehensible rights  over  those  vast  regions  through  which 
his  nation  had  roamed  in  freedom  for  so  many  ages.  His 
simple  mind  had  not  been  able  to  embrace  the  reasons 
why  one  people  should  thus  assume  a  superiority  over  the 
possessions  of  another  ;  and  it  will  readily  be  perceived 
that,  at  the  hint  just  received  from  the  trapper,  he  was  not 
indisposed  to  fancy  that  some  of  the  hidden  subtlety  of 
that  magical  influence  of  which  he  was  so  firm  a  believer, 
was  about  to  be  practised  by  the  unsuspecting  subject  of 
their  conversation,  in  furtherance  of  these  mysterious 
claims.  Abandoning,  therefore,  all  the  reserve  and  dignity 
of  his  manner  under  the  conscious  helplessness  of  ignor« 
ance,  he  turned  to  the  old  man,  and,  stretching  forth  his 
arms,  as  if  to  denote  how  much  he  lay  at  his  mercy,  he  said  ?• 


THE  PRAIRIE.  235 

"Let  my  father  look  at  me.  I  am  a  wild  man  of  the 
prairies  ;  my  body  is  naked  ;  my  hands  empty  ;  my  skin 
red.  I  have  struck  the  Pawnees,  the  Konzas,  the  Omahaws, 
the  Osages,  and  even  the  Long-knives.  I  am  a  man  amid 
warriors,  but  a  woman  among  the  conjurers.  Let  my  father 
speak  :  the  ears  of  the  Teton  are  open.  He  listens  like  a 
deer  to  the  step  of  the  cougar." 

"  Such  are  the  wise  and  uns'archable  ways  of  One  who 
alone  knows  good  from  evil  !  "  exclaimed  the  trapper,  in 
English  ;  "  to  some  he  grants  cunning,  and  on  others  he 
bestows  the  gift  of  manhood  !  It  is  humbling  and  it  is 
afflicting  to  see  so  noble  a  creatur'  as  this,  who  has  fou't 
in  many  a  bloody  fray,  truckling  before  his  superstition 
like  a  beggar  asking  for  the  bones  you  would  throw  to  the 
dogs.  The  Lord  will  forgive  me  for  playing  with  the  ig- 
norance of  the  savage,  for  he  knows  I  do  it  in  no  mockery 
of  his  state,  or  in  idle  vaunting  of  my  own  ;  but  in  order 
to  save  mortal  life,  and  to  give  justice  to  the  wronged, 
while  I  defeat  the  deviltries  of  the  wicked  ! — Teton,"  speak- 
ing again  in  the  language  of  the  listener,  "  I  ask  you,  is 
not  that  a  wonderful  medicine  ?  If  the  Dahcotahs  are  wise, 
they  will  not  breathe  the  air  he  breathes,  nor  touch  his 
robes.  They  know  that  the  Wahconshecheh  (bad  spirit) 
loves  his  own  children,  and  will  not  turn  his  back  on  him 
that  does  them  harm." 

The  old  man  delivered  this  opinion  in  an  ominous  and 
sententious  manner,  and  then  rode  apart  as  if  he  had  said 
enough.  The  result  justified  his  expectations.  The  war- 
rior to  whom  he  had  addressed  himself  was  not  slow  to 
communicate  his  important  knowledge  to  the  rest  of  the 
rear-guard,  and  in  a  very  few  moments  the  naturalist  was 
the  object  of  general  observation  and  reverence.  The 
trapper,  who  understood  that  the  natives  often  worshipped, 
with  a  view  to  propitiate,  the  evil  spirit,  awaited  the  work" 
ings  of  his  artifice  with  the  coolness  of  one  who  had  not 
the  smallest  interest  in  its  effects.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  saw  one  dark  figure  after  another  lashing  his  horse, 
and  galloping  ahead  into  the  centre  of  the  band,  until 
Weucha  alone  remained  nigh  the  persons  of  himself  and 
Obed.  The  very  dulness  of  this  gro veiling-minded  savage, 
who  continued  gazing  at  the  supposed  conjurer  with  a  sort 
of  stupid  admiration,  opposed  now  the  only  obstacle  to  the 
complete  success  of  his  artifice. 

Thoroughly  understanding  the  character  of  this  Indian, 


236  THE  PRAIRIE. 

the  old  man  lost  no  time  in  getting  rid  of  him  also.'  Riding 
to  his  side  he  said,  in  an  affected  whisper  : 

"  Has  Weucha  drunk  of  the  milk  of  the  Big-knives  to 
day  ? " 

**  Hugh  !  "  exclaimed  the  savage,  every  dull  thought  in- 
stantly recalled  from  heaven  to  earth  by  the  question. 

"  Because  the  great  captain  of  my  people,  who  rides 
in  front,  has  a  cow  that  is  never  empty.  I  know  it  will 
not  be  long  before  he  will  say,  '  Are  any  of  my  red  brethren 
dry  ? ' ' 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered,  before  Weucha,  in  his 
turn,  quickened  the  gait  of  his  beast,  and  was  soon  blended 
with  the  rest  of  the  dark  group,  who  were  riding  at  a  more 
moderate  pace,  a  few  rods  in  advance.  The  trapper,  who 
knew  how  fickle  and  sudden  were  the  changes  of  a  savage 
mind,  did  not  lose  a  moment  in  profiting  by  this  advantage. 
He  loosened  the  reins  of  his  own  impatient  steed,  and  in 
an  instant  he  was  again  at  the  side  of  Obed. 

"  Do  you  see  the  twinkling  star,  that  is,  maybe,  the 
length  of  four  rifles  above  the  prairie — hereaway  to  the 
north,  I  mean  ?" 

"  Ay,  it  is  of  the  constellation " 

"A  tut  for  your  constellations,  man!  do  you  see  the 
star  I  mean  !  Tell  me  in  the  English  of  the  land,  yes  or 
no." 

"Yes." 

"The  minute  my  back  is  turned,  pull  upon  the  rein  of 
your  ass,  until  you  lose  sight  of  the  savages.  Then  take 
the  Lord  for  your  dependence,  and  yonder  star  for  your 
guide.  Turn  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  but 
make  diligent  use  of  your  time,  for  your  beast  is  not  quick 
of  foot,  and  every  inch  of  prairie  you  gain  is  a  day  added 
to  your  liberty,  or  to  your  life." 

Without  waiting  to  listen  to  the  queries  which  the  nat- 
uralist was  about  to  put,  the  old  man  again  loosened  the 
reins  of  his  horse,  and  presently  he  too  was  blended  with 
the  group  in  front. 

Obed  was  now  alone.  Asinus  willingly  obeyed  the  hint 
which  his  master  soon  gave,  rather  in  desperation  than 
with  any  very  collected  understanding  of  the  orders  he 
had  received,  and  checked  his  pace  accordingly.  As  the 
Tetons,  however,  rode  at  a  hand-gallop,  but  a  moment  of 
time  was  necessary,  after  the  ass  began  to  walk,  to  removo 
them  effectually  from  before  the  vision  of  his  rider.  With 


THE  PRAIRIE.  337 

out  plan,  expectation,  or  hope  of  any  sort,  except  that  of 
escaping  from  his  dangerous  neighbors,  the  doctor,  first 
feeling  to  assure  himself  that  the  package  which  contained 
the  miserable  remnants  of  his  specimens  and  notes  was 
safe  at  his  crupper,  turned  the  head  of  the  beast  in  the  re- 
quired direction,  and,  kicking  him  with  a  species  of  fury, 
he  soon  succeeded  in  exciting  the  speed  of  the  patient 
animal  into  a  smart  run.  He  had  barely  time  to  descend 
into  a  hollow  and  ascend  the  adjoining  swell  of  the  prairie 
before  he  heard,  or  fancied  he  heard,  his  name  shouted  in 
good  English  from  the  throats  of  twenty  Tetons.  The  de- 
lusion gave  a  new  impulse  to  his  ardor,  and  no  professor 
of  the  saltant  art  ever  applied  himself  with  greater  indus- 
try than  the  naturalist  now  used  his  heels  on  the  ribs  of 
Asinus.  The  conflict  endured  for  several  minutes  without 
interruption,  and  to  all  appearances  it  might  have  con- 
tinued to  the  present  moment  had  not  the  meek  temper  of 
the  beast  become  unduly  excited.  Borrowing  an  idea  from 
the  manner  in  which  his  master  exhibited  his  agitation, 
Asinus  so  far  changed  the  application  of  his  own  heels  as 
to  raise  them  simultaneously  with  a  certain  indignant  flour- 
ish into  the  air,  a  measure  that  instantly  decided  the  con- 
troversy in  his  favor.  Obed  took  leave  of  his  seat  as  of  a 
position  no  longer  tenable,  continuing,  however,  the  direc- 
tion of  his  flight ;  while  the  ass,  like  a  conqueror,  took 
possession  of  the  field  of  battle,  beginning  to  crop  the  dry 
herbage  as  the  fruits  of  victory. 

When  Dr.  Battius  had  recovered  his  feet  and  rallied  his 
faculties,  which  were  in  a  good  deal  of  disorder  from  the 
hurried  manner  in  which  he  had  abandoned  his  former 
situation,  he  returned  in  quest  of  his  specimens  and  of  his 
ass.  Asinus  displayed  enough  of  magnanimity  to  render 
the  interview  amicable,  and  thenceforth  the  naturalist  con- 
tinued the  required  route  with  very  commendable  industry, 
but  with  a  much  more  tempered  discretion. 

In  the  meantime  the  old  trapper  had  not  lost  sight  of 
the  important  movements  that  he  had  undertaken  to  con- 
trol. Obed  had  not  been  mistaken  in  supposing  that  he 
was  already  missed  and  sought,  though  his  imagination 
had  corrupted  certain  savage  cries  into  the  well-known 
sounds  that  composed  his  own  Latinized  name.  The  truth 
was  simply  this  :  The  warriors  of  the  rear-guard  had  not 
failed  to  apprise  those  in  front  of  the  mysterious  character 
with  which  it  had  pleased  the  trapper  to  invest  the  unsus- 


238  THE  PRAIRIE. 

pecting  naturalist.  The  same  untutored  admiration  which 
on  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence  had  driven  those  in  the 
rear  to  the  front,  now  drove  many  of  the  front  to  the  rear. 
The  doctor  was  of  course  absent,  and  the  outcry  was  no 
more  than  the  wild  yells  which  were  raised  in  the  first 
burst  of  savage  disappointment. 

But  the  authority  of  Mahtoree  was  prompt  to  aid  the  in- 
genuity of  the  trapper  in  suppressing  these  dangerous 
sounds.  When  order  was  restored  and  the  former  was 
made  acquainted  with  the  reason  why  his  young  men  had 
betrayed  so  strong  a  mark  of  indiscretion,  the  old  man, 
who  had  taken  a  post  at  his  elbow,  saw  with  alarm  the 
gleam  of  keen  distrust  that  flashed  in  his  swarthy 
visage. 

"Where  is  your  conjurer?"  demanded  the  chief,  turn- 
ing suddenly  to  the  trapper,  as  if  he  meant  to  make  him 
responsible  for  the  reappearance  of  Obed. 

"  Can  I  tell  my  brother  the  number  of  the  stars  ?  The 
ways  of  the  great  medicine  are  not  like  the  ways  of  other 
men." 

"  Listen  to  me,  gray-head,  and  count  my  words,"  con- 
tinued the  other,  bending  on  his  rude  saddle-bow  like 
some  chevalier  of  a  more  civilized  race,  and  speaking  in 
the  haughty  tones  of  absolute  power;  "the  Dahcotaha 
have  not  chosen  a  woman  for  their  chief.  When  Mahto- 
ree feels  the  power  of  a  great  medicine,  he  will  tremble  , 
until  then  he  will  look  with  his  own  eyes,  without  borrow- 
ing sight  from  a  pale-face.  If  your  conjurer  is  not  with 
his  friends  in  the  morning,  my  young  men  shall  look  for 
him.  Your  ears  are  open.  Enough." 

The  trapper  was  not  sorry  to  find  that  so  long  a  respite 
was  granted.  He  had  before  found  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Teton  partisan  was  one  of  those  bold  spirits  who  over- 
step the  limits  which  use  and  education  fix  to  the  opinions 
of  man  in  every  state  of  society,  and  he  now  saw  plainly 
that  he  must  adopt  some  artifice  to  deceive  him,  different 
from  that  which  had  succeeded  so  -well  with  his  followers. 
The  sudden  appearance  of  the  rock,  however,  which  hove 
up,  a  bleak  and  ragged  mass,  out  of  the  darkness  ahead, 
put  an  .end  for  the  present  to  the  discourse,  Mahtoree 
giving  all  his  thoughts  to  the  execution  of  his  designs  on 
the  rest  of  the  squatter's  movables.  A  murmur  ran  through 
the  band,  as  each  dark  warrior  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  de- 
sired haven,  after  which  the  nicest  ear  mighi  have  listened 


THE  PRAIRIE.  239 

in  vain  to  catch  a  sound  louder  than  the  rustling  of  feet 
among  the  tall  grass  of  the  prairie. 

But  the  vigilance  of  Esther  was  not  easily  deceived. 
She  had  long  listened  anxiously  to  the  suspicious  sounds 
which  approached  the  rock  across  the  naked  waste,  nor 
had  the  sudden  outcry  been  unheard  by  the  unwearied  sen- 
tinels of  the  rock.  The  savages,  who  had  dismounted  at 
some  little  distance,  had  not  time  to  draw  around  the  base 
of  the  hill  in  their  customary  silent  and  insiduous  man- 
ner, before  the  voice  of  the  Amazon  was  raised,  demand- 
ing : 

"  Who  is  beneath  ?  Answer  for  your  lives  !  Siouxesor 
devils,  I  fear  ye  not !  " 

No  answer  was  given  to  this  challenge,  every  warrior 
halting  where  he  stood,  confident  that  his  dusky  form  was 
blended  with  the  shadows  of  the  plain.  It  was  at  this 
moment  that  the  trapper  determined  to  escape.  He  had 
been  left,  with  the  rest  of  his  friends,  under  the  surveillance 
of  those  who  were  assigned  to  the  duty  of  watching  the 
horses,  and,  as  they  all  continued  mounted,  the  moment 
appeared  favorable  for  his  project.  The  attention  of  the 
guards  was  drawn  to  the  rock,  and  a  heavy  cloud,  driving 
above  them  at  that  instant,  obscured  even  the  feeble  light 
which  fell  from  the  stars.  Leaning  on  the  neck  of  his 
horse,  the  old  man  muttered  : 

"Where  is  my  pup  ?  Where  is  it — Hector — where  is  it, 
dog  ? " 

The  hound  caught  the  well-known  sounds,  and  answered 
by  a  whine  of  friendship,  which  threatened  to  break  into 
one  of  his  piercing  howls.  The  trapper  was  in  the  act  of 
raising  himself  from  this  successful  exploit,  when  he  felt  the 
hand  of  Weucha  grasping  his  throat,  as  if  determined  to 
suppress  his  voice  by  the  very  unequivocal  process  of  strang- 
ulation. Profiting  by  the  circumstance,  he  raised  another 
low  sound,  as  in  the  natural  effort  of  breathing,  which 
drew  a  second  responsive  cry  from  the  faithful  hound. 
Weucha  instantly  abandoned  his  hold  of  the  master  in 
order  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  dog.  But  the  voice 
of  Esther  was  again  heard,  and  every  other  design  was 
abandoned  in  order  to  listen. 

"  Ay,  whine  and  deform  your  throats  as  you  may,  ye 
imps  of  darkness,"  she  said,  with  a  cracked  but  scornful 
laugh  ;  "  I  know  ye  ;  tarry,  and  ye  shall  have  light  for 
your  misdeeds.  Put  in  the  coal,  Phcebe  ;  put  in  the  coal: 


24o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

your  father  and  the  boys  shall  see  that  they  are  wanted  at 
home,  to  welcome  their  guests." 

As  she  spoke,  a  strong  light,  that  of  a  brilliant  star,  was 
•  een  on  the  very  pinnacle  of  the  rock  ;  then  followed  a 
forked  flame,  which  curled  for  a  moment  amid  the  wind- 
ings  of  an  enormous  pile  of  brush,  and  flashing  upward  in 
a  united  sheet,  it  wavered  to  and  fro  in  the  passing  air,  shed- 
ding a  bright  glare  on  every  object  within  its  influence. 
A  taunting  laugh  was  heard  from  the  height,  in  which  the 
voices  of  all  ages  mingled,  as  though  they  triumphed  at 
having  so  successfully  exposed  the  treacherous  intentions 
of  the  Tetons. 

The  trapper  looked  about  him  to  ascertain  in  what  situ- 
ations he  might  find  his  friends.  True  to  the  signals, 
Middleton  and  Paul  had  drawn  a  little  apart,  and  now 
stood  ready,  by  every  appearance,  to  commence  their 
flight  at  the  third  repetition  of  the  cry.  Hector  had  es- 
caped his  savage  pursuer,  and  was  again  crouching  at  the 
heels  of  his  master's  horse.  But  the  broad  circle  of  light 
was  gradually  increasing  in  extent  and  power,  and  the  old 
man,  whose  eye  and  judgment  so  rarely  failed  him,  pa- 
tiently awaited  a  more  propitious  moment  for  his  enter* 
prise. 

"  Now,  Ishmael,  my  man,  if  sight  and  hand  ar'  true  as 
ever,  now  is  the  time  to  work  upon  these  red-skins,  who 
claim  to  own  all  your  property,  even  to  your  wife  and 
children.  Now,  my  good  man,  prove  both  breed  and 
character  !  " 

A  distant  shout  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  ap- 
proaching party  of  the  squatter,  assuring  the  female  gar- 
rison that  succor  was  not  far  distant.  Esther  answered  to 
the  grateful  sounds  by  a  cracked  cry  of  her  own,  lifting 
her  form,  in  the  first  burst  of  exultation,  above  the  rock 
in  a  manner  to  be  visible  to  all  below.  Not  content  with 
this  dangerous  exposure  of  her  person,  she  was  in  the  act 
of  tossing  her  arms  in  triumph,  when  the  dark  figure  of 
Mahtoree  shot  into  the  light  and  pinioned  them  to  her 
side.  The  forms  of  three  other  warriors  glided  across  the 
top  of  the  rock,  looking  like  naked  demons  flitting  among 
the  clouds.  The  air  was  filled  with  the  brands  of  the  bea- 
con, and  a  heavy  darkness  succeeded,  not  unlike  that  of 
the  appalling  instant  when  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  are  ex- 
cluded by  the  intervening  mass  of  the  moon.  A  yell  of 
triumph  burst  from  the  savages  in  their  turn,  and  wap 


THE  PRAIRJE.  241 

rather  accompanied  than  followed  by  a  loud,  long  whine 
from  Hector. 

in  an  instant  the  old  man  was  between  the  horses  of 
Middleton  and  Paul,  extending  a  hand  to  the  bridle  of 
each,  in  order  to  check  the  impatience  of  their  riders. 

"Softly,  softly,"  he  whispered,  "their  eyes  are  as  mar* 
vellously  shut  for  the  minute  as  if  the  Lord  had  stricken 
them  blind  ;  but  their  ears  are  open.  Softly,  softly  ;  for 
fifty  yards,  at  least,  we  must  move  no  faster  than  a  walk." 

The  five  minutes  of  doubt  that  succeeded  appeared  like 
an  age  to  all  but  the  trapper.  As  their  sight  was  grad- 
ually restored,  it  seemed  to  each  that  the  momentary 
gloom  which  followed  the  extinction  of  the  beacon  was  to 
be  replaced  by  as  broad  a  light  as  that  of  noonday.  Grad- 
ually the  old  man,  however,  suffered  the  animals  to  quicken 
their  steps,  until  they  had  gained  the  centre  of  one  of  the 
prairie  bottoms.  Then,  laughing  in  his  quiet  manner,  he 
released  the  reins,  and  said  : 

"  Now  let  them  give  play  to  their  legs  ;  but  keep  on 
the  old  fog  to  deaden  the  sounds." 

It  is  needless  to  say  how  cheerfully  he  was  obeyed.  In 
a  few  more  minutes  they  ascended  and  crossed  a  swell  of 
the  land,  after  which  the  flight  was  continued  at  the  top 
of  their  horses'  speed,  keeping  the  indicated  star  in  view, 
as  the  laboring  bark  steers  for  the  light  which  points  the 
way  to  a  haven  and  security. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"The  clouds  and  sunbeams  o'er  his  eye, 

That  once  their  shades  and  glories  threw, 
Have  left,  in  yonder  silent  sky, 
No  vestige  where  they  flew." — MONTGOMERY. 

A  STILLNESS,  as  deep  as  that  which  marked  the  gloomy 
wastes  in  their  front,  was  observed  by  the  fugitives  to  dis- 
tinguish the  spot  they  had  just  abandoned.  Even  the 
trapper  lent  his  practised  faculties,  in  vain,  to  detect  any 
of  the  well-known  signs  which  might  establish  the  im- 
portant fact  that  hostilities  had  actually  commenced  be- 
tween the  parties  of  Mahtoree  and  Ishmael  ;  but  their 
horses  carried  them  out  of  the  reach  of  sounds,  without 
16 


242  THE  PRAIRIE. 

the  occurrence  of  the  smallest  evidence  of  the  sort.  The 
old  man,  from  time  to  time,  muttered  his  discontent,  but 
manifested  the  uneasiness  he  actually  entertained  in  no 
other  manner,  unless  it  might  be  in  exhibiting  a  growing 
anxiety  to  urge  the  animals  to  increase  their  speed.  He 
pointed  out,  in  passing,  the  deserted  swale  where  the 
family  of  the  squatter  had  encamped,  the  night  they  were 
introduced  to  the  reader,  and  afterward  he  maintained  an 
ominous  silence — ominous  because  his  companions  had 
already  seen  enough  of  his  character  to  be  convinced  that 
the  circumstances  must  be  critical  indeed  which  possessed 
the  power  to  disturb  the  well-regulated  tranquillity  of  the 
old  man's  mind. 

"  Have  we  not  done  enough  ? "  Middleton  demanded,  in 
tenderness  to  the  inability  of  Inez  and  Ellen  to  endure  too 
much  fatigue,  at  the  end  of  some  hours  ;  "  we  have  ridden 
hard,  and  have  crossed  a  wide  tract  of  plain.  It  is  time  to 
seek  a  place  of  rest." 

"  You  must  seek  it,  then,  in  Heaven,  if  you  find  your- 
selves unequal  to  a  longer  march,"  murmured  the  old 
trapper.  "  Had  the  Tetons  and  the  squatter  come  to 
blows,  as  any  one  might  see  in  the  natur'  of  things  they 
were  bound  to  do,  there  would  be  time  to  look  about  us, 
and  to  calculate  not  only  the  chances  but  the  comforts  oi 
the  journey  ;  but,  as  the  case  actually  is,  I  should  consider 
it  certain  death,  or  endless  captivity,  to  trust  our  eyes  with 
sleep  until  our  heads  are  fairly  hid  in  some  uncommon 
cover." 

"  I  know  not,"  returned  the  youth,  who  reflected  more 
on  the  sufferings  of  the  fragile  being  he  supported,  than 
on  the  experience  of  his  companion — "I  know  not;  we 
have  ridden  leagues,  and  I  can  see  no  extraordinary  signs 
of  danger  ;  if  you  fear  for  yourself,  my  good  friend,  be- 
lieve me  you  are  wrong,  for — 

"  Your  gran'ther,  were  he  living  and  here,"  interrupted 
the  old  man,  stretching  forth  a  hand,  and  laying  a  finger 
impressively  on  the  arm  of  Middleton,  "would  have  spared 
those  words.  He  had  some  reason  to  think  that,  in  the 
prime  of  my  day,  when  my  eye  was  quicker  than  the 
hawk's,  and  my  limbs  were  as  active  as  the  legs  of  the  fal- 
low-deer, I  never  clung  too  eagerly  and  fondly  to  life  ;  then 
why  should  I  now  feel  such  a  childish  affection  for  a  thing 
that  I  know  to  be  vain,  and  the  companion  of  pain  and 
sorrow  ?  Let  the  Tetons  do  their  worst  ;  they  will  nof 


THE  PR  A  TRIE.  243 

find  a  miserable  and  worn-out  trapper  the  loudest  in  his 
complaints  or  his  prayers." 

"  Pardon  me,  my  worthy,  my  inestimable  friend,"  ex- 
claimed the  repentant  young  man,  warmly  grasping  the 
hand  which  the  other  was  in  the  act  of  withdrawing  ;  "  I 
knew  not  what  I  said— or  rather  I  thought  only  of  those 
whose  tenderness  we  are  most  bound  to  consider." 

"  Enough.  It's  natur',  and  it  is  right.  Therein  your 
gran'ther  would  have  done  the  very  same.  Ah's  me  !  what 
a  number  of  seasons,  hot  and  cold,  wet  and  dry,  have  rolled 
over  my  poor  head,  since  the  time  we  worried  it  out  to- 
gether, among  the  red  Hurons  of  the  lakes,  back  in  those 
rugged  mountains  of  Old  York  !  and  many  a  noble  buck 
has  since  that  day  fallen  by  my  hand  ;  ay,  and  many  a 
thieving  Mingo,  too  !  Tell  me,  lad,  did  the  general,  for 
general  I  know  he  got  to  be,  did  he  ever  tell  you  of  the 
deer  we  took  that  night  the  outliers  of  the  accursed  tribe 
drove  us  to  the  caves  on  the  island,  and  how  we  feasted 
and  drunk  in  security  ?" 

"I  have  often  heard  him  mention  the  smallest  circum- 
stance of  the  night  you  mean  ;  but " 

"  And  the  singer,  and  his  open  throat,  and  his  shoutings 
in  the  fights  !"  continued  the  old  man,  laughing  joyously 
at  the  strength  of  his  own  recollections. 

"All — all — he  forgot  nothing,  even  to  the  most  trifling 
incident.  Do  you  not " 

"What!  did  he  tell  you  of  the  imp  behind  the  log — and 
of  the  miserable  devil  who  went  over  the  fall — or  of  the 
wretch  in  the  tree  ?  " 

u  Of  each  and  all,  with  everything  that  concerned  them.* 
I  should  think " 

"Ay,"  continued  the  old  man,  in  a  voice  which  betrayed 
how  powerfully  his  own  faculties  retained  the  impression 
of  the  spectacle,  "  I  have  been  a  dweller  in  forests  and  in 
the  wilderness  for  threescore  and  ten  years,  and  if  any  can 
pretend  to  know  the  world,  or  to  have  seen  scary  sights,  it 
is  myself  !  But  never,  before  nor  since,  have  I  seen  hu- 
man man  in  such  a  state  of  mortal  despair  as  that  very 
savage  ;  and  yet  he  scorned  to  speak,  or  to  cry  out,  or  to 
own  his  forlorn  condition  !  It  is  their  gift,  and  nobly  did 
he  maintain  it !  " 


*  They  who  have  read  the  preceding  books,  in  which  the  trapper  ap 
pears  as  a  hunter  and  a  scout,  will  readily  understand  the  allusions. 


«44  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  interrupted  Paul,  who,  content 
with  the  knowledge  that  his  waist  was  grasped  by  one  of 
the  arms  of  Ellen,  had  hitherto  ridden  in  unusual  silence  ; 
"  my  eyes  are  as  true  and  as  delicate  as  a  humming-bird'n 
in  the  day,  but  they  are  nothing  worth  boasting  of  by  star- 
light. Is  that  a  sick  buffalo  crawling  along  in  the  bottom 
there,  or  is  it  one  of  the  stray  cattle  of  the  savages  ? " 

The  whole  party  drew  up,  in  order  to  examine  the  object 
which  Paul  had  pointed  out.  During  most  of  the  time 
they  had  ridden  in  the  little  vales  in  order  to  seek  the 
protection  of  the  shadows,  but  just  at  that  moment  they 
had  ascended  a  roll  of  the  prairie  in  order  to  cross  into  the 
very  bottom  where  this,  unknown  animal  was  now  seen. 

"  Let  us  descend,"  said  Middleton  ;  "  be  it  beast  or  man, 
we  are  too  strong  to  have  any  cause  of  fear." 

"  Now,  if  the  thing  was  not  morally  impossible,"  cried 
the  trapper,  who  the  reader  must  have  already  discovered 
was  not  always  exact  in  the  use  of  qualifying  words,  "  if 
the  thing  was  not  morally  impossible,  I  should  say  that 
was  the  man  who  journeys  in  search  of  reptiles  and  insects 
*  -our  fellow-traveller,  the  doctor." 

"  Why  impossible  ?  did  you  not  direct  him  to  pursue 
this  course,  in  order  to  rejoin  us  ?" 

"  Ay,  but  I  did  not  tell  him  to  make  an  ass  outdo  the 
speed  of  a  horse.  You  are  right — you  are  right,"  said  the 
trapper,  interrupting  himself,  as,  by  gradually  lessening 
the  distance  between  them,  his  eyes  assured  him  it  was 
Obed  and  Asinus  whom  he  saw — "  you  are  right,  as  cer- 
tainly as  the  thing  is  a  miracle.  Lord,  what  a  thing  is 
fear ! — How  now,  friend  ;  you  have  been  industrious  to 
have  got  so  far  ahead  in  so  short  a  time.  I  marvel  at  the 
speed  of  the  ass  !  " 

"Asinus  is  overcome,"  returned  the  naturalist,  mourn- 
fully. "The  animal  has  certainly  not  been  idle  since  wo 
separated,  but  he  declines  all  my  admonitions  and  invita- 
tions to  proceed.  I  hope  there  is  no  instant  fear  from  the 
savages  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  say  that — I  cannot  say  that  ;  matters  are  no!: 
as  they  should  be  atween  the  squatter  and  the  Tetons,  not 
will  I  answer  as  yet  for  the  safety  of  any  scalp  among  us. 
The  beast  is  broken  down  ;  you  have  urged  him  beyond 
his  natural  gifts,  and  he  is  like  a  worried  hound.  Tfcere 
is  pity  and  discretion  in  all  things,  even  though  a  man  be 
riding  for  his  life." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  245 

"  You  indicated  the  star,"  returned  the  doctor,  "  and  I 
deemed  it  expedient  to  use  great  diligence  in  pursuing 
the  direction." 

"  Did  you  expect  to  reach  it  by  such  haste  !  Go,  go  ; 
you  talk  boldly  of  the  creatur's  of  the  Lord,  though  I 
plainly  see  you  are  but  a  child  in  matters  that  concern 
their  gifts  and  instincts.  What  a  plight  would  you  now 
be  in,  if  there  was  need  for  a  long  and  a  quick  push  with 
our  heels  !  " 

"The  fault  exists  in  the  formation  of  the  quadruped," 
said  Obed,  whose  placid  temper  began  to  revglt  under  so 
many  scandalous  imputations.  '*  Had  there  been  rotary 
levers  for  two  of  the  members,  a  moiety  of  the  fatigue 
would  have  been  saved,  for  one  item 

"  That,  for  your  moiety's  and  rotaries  and  items,  man  ; 
a  jaded  ass  is  a  jaded  ass,  and  he  who  denies  it  is  but  a 
brother  of  the  beast  itself.  Now,  captain,  are  we  driven 
to  choose  one  of  two  evils.  We  must  either  abandon  this 
man,  who  has  been  too  much  with  us  through  good  and 
bad  to  be  easily  cast  away,  or  we  must  seek  a  cover  to  let 
the  animal  rest." 

"Venerable  venator  !  "  exclaimed  the  alarmed  Obed,  "I 
conjure  you  by  all  the  secret  sympathies  of  our  common 
nature,  by  all  the  hidden " 

"  Ah,  fear  has  brought  him  to  talk  a  little  rational  sense  ! 
It  is  not  natur',  truly,  to  abandon  a  brother  in  distress,  and 
the  Lord  he  knows  that  I  have  never  yet  done  the  shame- 
ful deed.  You  are  right,  friend,  you  are  right  ;  we  must 
all  be  hidden,  and  that  speedily..  But  what  to  do  with  the 
ass  !  Friend  doctor,  do  you  truly  value  the  life  of  the 
creatur  ? " 

"  He  is  an  ancient  and  faithful  servant,"  returned  the 
disconsolate  Obed,  "  and  with  pain  should  I  see  him  come 
to  any  harm.  Fetter  his  lower  limbs,  and  leave  him  to  re- 
pose in  this  bed  of  herbage.  I  will  engage  he  shall  be 
found  where  he  is  left,  in  the  morning." 

"  And  the  Siouxes  ?  What  would  become  of  the  beast 
should  any  of  the  red  imps  catch  a  peep  at  his  ears,  grow- 
ing up  out  of  the  grass  like  two  mullein  tops  ?"  cried  the 
bee-hunter.  "  They  would  stick  him  as  full  of  arrows  as 
a  woman's  cushion  is  full  of  pins,  and  then  believe  they 
had  done  the  job  for  the  father  of  all  rabbits  !  My  word 
for  it,  but  they  would  find  out  their  blunder  at  the  first 
mouthful ! " 


246  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Middleton,  who  began  to  grow  impatient  under  the  pro- 
tracted discussion,  interposed,  and,  as  a  good  deal  of  defer- 
ence was  paid  to  his  rank,  he  quickly  prevailed  in  his  ef- 
forts to  effect  a  sort  of  compromise.  The  humble  Asinus, 
too  meek  and  too  weary  to  make  any  resistance,  was  soon 
tethered  and  deposited  in  his  bed  of  dying  grass,  where 
he  was  left,  with  a  perfect  confidence  on  the  part  of  his 
master  of  finding  him  again  at  the  expiration  of  a  few 
hours.  The  old  man  strongly  remonstrated  against  this 
arrangement,  and  more  than  once  hinted  that  the  knife  was 
much  more,  certain  than  the  tether  ;  but  the  petitions  of 
Obed,  aided  perhaps  by  the  secret  reluctance  of  the  trap- 
per to  destroy  the  beast,  were  the  means  of  saving  its  life. 
When  Asinus  was  thus  secured,  and  as  his  master  believed 
secreted,  the  whole  party  proceeded  to  find  some  place 
where  they  might  rest  themselves,  during  the  time  required 
for  the  repose  of  the  animal. 

According  to  the  calculations  of  the  trapper,  they  had 
ridden  twenty  miles  since  the  commencement  of  their 
flight.  The  delicate  frame  of  Inez  began  to  droop  under 
the  excessive  fatigue,  nor  was  the  more  robust  but  still 
feminine  person  of  Ellen  insensible  to  the  extraordinary 
effort  she  had  made.  Middleton  himself  was  not  sorry  to 
repose,  nor  did  the  vigorous  and  high-spirited  Paul  hesitate 
to  confess  that  he  should  be  all  the  better  for  a  little  rest. 
The  old  man  alone  seemed  indifferent  to  the  usual  claims 
of  Nature.  Although  but  little  accustomed  to  the  unusual 
description  of  exercise  he  had  just  been  taking,  he  appeared 
to  bid  defiance  to  all  the  usual  attacks  of  human  infirmities. 
Though  evidently  so  near  its  dissolution,  his  attenuated 
frame  stood  like  the  shaft  of  seasoned  oak,  dry,  naked,  and 
tempest-riven,  but  unbending  and  apparently  indurated 
to  the  consistency  of  stone.  On  the  present  occasion  he 
conducted  the  search  for  a  resting-place,  which  was 
immediately  commenced,  with  all  the  energy  of  youth 
tempered  by  the  discretion  and  experience  of  his  great 
age. 

The  bed  of  grass  in  which  the  doctor  had  been  met,  and  in 
which  his  ass  had  just  been  left,  was  followed  a  little  dis- 
tance until  it  was  found  that  the  rolling  swells  of  the 
prairie  were  melting  away  into  one  vast  level  plain,  that 
was  covered,  for  miles  on  miles,  with  the  same  species  of 
herbage. 

"  Ah,  this  may  do,  this  may  do,"  said  the  old  man,  whey 


THE  PRAIRIE.  247 

they  arrived  on  the  borders  of  this  sea  of  withered  grass. 
"  I  'know  the  spot,  and  often  have  I  lain  in  its  secret  holes, 
for  days  at  a  time,  while  savages  have  been  hunting  the 
buffaloes  on  the  open  ground.  We  must  enter  it  with 
great  care,  for  a  broad  trail  might  be  seen,  and  Indian 
curiosity  is  a  dangerous  neighbor." 

Leading  the  way  himself,  he  selected  a  spot  where  the 
tall,  coarse  herbage  stood  most  erect,  growing  not  unlike 
a  bed  of  reeds,  both  in  height  and  density.  Here  he  en- 
tered, singly,  directing  the  others  to  follow  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  his  own  footsteps.  When  they  had  passed  for 
some  hundred  or  two  feet  into  the  wilderness  of  weeds,  he 
gave  his  directions  to  Paul  and  Middleton,  who  continued 
a  direct  route  deeper  into  the  place,  while  he  dismounted 
and  returned  on  his  tracks  to  the  margin  of  the  meadow. 
Here  he  passed  many  minutes  in  replacing  the  trodden 
grass,  and  in  effacing,  as  far  as  possible,  every  evidence  of 
their  passage. 

In  the  meantime  the  rest  of  the  party  continued  their 
progress,  not  without  toil,  and  consequently  at  a  very  mod- 
erate gait,  until  they  had  penetrated  a  mile  into  the  place. 
Here  they  found  a  spot  suited  to  their  circumstances,  and, 
dismounting,  they  began  to  make  their  dispositions  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  the  night.  By  this  time  the  trapper 
had  rejoined  the  party,  and  again  resumed  the  direction 
of  their  proceedings. 

The  weeds  and  grass  were  soon  plucked  and  cut  from 
an  area  of  sufficient  extent,  and  a  bed  for  Inez  and  Ellen 
was  speedily  made,  a  little  apart,  which  for  sweetness  and 
ease  might  have  rivalled  one  of  down.  The  exhausted 
females,  after  receiving  some  light  refreshments  from  the 
provident  stores  of  Paul  and  the  old  man,  now  sought 
their  repose,  leaving  their  more  stout  companions  at  lib- 
erty to  provide  for  their  own  necessities.  Middleton  and 
Paul  were  not  long  in  following  the  example  of  their 
betrothed,  leaving  the  trapper  and  the  naturalist  still 
seated  around  a  savory  dish  of  bison's-meat,  which  had 
been  cooked  at  a  previous  halt,  and  which  was,  as  usual, 
eaten  cold. 

A  certain  lingering  sensation,  which  had  so  long  been 
uppermost  in  the -mind  of  Obed,  temporarily  banished 
sleep  ;  and  as  for  the  old  man,  his  wants  were  rendered, 
by  habit  and  necessity,  as  seemingly  subject  to  his  will 
as  it  they  altogether  depended  on  the  pleasure  of  the  mo* 


248  THE  PRAIRIE. 

ment.  Like  his  companion,  he  chose,  therefore,  to  watch 
instead  of  sleeping. 

"  If  the  children  of  ease  and  security  knew  the  hard* 
ships  and  dangers  the  students  of  nature  encounter  in 
their  behalf,"  said  Obed,  after  a  moment  of  silence,  when 
Middleton  took  his  leave  for  the  night,  "  pillars  of  silver 
and  statues  of  brass  would  be  reared  as  the  everlasting 
monuments  of  their  glory  ! " 

"  I  know  not — I  know  not,"  returned  his  companion  ; 
"silver  is  far  from  plenty,  at  least  in  the  wilderness,  and 
your  brazen  idols  are  forbidden  in  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord." 

"  Such,  indeed,  was  the  spirit  of  the  great  law-givef 
of  the  Jews,  but  the  Egyptians  and  the  Chaldeans,  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans,  were  wont  to  manifest  their  grat- 
itude in  these  types  of  the  human  form.  Indeed,  many 
of  the  illustrious  masters  of  antiquity  have,  by  the  aid  of 
science  and  skill,  even  outdone  the  works  of  nature,  and 
exhibited  a  beauty  and  perfection  in  the  human  form  that 
are  difficult  to  be  found  in  the  rarest  living  specimens  of 
any  of  the  species  ;  genus  homo." 

"Can  your  idols  walk  or  speak,  or  have  they  the  glori- 
ous gift  of  reason  ?"  demanded  the  trapper,  with  some  in- 
dignation in  his  voice.  "  Though  but  little  given  to  run 
into  the  noise  and  chatter  of  the  settlements,  yet  have  I 
been  into  the  towns  in  my  day  to  barter  the  peltry  for 
lead  and  powder,  and  often  have  I  seen  your  waxen  dolls 
with  their  tawdry  clothes  and  glass  eyes " 

" Waxen  dolls  !"  interrupted  Obed  ;  "it  is  profanation 
in  view  of  the  arts  to  liken  the  miserable  handiwork  of  the 
dealers  in  wax  to  the  pure  models  of  antiquity  ! " 

"  It  is  profanation  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,"  retorted  the 
old  man,  "to  liken  the  works  of  his  creatures  to  the  power 
of  his  own  hand." 

"  Venerable  venator,"  resumed  the  naturalist,  clearing 
his  throat  like  one  who  was  much  in  earnest,  "  let  us  dis- 
cuss understandingly  and  in  amity.  You  speak  of  the 
dross  of  ignorance,  whereas  my  memory  dwells  on  those 
precious  jewels  which  it  was  my  happy  fortune  formerly 
to  witness  among  the  treasured  glories  of  the  Old 
World." 

"  Old  World  !  "  retorted  the  trapper,  "  that  is  the  miser- 
able cry  of  all  the  half-starved  miscreants  that  have  come 
into  this  blessed  land  since  the  days  of  my  boyhood.  The? 


THE  PRAIRIE.  249 

/ell  you  of  the  Old  World  as  if  the  Lord  had  not  the  power 
and  the  will  to  create  the  universe  in  a  day  ;  or  as  if  he 
had  not  bestowed  his  gifts  with  an  equal  hand,  though 
not  with  an  equal  mind  or  equal  wisdom  have  they  been 
received  and  used.  Were  they  to  say  a  -warn-out,  and  an 
abused^  and  a  sacrilegious  world,  they  might  not  be  so  faf 
from  the  truth  !  " 

Dr.  Battius,  who  found  it  quite  as  arduous  a  task  to 
maintain  any  of  his  favorite  positions  with  so  irregular  an 
antagonist,  as  he  would  have  found  it  difficult  to  keep  his 
feet  within  the  hug  of  a  Western  wrestler,  hemmed  aloud, 
and  profited  by  the  new  opening  the  trapper  had  made  to 
shift  the  grounds  of  the  discussion  : 

"By  Old  and  New  world,  my  excellent  associate,"  he 
aaid,  "  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  hills  and  the  val- 
leys, the  rocks  and  the  rivers  of  our  own  moiety  of  the 
earth  do  not,  physically  speaking,  bear  a  date  as  ancient 
as  the  spot  on  which  the  bricks  of  Babylon  are  found.  It 
merely  signifies  that  its  moral  existence  is  not  coequal  with 
its  physical  or  geological  formation." 

"  Anan  !  "  said  the  old  man,  looking  up  inquiringly  into 
the  face  of  the  philosopher. 

"  Merely  that  it  has  not  been  so  long  known  in  moral? 
as  the  other  countries  of  Christendom." 

"  So  much  the  better,  so  much  the  better.  I  am  no 
great  admirator  of  your  old  morals,  as  you  call  them  ;  for  I 
have  ever  found,  and  I  have  lived  long  as  it  were  in 
the  very  heart  of  Natur',  that  your  old  morals  are  none  of 
the  best.  Mankind  twist  and  turn  the  rules  of  the 
Lord,  to  suit  their  own  wickedness,  when  their  devilish 
cunning  has  had  too  much  time  to  trifle  with  his  com- 
mands." 

"  Nay,  venerable  hunter,  still  am  I  not  comprehended. 
By  morals  I  do  not  mean  the  limited  and  literal  significa- 
tion of  the  term,  such  as  is  conveyed  in  its  synonym, 
morality,  but  the  practices  of  men,  as  connected  with  their 
daily  intercourse,  their  institutions,  and  their  laws." 

"  And  such  I  call  barefaced  and  downright  wantonness 
and  waste,"  interrupted  his  sturdy  disputant. 

"Well,  be  it  so,"  returned  the  doctor,  abandoning  the 
explanation  in  despair.  "  Perhaps  I  have  conceded  too 
much,"  he  then  instantly  added,  fancying  that  he  still  saw 
the  glimmerings  of  an  argument  through  another  chink  in 
the  discourse.  "  Perhaps  I  have  conceded  too  much  in 


250  THE  PRAIRIE. 

saying  that  this  hemisphere  is  literally  as  old  in  its  forma- 
tion as  that  which  embraces  the  venerable  quarters  oi 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa." 

"  It  is  easy  to  say  a  pine  is  not  so  tall  as  an  alder,  but  it 
would  be  hard  to  prove.  Can  you  give  a  reason  for  such 
a  belief  ?" 

"The  reasons  are  numerous  and  powerful,"  returned 
the  doctor,  delighted  by  this  encouraging  opening.  "  Look 
into  the  plains  of  Egypt  and  Arabia  ;  their  sandy  deserts 
teem  with  the  monuments  of  their  antiquity  ;  and  then  we 
have  also  recorded  documents  of  their  glory,  doubling  the 
proofs  of  their  former  greatness,  now  that  they  lie  stripped 
of  their  fertility,  while  we  look  in  vain  for  similar  evi- 
dences that  man  has  ever  reached  the  summit  of  civilization 
on  this  continent,  or  search,  without  our  reward,  for  the 
path  by  which  he  has  made  the  downward  journey  to  his 
present  condition  of  second  childhood." 

"And  what  see  you  in  all  this  ? "  demanded  the  trapper, 
who,  though  a  little  confused  by  the  terms  of  his  compan- 
ion, seized  the  thread  of  his  ideas. 

"A  demonstration  of  my  problem,  that  Nature  did  not 
make  so  vast  a  region  to  lie  an  uninhabited  waste  so  many 
ages.  This  is  merely  the  moral  view  of  the  subject  ;  as  to 
the  more  exact  and  geological " 

"Your  morals  are  exact  enough  for  me,"  returned  the 
old  man  ;  ''for  I  think  I  see  in  them  the  very  pride  oi  folly. 
I  am  but  little  gifted  in  the  fables  of  what  you  call  the  Old 
World,  seeing  that  my  time  has  been  mainly  passed  look- 
ing Natur'  steadily  in  the  face,  and  in  reasoning  on  what 
I've  seen  rather  than  on  what  I've  heard  in  traditions.  But 
I  have  never  shut  my  ears  to  the  words  of  the  good  book  ; 
and  many  is  the  long  winter  evening  that  I  have  passed  in 
the  wigwams  of  the  Delawares,  listening  to  the  good  Mora- 
vians, as  they  dealt  forth  the  history  and  doctrines  of  the 
elder  times  to  the  people  of  the  Lenape  !  It  was  pleasant 
to  hearken  to  such  wisdom  after  a  weary  hunt  !  Right 
pleasant  did  I  find  it,  and  often  have  I  talked  the  matter 
over  with  the  Great  Serpent  of  the  Delawares,  in  the  more 
peaceful  hours  of  our  outlying,  whether  it  might  be  on  the 
trail  of  a  war-party  of  the  Mingoes,  or  on  the  watch  for  3 
York  deer.  I  remember  to  have  heard  it,  then  and  there, 
said,  that  the  Blessed  Land  was  once  fertile  as  the  bottoms 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  groaning  with  its  stores  of  grain 
and  fruits  ;  but  that  the  judgment  has  since  fallen  upon  it 


THE  PRAIRIE.  251 

and  that  it  is  now  more  remarkable  for  its  barrenness 
than  any  qualities  to  boast  of." 

"It  is  true  ;  but  Egypt,  nay,  much  of  Africa,  furnishes 
still  more  striking  proofs  of  this  exhaustion  of  Nature." 

"  Tell  me,"  interrupted  the  old  man  ;  "  is  it  a  certain 
truth  that  buildings  are  still  standing  in  that  land  of  Pha- 
raoh, which  may  be  likened,  in  their  stature,  to  the  hills 
of  the  'arth  ?  " 

"It  is  as  true  as  that  nature  never  refuses  to  bestow 
her  incisors  on  the  animals^  mammalia  ;  genus,  homo " 

"  It  is  very  marvellous  ;  and  it  proves  how  great  He 
must  be,  when  his  miserable  creatur's  can  accomplish  such 
wonders !  Many  men  must  have  been  needed  to  finish 
•such  an  edifice  -;  ay,  and  men  gifted  with  strength  and  skill 
too !  Does  the  land  abound  with  such  a  race  to  this 
hour?" 

"  Far  from  it.  Most  of  the  country  is  a  desert,  and  but 
for  a  mighty  river  all  would  be  so." 

"  Yes,  rivers  are  rare  gifts  to  such  as  till  the  ground  ;  as 
any  one  may  see  who  journeys  far  atween  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Mississippi.  But  how  do  you  account 
for  these  changes  of  the  face  of  the  'arth  itself,  and  for 
this  downfall  of  nations,  you  men  of  the  schools  ? " 

"  It  is  to  be  ascribed  to  moral  cau " 

"You're  right — it  is  their  morals  ;  their  wickedness  and 
their  pride,  and  chiefly  their  waste,  that  has  done  it  all. 
Now,  listen  to  what  the  experience  of  an  old  man  teaches 
him.  I  have  lived  long,  as  these  gray  hairs  and  wrinkled 
hands  will  show  ;  even  though  my  tongue  should  fail  in 
the  wisdom  of  my  years.  And  I  have  seen  much  of  the 
folly  of  man,  for  his  natur'  is  the  same,  be  he  born  in  the 
wilderness,  or  be  he  born  in  the  towns.  To  my  weak 
judgment  it  hath  ever  seemed  that  his  gifts  are  not  equal  to 
his  wishes.  That  he  would  mount  into  the  heavens  with 
all  his  deformities  about  him,  if  he  only  knew  the  road, 
no  one  will  gainsay  that  witnesses  his  bitter  strivings 
upon  'arth.  If  his  power  is  not  equal  to  his  will,  it  is  be- 
cause the  wisdom  of  the  Lord  hath  set  bounds  to  his  evil 
Dorkings." 

"  It  is  much  too  certain  that  certain  facts  will  warrant  a 
theory,  which  teaches  the  natural  depravity  of  the  genus  ; 
but,  if  science  could  be  fairly  brought  to  bear  on  a  whole 
species  at  once,  for  instance,  education  might  eradicate 
the  evil  principle." 


252  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  That,  for  your  education  !  The  time  has  been  when  I 
have  thought  it  possible  to  make  a  companion  of  a  beast. 
Many  are  the  cubs,  and  many  are  the  speckled  fawns,  that 
I  have  reared  with  these  old  hands,  until  I  have  even  fan- 
cied them  rational  and  altered  beings — but  what  did  it 
amount  to  ?  the  bear  would  bite,  and  the  deer  would  run, 
notwithstanding  my  wicked  conceit  in  fancying  that  I 
could  change  a  temper  that  the  Lord  himself  had  seen  fit 
to  bestow.  Now,  if  a  man  is  so  blinded  in  his  folly  as  to 
go  on,  ages  and  ages,  doing  harm  chiefly  to  himself,  there 
is  the  same  reason  to  think  that  he  has  wrought  his  evil 
here  as  in  the  countries  you  call  so  old.  Look  about  you, 
man  ;  where  are  the  multitudes  that  once  peopled  these 
prairies  ;  the  kings  and  the  palaces  ;  the  riches  and  the 
mightiness  of  this^  desert  ?  " 

"Where  are  the  monuments  that  would  prove  the  truth 
of  so  vague  a  theory  r " 

"  I  know  not  what  you  call  a  monument." 

"  The  works  of  man  !  The  glories  of  Thebes  and  Balbec 
— columns,  catacombs,  and  pyramids — standing  amid  the 
sands  of  the  East,  like  wrecks  on  a  rocky  shore,  to  testify 
to  the  storms  of  ages  ! " 

"They  are  gone.  Time  has  lasted  too  long  for  them. 
For  why  ?  Time  was  made  by  the  Lord,  and  they  were 
made  by  man.  This  very  spot  of  reeds  and  grass,  on 
which  you  now  sit,  may  once  have  been  the  garden  of  some 
mighty  king.  It  is  the  fate  of  all  things  to  ripen,  and  then 
to  decay.  The  tree  blossoms,  and  bears  its  fruit,  which 
falls,  rots,  withers,  and  even  the  seed  is  lost  !  Go  count 
the  rings  of  the  oak  and  of  the  sycamore ;  they  lie  in  cir- 
cles, one  about  another,  until  the  eye  is  blinded  in  striv- 
ing to  make  out  their  numbers  ;  and  yet  a  full  change  of 
the  season  comes  round  while  the  stem  is  winding  one  of 
these  little  lines  about  itself,  like  the  buffalo  changing  his 
coat,  or  the  buck  his  horns  ;  and  what  does  it  all  amount 
to  ?  There  does  the  noble  tree  fill  its  place  in  the  forest, 
loftier,  and  grander,  and  richer,  and  more  difficult  to  imi. 
tate,  than  any  of  your  pitiful  pillars,  for  a  thousand  years, 
until  the  time  which  the  Lord  hath  given  it  is  full.  Then 
come  the  winds,  that  you  cannot  see,  to  rive  its  bark  ;  and 
the  waters  from  the  heavens,  to  soften  its  pores  ;  and  the 
rot,  which  all  can  feel  and  none  can  understand,  to  humble 
its  pride  and  bring  it  to  the  ground.  From  that  moment 
its  beauty  begins  to  perish.  It  lies  another  hundred  years, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  253 

a  mouldering  log,  and  then  a  mound  of  moss  and  'arth,  a  sad 
effigy  of  a  human  grave.  This  is  one  of  your  genuine 
monuments,  though  made  by  a  very  different  power  than 
such  as  belongs  to  your  chiselling  masonry  !  and,  after  all, 
the  cunningest  scout  of  the  whole  Dahcotah  nation  might 
pass  his  life  in  searching  for  the  spot  where  it  fell,  and  be 
no  wiser  when  his  eyes  grew  dim  than  when  they  were 
first  opened.  As  if  that  was  not  enough  to  convince  man 
of  his  ignorance,  and,  as  though  it  were  put  there  in  mock- 
ery of  his  conceit,  a  pine  shoots  up  from  the  roots  of  the 
oak,  just  as  barrenness  comes  after  fertility,  or  as  these 
wastes  have  been  spread,  where  a  garden  may  have  been 
created.  Tell  me  not  of  your  worlds  that  are  old  !  it  is 
blasphemous  to  set  bounds  and  seasons,  in  this  manner, 
to  the  works  of  the  Almighty,  like  a  woman  counting  the 
ages  of  her  young." 

"  Friend  hunter,  or  trapper,"  returned  the  naturalist, 
clearing  his  throat  in  some  intellectual  confusion  at  the 
vigorous  attack  of  his  companion,  "your  deductions,  if 
admitted  by  the  world,  would  sadly  circumscribe  the  efforts 
of  reason,  and  much  abridge  the  boundaries  of  knowl- 
edge." 

"  So  much  the  better — so  much  the  better  ;  for  I  have 
always  found  that  a  conceited  man  never  knows  content. 
All  things  prove  it.  Why  have  we  not  the  wings  of  the 
pigeon,  the  eyes  of  the  eagle,  and  the  legs  of  the  moose, 
if  it  had  been  intended  that  man  should  be  equal  to  all  his 
wishes  ?  " 

"There  are  certain  physical  defects,  venerable  trapper, 
in  which  I  am  always  ready  to  admit  great  and  happy  al- 
terations might  be  suggested.  For  example,  in  my  own 
order  of  Phalangacru " 

"  Cruel  enough  would  be  the  order  that  should  come 
from  miserable  hands  like  thine  ?  A  touch  from  such  a 
finger  would  destroy  the  mocking  deformity  of  a  mon- 
key 1  Go,  go  ;  human  folly  is  not  needed  to  fill  up  the 
grear  design  of  God.  There  is  no  stature,  no  beauty, 
no  proportions,  nor  any  colors  in  which  man  himself 
can  well  be  fashioned,  that  is  not  already  done  to  hi3 
hands." 

"That  is  touching  another  great  and  much-disputed 
question,"  exclaimed  the  doctor,  who  seized  upon  every 
distinct  idea  that  the  ardent  and  somewhat  dogmatic  old 
man  left  exposed  to  his  mental  grasp,  with  the  vain  hope 


254  THE  PRAIRIE. 

of  inducing  a  logical  discussion,  in  which  he  might  bring 
his  battery  of  syllogisms  to  annihilate  the  unscientific  de- 
fences of  his  antagonist. 

It  is,  however,  unnecessary  to  our  narrative  to  relate  the 
erratic  discourse  that  ensued.  The  old  man  eluded  the 
annihilating  blows  of  his  adversary,  as  the  light-armed 
soldier  is  wont  to  escape  the  efforts  of  the  more  regular 
warrior,  even  while  he  annoys  him  most  ;  and  an  houi 
passed  away  without  bringing  any  of  the  numerous  sub- 
jects,  on  which  they  touched,  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 
The  arguments  acted,  however,  on  the  nervous  system  of 
the  doctor  like  so  many  soothing  soporifics  ;  and,  by  the 
time  his  aged  companion  was  disposed  to  lay  his  head  on 
his  pack,  Obed,  refreshed  by  his  recent  mental  joust,  was 
in  a  condition  to  seek  his  natural  rest,  without  enduring 
the  torments  of  the  incubus,  in  the  shapes  of  Teton  war- 
riors and  bloody  tomahawks. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"Save  you,  sir." — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  sleep  of  the  fugitives  lasted  for  several  hours.  The 
trapper  was  the  first  to  shake  oif  its  influence,  as  he  had 
been  the  last  to  court  its  refreshment.  Rising,  just  as  the 
gray  light  of  day  began  to  brighten  that  portion  of  the 
studded  vault  which  rested  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the 
plain,  he  summoned  his  companions  from  their  warm  lairs, 
and  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  their  being  once  more  on 
the  alert.  While  Middleton  attended  to  the  arrangements 
necessary  to  the  comforts  of  Inez  and  Ellen,  in  the  long 
and  painful  journey  which  lay  before  them,  the  old  man 
and  Paul  prepared  the  meal,  which  the  former  had  advised 
them  to  take  before  they  proceeded  to  horse.  These  sev- 
eral dispositions  were  not  long  in  making,  and  the  little 
group  was  soon  seated  about  a  repast  which,  though  it 
might  want  the  elegances  to  which  the  bride  of  Middleton. 
had  been  accustomed,  was  not  deficient  in  the  more  im- 
portant requisites  of  savor  and  nutriment. 

"  When  we  get  lower  into  the  hunting-grounds  of  the 
Pawnees,"  said  the  trapper,  laying  a  morsel  of  delicate  ven- 
ison  before  Inez,  on  a  little  trencher  neatly  made  of  horn, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  255 

and  expressly  for  his  own  use,  "we  shall  find  the  buffaloes 
fatter  and  sweeter,  the  deer  in  more  abundance,  and  all 
the  gifts  of  the  Lord  abounding  to  satisfy  our  wants.  Per- 
haps we  may  even  strike  a  beaver,  and  get  a  morsel  from 
his  tail*  by  way  of  a  rare  mouthful." 

"  What  course  do  you  mean  to  pursue,  when  you  have 
once  thrown  these  bloodhounds  from  the  chased  "  demand- 
ed Middleton. 

"If  I  might  advise,"  said  Paul,  "it  would  be  to  strike 
a  water-course  and  get  upon  its  downward  current  as  soon 
as  may  be.  Give  me  a  cotton-wood,  and  I  will  turn  you 
out  a  canoe  that  shall  carry  us  all,  the  jackass  excepted, 
in  perhaps  the  work  of  a  day  and  a  night.  Ellen,  here,  is 
a  lively  girl  enough,  but  then  she  is  no  great  race-rider, 
and  it  would  be  far  more  comfortable  to  boat  six  or  eight 
hundred  miles  than  to  go  loping  along  like  so  many  elks 
measuring  the  prairies  ;  besides,  water  leaves  no  trail." 

"  I  will  not  swear  to  that,"  returned  the  trapper  ;  "  I 
have  often  thought  the  eyes  of  a  red-skin  would  find  a  trail 
in  air." 

"  See,  Middleton,"  exclaimed  Inez,  in  a  sudden  burst  of 
youthful  pleasure,  that  caused  her  for  a  moment  to  forget 
her  situation,  "  how  lovely  is  that  sky  ;  surely  it  contains 
a  promise  of  happier  times  !  " 

"  It  is  glorious  !  "  returned  her  husband.  "  Glorious 
and  heavenly  is  that  streak  of  vivid  red,  and  here  is  a  still 
brighter  crimson  ;  rarely  have  I  seen  a  richer  rising  of  the 
sun." 

"  Rising  of  the  sun  !  "  slowly  repeated  the  old  man,  lift- 
ing his  tall  person  from  its  seat  with  a  deliberate  and  ab- 
stracted air,  while  he  kept  his  eye  riveted  on  the  changing 
and  certainly  beautiful  tints  that  were  varnishing  the  vault 
of  heaven — "  rising  of  the  sun  !  I  like  not  such  risings  of 
the  sun.  Ah's  me  !  the  imps  have  circumvented  us  with 
a  vengeance.  The  prairie  is  on  fire!" 

"  God  in  heaven  protect  us  !  "  cried  Middleton,  catching 
Inez  to  his  bosom,  under  the  instant  impression  of  the  im- 
minence of  their  danger.  "  There  is  no  time  to  lose,  old 
man  ;  each  instant  is  a  day.  Let  us  fly  ! " 

"  Whither?  "  demanded  the  trapper,  motioning  him,  with 
calmness  and  dignity,  to  arrest  his  steps.  "  In  this  wilder- 

*  The  American  hunters  consider  the  tail  of  the  beaver  the  most  nourish* 
ing  of  all  food. 


25b  THE  PRAIRIE. 

ness  of  grass  and  reeds  you  are  like  a  vessel  in  the  broad 
lakes  without  a  compass.  A  single  step  on  the  wrong 
course  might  prove  the  destruction  of  us  all.  It  is  seldom 
danger  is  so  pressing  that  there  is  not  time  enough  for 
reason  to  do  its  work,  young  officer  ;  therefore  let  us  wait 
its  biddings." 

"  For-  my  own  part,"  said  Paul  Hover,  looking  about 
him  with  no  equivocal  expression  of  concern,  "  I  acknowl- 
edge that,  should  this  dry  bed  of  weeds  get  fairly  in  a 
flame,  a  bee  would  have  to  make  a  flight  higher  than  com- 
mon to  prevent  his  wings  from  scorching.  Therefore, 
old  trapper,  I  agree  with  the  captain,  and  say  mount  and 
run." 

"  Ye  are  wrong — ye  are  wrong  ;  man  is  not  a  beast  to 
follow  the  gift  of  instinct,  and  to  snuff  up  his  knowledge 
by  a  taint  in  the  air,  or  a  rumbling  in  the  ground  ;  but  he 
must  see  and  reason,  and  then  conclude.  So  follow  me  a 
little  to  the  left,  where  there  is  a  rise  in  the  ground,  whence 
we  may  make  our  reconnoitrings." 

The  old  man  waved  his  hand  with  authority,  and  led  the 
way,  without  further  parlance,  to  the  spot  he  had  indicated, 
followed  by  the  whole  of  his  alarmed  companions.  An 
eye  less  practised  than  that  of  the  trapper  might  have 
failed  in  discovering  the  gentle  elevation  to  which  he 
alluded,  and  \vhich  looked  on  the  surface  of  the  meadow 
like  a  growth  a  little  taller  than  common.  When  they 
reached  the  place,  however,  the  stinted  grass  itself  an- 
nounced the  absence  of  that  moisture  which  had  fed  the 
rank  weeds  of  most  of  the  plain,  ,and  furnished  a  clew  to 
the  evidence  by  which  he  had  judged  of  the  formation  of 
the  ground  hidden  beneath.  Here  a  few  minutes  were 
lost  in  breaking  down  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  herbage, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  advantage  of  their  position, 
rose  even  above  the  heads  of  Middleton  and  Paul,  and  in 
obtaining  a  lookout  that  might  command  a  view  of  the 
surrounding  sea  of  fire. 

The  frightful  prospect  added  nothing  to  the  hopes  of 
those  who  had  so  fearful  a  stake  in  the  result.  Although 
the  day  was  beginning  to  dawn,  the  vivid  colors  of  the  sky 
continued  to  deepen,  as  if  the  fierce  element  were  bent  on 
an  impious  rivalry  of  the  light  of  the  sun.  Bright  flashes 
of  flame  shot  up  here  and  there  along  the  margin  of  the 
waste  like  the  nimble  coruscations  of  the  north,  but  far 
more  angry  and  threatening  in  their  color  and  changes 


THE  PRAIRIE.  257 

The  anxiety  on  the  rigid  features  of  the  trapper  sensibly 
deepened  as  he  leisurely  traced  those  evidences  of  con- 
flagration, which  spread  in  a  broad  belt  about  their  place 
of  "refuge,  until  he  had  encircled  the  whole  horizon. 

Shaking  his  head,  as  he  again  turned  his  face  to  the 
point  where  the  danger  seemed  nighest  and  most  rapidly 
approaching,  the  old  man  said  : 

"  Now,  have  we  been  cheating  ourselves  with  the  belief 
that  we  had  thrown  these  Tetons  from  our  trail,  while 
here  is  proof  enough  that  they  not  only  know  where  we 
lie,  but  they  intend  to  smoke  us  out,  like  so  many  skulk- 
ing beasts  of  prey.  See  !  they  have  lighted  the  fire  around 
the  whole  bottom  at  the  same  moment,  and  we  are  as  com- 
pletely hemmed  in  by  the  devils  as  an  island  by  its  waters." 

"Let  us  mount  and  ride!"  cried  Middleton  ;  "is  life 
not  worth  a  struggle  ?  " 

"  Whither  would  you  go  ?  Is  a  Teton  horse  a  sala- 
mander, that  can  walk  amid  fiery  flames  unhurt,  or  do  you 
think  the  Lord"  will  show  his  might  in  your  behalf,  as  in 
the  days  of  old,  and  carry  you  harmless  through  such  a 
furnace  as  you  may  see  glowing  beneath  yonder  red  sky  ? 
There  are  Siouxes,  too,  hemming  the  fire  with  their  arrows 
and  knives  at  every  side  of  us,  or  I  am  no  judge  of  their 
murderous  deviltries." 

"We  will  ride  into  the  centre  of  the  whole  tribe,"  re- 
turned the  youth,  fiercely,  "  and  put  their  manhood  to  the 
test." 

"  Ay,  it's  well  in  words,  but  what  would  it  prove  in 
deeds  ?  Here  is  a  dealer  in  bees,  who  can  teach  you  wis- 
dom in  a  matter  like  this." 

"  Now,  for  that  matter,  old  trapper,"  said  Paul,  stretching 
his  athletic  form  like  a  mastiff  conscious  of  his  strength, 
"  I  am  on  the  side  of  the  captain,  and  am  clearly  for  a  race 
against  the  fire,  though  itr  line  me  into  a  Teton  wigwam. 
Here  is  Ellen,  who  will " 

"  Of  what  use — of  what  use  are  your  stout  hearts,  when 
the  element  of  the  Lord  is  to  be  conquered  as  well  as 
human  men  ?  Look  about  you,  friends  :  the  wreath  of 
smoke,  that  is  rising  from  the  bottoms,  plainly  says  that 
there  is  no  outlet  from  the  spot  without  crossing  a  belt  of 
fire.  Look  for  yourselves,  my  men  ;  look  for  yourselves  , 
if  you  can  find  a  single  opening,  I  will  engage  to  follow." 

The  examination,  which  his  companions  so  instantly 
and  so  intently  made,  rather  served  to  assure  them  of  their 

17 


258  THE 

desperate  situation  than  to  appease  their  fears.  Huge  col« 
umns  of  smoke  were  rolling  up  from  the  plain,  and  thick- 
ening in  gloomy  masses  around  the  horizon  ;  the  red  glow 
which  gleamed  upon  their  enormous  folds  now  lighting 
their  volumes  with  the  glare  of  the  conflagration,  and  now 
flashing  to  another  point,  as  the  flames  beneath  glided 
ahead,  leaving  all  behind  enveloped  in  awful  darkness, 
and  proclaiming  louder  than  words  the  character  of  the 
imminent  and  approaching  danger. 

"This  is  terrible  !"  exclaimed  Middleton,  folding  the 
trembling  Inez  to  his  heart — "at  such  a  time  as  this,  and  in 
such  a  manner  !  " 

"  The  gates  of  Heaven  are  open  to  all  who  truly  be- 
lieve," murmured  the  pious  devotee  in  his  bosom. 

"  This  resignation  is  maddening !  But  we  are  men,  and 
will  make  a  struggle  for  our  lives  !  How  now,  my  brave 
and  spirited  friend  ;  shall  we  yet  mount  and  push  across 
the  flame,  or  shall  we  stand  here,  and  see  those  we  most 
love  perish  in  this  frightful  manner,  without  an  effort  ?" 

"  I  am  for  a  swarming-time,  and  a  flight  before  the  hive 
is  too  hot  to  hold  us,"  said  the  bee-hunter,  to  whom  it  will 
be  at  once  seen  that  Middleton  addressed  himself.  "  Come, 
old  trapper,  you  must  acknowledge  that  this  is  but  a  slow 
way  of  getting  out  of  danger.  If  we  tarry  here  much 
longer,  it  will  be  in  the  fashion  that  the  bees  lie  around  the 
straw  after  the  hive  has  been  smoked  for  its  honey.  You 
may  hear  the  fire  begin  to  roar  already,  and  I  know  by  ex- 
perience that,  when  the  flame  once  gets  fairly  into  the 
prairie-grass,  it  is  no  sloth  that  can  outrun  it." 

"  Think  you,"  returned  the  old  man,  pointing  scornfully 
at  the  mazes  of  the  dry  and  matted  grass  which  environed 
them,  "  that  mortal  feet  can  outstrip  the  speed  of  fire  on 
such  a  path  ?  If  I  only  knew,  now,  on  which  side  these 
miscreants  lay  !  " 

"What  say  you,  friend  doctor,"  cried  the  bewildered 
Paul,  turning  to  the  naturalist  with  that  sort  of  helpless- 
ness with  which  the  strong  are  often  apt  to  seek  aid  of  the 
weak  when  human  power  is  baffled  by  the  hand  of  a  might- 
ier Being,  "  what  say  you  ?  have  you  no  advice  to  give 
away  in  a  case  of  life  and  death  ? " 

The  naturalist  stood,  tablets  in  hand,  looking  at  the 
awful  spectacle  with  as  much  composure  as  if  the  confla- 
gration had  been  lighted  in  order  to  solve  the  difficulties 
of  some  scientific  problem.  Aroused  by  the  question  of 


THE  PRAIRIE.  259 

his  companion,  he  turned  to  his  equally  calm  though  dif- 
ferently occupied  associate,  the  trapper,  demanding,  with 
the  most  provoking  insensibility  to  the  urgent  nature  of 
their  situation  : 

"  Venerable  hunter,  you  have  often  witnessed  similar 
prismatic  experiments " 

He  was  rudely  interrupted  by  Paul,  who  struck  the  tab- 
lets from  his  hands  with  a  violence  that  betrayed  the  utter 
intellectual  confusion  which  had  overset  the  equanimity  of 
his  mind.  Before  time  was  allowed  for  remonstrance,  the 
old  man,  who  had  continued  during  the  whole  scene  like 
one  much  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  though  also  like  one 
who  was  rather  perplexed  than  alarmed,  suddenly  assumed 
a  decided  air,  as  if  he  no  longer  doubted  on  the  course  it 
was  most  advisable  to  pursue. 

"It  is  time  to  be  doing,"  he  said,  interrupting  the  con- 
troversy that  was  about  to  ensue  between  the  naturalist 
and  the  bee-hunter  ;  "  it  is  time  to  leave  off  books  and 
meanings,  and  to  be  doing." 

"You  have  come  to  your  recollections  too  late,  miserable 
old  man  ! "  cried  Middleton  ;  "  the  flames  are  within  a  qpuar- 
ter  of  a  mile  of  us,  and  the  wind  is  bringing  them  down  in 
this  quarter  with  dreadful  rapidity." 

"  Anan  !  the  flames  !  I  care  but  little  for  the  flames.  If 
I  only  knew  how  to  circumvent  the  cunning  of  the  Tetons 
as  I  know  how  to  cheat  the  fire  of  its  prey,  there  would  be 
nothing  needed  but  thanks  to  the  Lord  for  our  deliverance. 
Do  you  call  this  a  fire  ?  If  you  had  seen  what  I  have  wit" 
nessed  in  the  Eastern  hills,  when  mighty  mountains  were 
like  the  furnace  of  a  smith,  you  would  have  known  what  it 
was  to  fear  the  flames,  and  to  be  thankful  that  you  were 
spared.  Come,  lads,  come  ;  'tis  time  to  be  doing  now,  and 
to  cease  talking  ;  for  yonder  curling  flame  is  truly  coming 
on  like  a  trotting  moose.  Put  hands  upon  this  short  and 
withered  grass  where  we  stand,  and  lay  bare  the  'arth." 

"Would  you  think  to  deprive  the  fire  of  its  victims  in 
this  childish  manner  ?"  exclaimed  Middleton. 

A  faint,  but  solemn  smile  passed  over  the  features  of  the 
old  man  as  he  answered  : 

"  Your  grand'ther  would  have  said  that,  when  the  en- 
emy was  nigh,  a  soldier  could  do  no  better  than  to  obey." 

The  captain  felt  the  reproof  and  instantly  began  to  imi- 
tate the  industry  of  Paul,  who  was  tearing  the  decayed 
herbage  from  the  ground  in  a  sort  of  desperate  compliance 


20o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

with  the  trapper's  direction.  Even  Ellen  lent  her  hands 
to  the  labor,  nor  was  it  long  before  Inez  was  seen  similarly 
employed,  though  none  among  them  knew  why  or  where- 
fore. When  life  is  thought  to  be  the  reward  of  labor,  men 
are  wont  to  be  industrious.  A  very  few  moments  sufficed 
to  lay  bare  a  spot  of  some  twenty  feet  in  diameter.  Into 
one  edge  of  this  little  area  the  trapper  brought  the  females, 
directing  Middleton  and  Paul  to  cover  their  light  and  in- 
flammable dresses  with  the  blankets  of  the  party.  So  soon 
as  this  precaution  was  observed,  the  old  man  approached 
the  opposite  margin  of  the  grass  which  still  environed 
them  in  a  tall  and  dangerous  circle,  and,  selecting  a  hand- 
ful of  the  driest  of  the  herbage,  he  placed  it  over  the  pan 
of  his  rifle.  The  light  combustible  kindled  at  the  flash. 
Then  he  placed  the  little  flame  in  a  bed  of  the  standing 
fog,  and,  withdrawing  from  the  spot  to  the  centre  of  the 
ring,  he  patiently  awaited  the  result. 

The  subtle  element  seized  with  avidity  upon  its  new 
fuel,  and  in  a  moment  forked  flames  were  gliding  among 
the  grass,  as  the  tongues  of  ruminating  animals  are  seen 
rolling  among  their  food,  apparently  in  quest  of  its  sweet' 
est  portions. 

"Now,"  said  the  old  man,  holding  up  a  finger,  and 
laughing  in  his  peculiarly  silent  manner,  "you  shall  see 
fire  fight  fire  !  Ah's  me  !  many  is  the  time  I  have  burnt  a 
smoothy  path,  from  wanton  laziness  to  pick  my  way  across 
a  tangled  bottom." 

"But  is  this  not  fatal  ?"  cried  the  amazed  Middleton  ; 
"  are  you  not  bringing  the  enemy  nigher  to  us  instead  of 
avoiding  it  ?  " 

"  Do  you  scorch  so  easily  ?  your  grand'ther  had  a 
tougher  skin.  But  we  shall  all  live  to  see — we  shall  alJ 
live  to  see." 

The  experience  of  the  trapper  was  in  the  right.  As  the 
fire  gained  strength  and  heat,  it  began  to  spread  on  three 
sides,  dying  of  itself  on  the  fourth,  for  want  of  aliment. 
As  it  increased,  and  the  sullen  roaring  announced  its 
power,  it  cleared  everything  before  it,  leaving  the  black 
and  smoking  soil  far  more  naked  than  if  the  scythe  had 
swept  the  place.  The  situation  of  the  fugitives  would 
have  still  been  hazardous  had  not  the  area  enlarged  as  th^ 
flame  encircled  them.  But  by  advancing  to  the  spot  where 
the  trapper  had  kindled  the  grass,  they  avoided  the  heat, 
and  in  a  very  few  moments  the  flames  began  to  recede  iin 


THE  PRAIRIE.  201 

every  quarter,  leaving  them  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  smoke_ 
but  perfectly  safe  from  the  torrent  of  fire  that  was  stilt 
furiously  rolling  onward. 

The  spectators  regarded  the  simple  expedient  of  the 
trapper  with  that  species  of  wonder  with  which  the  cour- 
tiers of  Ferdinand  are  said  to  have  viewed  the  manner  in 
which  Columbus  made  his  egg  stand  on  its  end,  though 
with  feelings  that  were  filled  with  gratitude  instead  of 
envy. 

"  Most  wonderful  !  "  said  Middleton,  when  he  saw  the 
complete  success  of  the  means  by  which  they  had  been 
rescued  from  a  danger  that  he  had  conceived  to  be  un- 
avoidable. "  The  thought  was  a  gift  from  Heaven,  and 
the  hand  that  executed  it  should  be  immortal  ! " 

"  Old  trapper,"  cried  Paul,  thrusting  his  fingers  through 
his  shaggy  locks,  "  I  have  lined  many  a  loaded  bee  into  his 
hole,  and  know  something  of  the  nature  of  the  woods, 
but  this  is  robbing  a  hornet  of  his  sting  without  touching 
the  insect ! " 

"  It  will  do — it  will  do,"  returned  the  old  man,  who,  after 
the  first  moment  of  his  success  seemed  to  think  no  more 
of  the  exploit  ;  "  now  get  the  horses  in  readiness.  Let 
the  flames  do  their  work  for  a  short  half-hour,  and  then 
we  will  mount.  That  time  is  needed  to  cool  the  meadow, 
for  these  unshod  Teton  beasts  are  as  tender  on  the  hoof 
as  a  barefooted  girl." 

Middleton  and  Paul,  who  considered  this  unlooked-for 
escape  as  a  species  of  resurrection,  patiently  awaited  the 
time  the  trapper  mentioned  with  renewed  confidence  in  the 
infallibility  of  his  judgment.  The  doctor  regained  his  tab- 
lets, a  little  the  worse  from  having  fallen  among  the  grass 
which  had  been  subject  to  the  action  of  the  flames,  and 
was  consoling  himself  for  this  slight  misfortune  by  record- 
ing uninterruptedly  such  different  vacillations  in  light  and 
shadow  as  he  chose  to  consider  phenomena. 

In  the  meantime  the  veteran,  on  whose  experience  they 
all  so  implicitly  relied  for  protection,  employed  himself  in 
reconnoitring  objects  in  the  distance,  through  the  open* 
ings  which  the  air  occasionally  made  in  the  immense  bodies 
of  smoke,  that  by  this  time  lay  in  enormous  piles  on  every 
part  of  the  plain.  * 

"  Look  you  here,  lads,"  the  trapper  said,  after  a  long 
and  anxious  examination,  "  your  eyes  are  young  and  may 
prove  better  than  my  worthless  sight — though  the  tima 


262  THE  PRAIRIE. 

has  been  when  a  wise  and  brave  people  saw  reason  to 
th;iik  me  quick  on  a  lookout ;  but  those  times  are  gone, 
and  many  a  true  and  tried  friend  has  passed  away  with 
them.  Ah's  me  !  if  I  could  choose  a  change  in  the  order- 
ings  of  Providence — which  I  cannot,  and  which  it  would 
be  blasphemy  to  attempt,  seeing  that  all  things  are  gov- 
erned by  a  wiser  mind  than  belongs  to  mortal  weakness — 
but  if  I  wrere  to  choose  a  change,  it  would  be  to  say  that 
such  as  they  who  have  lived  long  together  in  friendship 
and  kindness,  and  who  have  proved  their  fitness  to  go  in 
company,  by  many  acts  of  suffering  and  daring  in  each 
other's  behalf,  should  be  permitted  to  give  up  life  at  such 
times,  as  when  the  death  of  one  leaves  the  other  but  little 
reason  to  live." 

"  Is  it  an  Indian  that  you  see  ?"  demanded  the  impatient 
Middleton. 

"  Red-skin  or  white-skin,  it  is  much  the  same.  Friend- 
ship and  use  can  tie  men  as  strongly  together  in  the  woods 
as  in  the  towns — ay,  and  for  that  matter,  stronger.  Here 
are  the  young  warriors  of  the  prairies.  Often  do  they 
sort  themselves  in  pairs,  and  set  apart  their  lives  for  deeds 
of  friendship  ;  and  well  and  truly  do  they  act  up  to  their 
promises.  The  death-blow  to  one  is  commonly  mortal  to 
the  other  !  I  have  been  a  solitary  man  much  of  my  time, 
if  he  can  be  called  solitary  who  has  lived  for  seventy  years 
in  the  very  bosom  of  Natur',  and  where  he  could  at  any 
instant  open  his  heart  to  God  without  having  to  strip  it  of 
the  cares  and  wickednesses  of  the  settlements — but,  mak- 
ing that  allowance,  have  I  been  a  solitary  man  ;  and  yet 
have  I  always  found  that  intercourse  with  my  kind  was 
pleasant,  and  painful  to  break  off,  provided  that  the  com- 
panion was  brave  and  honest — brave,  because  a  skeary 
comrade  in  the  woods,"  suffering  his  eyes  inadvertently  to 
rest  a  moment  on  the  person  of  the  abstracted  naturalist, 
"  is  apt  to  make  a  short  path  long  ;  and  honest,  inasmuch 
as  craftiness  is  rather  an  instinct  of  the  brutes  than  a  gift 
becoming  the  reason  of  a  human  man." 

"  But  the  object  that  you  saw — was  it  a  Sioux  ? " 

"  What  the  world  of  America  is  coming  to,  and  where 
the  machinations  and  inventions  of  its  people  are  to  have 
an  end,  the  Lord,  he  only  knows.  'I  have  seen  in  my  day 
the  chief  who,  in  his  time,  had  beheld  the  first  Christian 
that  placed  his  wicked  foot  in  the  regions  of  York  !  How 
much  has  the  beauty  of  the  wilderness  been  deformed  in 


THE  PRAIRIE.  26} 

two  short  lives  !  My  own  eyes  were  first  opened  on  the 
shore  of  the  Eastern  sea,  and  well  do  I  remember  that  I 
tried  the  virtues  of  the  first  rifle  I  ever  bore,  after  such  a 
march,  from  the  door  of  my  father  to  the  forest,  as  a 
stripling  could  make  between  sun  and  sun  ;  and  that  with- 
out offence  to  the  rights  or  prejudices  of  any  man  who 
set  himself  up  to  be  the  owner  of  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
Natur'  then  lay  in  its  glory  along  the  whole  coast,  giving 
a  narrow  stripe,  between  the  woods  and  the  ocean,  to  the 
greediness  of  the  settlers.  And  where  am  I  now  ?  Had 
I  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  they  would  tire  before  a  tenth  of 
the  distance,  which  separates  me  from  that  sea,  could  be 
passed  ;  and  towns  and  villages,  farms  and  highways, 
churches  and  schools,  in  short,  all  the  inventions  and 
deviltries  of  man,  are  spread  across  the  region.  I  have 
known  the  time  when  a  few  red-skins,  shouting  along  the 
border,  could  set  the  provinces  in  a  fever  ;  and  men  were 
to  be  armed  ;  and  troops  were  to  be  called  to  aid  from  a 
distant  land  ;  and  prayers  were  said,  and  the  women  fright- 
ed, and  few  slept  in  quiet,  because  the  Iroquois  were  on 
the  war-path,  or  the  accursed  Mingo  had  the  tomahawk  in 
hand.  How  is  it  now  ?  The  country  sends  out  her  ships 
to  foreign  lands  to  wage  their  battles  ;  cannon  are  plentier 
than  the  rifle  used  to  be  ;  and  trained  soldiers  are  never 
wanting,  in  tens  of  thousands,  when  need  calls  for  their 
services.  Such  is  the  difference  atween  a  province  and  a 
State,  my  men ;  and  I,  miserable  and  worn  out  as  I  seem, 
have  lived  to  see  it  all !  " 

"That  you  must  have  seen  many  a  chopper  skimming 
the  cream  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  many  a  settler 
getting  the  very  honey  of  Nature,  old  trapper,"  said  Paul, 
"  no  reasonable  man  can,  or,  for  that  matter,  shall  doubt. 
But  here  is  Ellen  getting  uneasy  about  the  Siouxes,  and 
now  you  have  opened  your  mind  so  freely  concerning  these 
matters,  if  you  will  just  put  us  on  the  line  of  our  flight, 
the  swarm  wrill  make  another  move." 

"Anan!" 

"  I  say  that  Ellen  is  getting  uneasy  ;  and  as  the  smoke 
is  lifting  from  the  plain," it  may  be  prudent  to  take  another 
flight." 

"  The  boy  is  reasonable.  I  had  forgotten  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  raging  fire,  and  that  Siouxes  were  round  about 
us  like  hungry  wolves  watching  a  drove  of  buffaloes.  But 
when  memory  is  at  work  in  my  old  brain,  on  times  long 


264  THE  PRAIRIE. 

past,  it  is  apt  to  overlook  the  matters  of  the  day.  You  say 
right,  my  children  ;  it  is  time  to  be  moving,  and  now  comes 
the  real  nicety  of  our  case.  It  is  easy  to  outwit  a  furnace, 
for  it  is  nothing  but  a  raging  element ;  and  it  is  not  always 
difficult  to  throw  a  grizzly  bear  from  his  scent,  for  the 
creatur'  is  both  enlightened  and  blinded  by  his  instinct ; 
but  to  shut  the  eyes  of  a  waking  Teton  is  a  matter  of 
greater  judgment,  inasmuch  as  his  deviltry  is  backed  by 
reason." 

Notwithstanding  the  old  man  appeared  so  conscious  of 
the  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  he  set  about  its  achieve- 
ment with  great  steadiness  and  alacrity.  After  complet- 
ing the  examination,  which  had  been  interrupted  by  the 
melancholy  wanderings  of  his  mind,  he  gave  the  signal  to 
his  companions  to  mount.  The  horses,  which  had  con- 
tinued passive  and  trembling  amid  the  raging  of  the  fire, 
received  their  burdens  with  a  satisfaction  so  very  evident 
as  to  furnish  a  favorable  augury  of  their  future  industry. 
The  trapper  invited  the  doctor  to  take  his  own  steed,  de- 
claring his  intention  to  proceed  on  foot. 

"  I  am  but  little  used  to  journeying  with  the  feet  of 
others,"  he  added,  as  a  reason  for  the  measure,  "and  my 
legs  are  a  weary  of  doing  nothing.  Besides,  should  we 
light  suddenly  on  an  ambushment,  which  is  a  thing  far 
from  impossible,  the  horse  will  be  in  a  better  condition  for 
a  hard  run  with  one  man  on  his  back  than  with  two.  As 
for  me,  what  matters  it  whether  my  time  is  to  be  a  day 
shorter  or  a  day  longer  ?  Let  the  Tetons  take  my  scalp, 
if  it  be  God's  pleasure  ;  they  will  find  it  covered  with  gray 
hairs  ;  and  it  is  beyond  the  craft  of  man  to  cheat  me  of  the 
knowledge  and  experience  by  which  they  have  been 
whitened." 

As  no  one  among  the  impatient  listeners  seemed  disposed 
to  dispute  the  arrangement,  it  was  acceded  to  in  silence. 
The  doctor,  though  he  uttered  a  few  mourning  exclama- 
tions on  behalf  of  the  lost  Asinus,  was  by  far  too  well 
E leased  in  finding  that  his  speed  was  likely  to  be  sustained 
y  four  legs  instead  of  two,  to  be  long  in  complying  ;  and, 
consequently,  in  a  very  few  moments  the  bee-hunter,  who 
was  never  last  to  speak  on  such  occasions,  vociferously 
announced  that  they  were  ready  to  proceed. 

"  Now  look  off  yonder  to  the  east,"  said  the  old  man,  as 
he  began  to  lead  the  way  across  the  murky  and  still  smok- 
ing plain  ;  "  little  fear  of  cold  feet  in  journeying  such  a 


THE  PRAIRIE.  26$ 

path  as  this  :  but  look  you  off  to  the  east,  and  if  you  see 
a  sheet  of  shining  white,  glistening  like  a  plate  of  beaten 
silver  through  the  openings  of  the  smoke,  why,  that  is 
water.  A  noble  stream  is  running  thereaway,  and  I 
thought  I  got  a  glimpse  of  it  a  while  since  ;  but  other 
thoughts  came,  and  I  lost  it.  It  is  a  broad  and  swift  river, 
such  as  the  Lord  has  made  many  of  its  fellows  in  this  des- 
ert. For  here  may  Natur'  be  seen  in  all  its  richness,  trees 
alone  excepted.  Trees,  which  are  to  the  'arth  as  fruits  are 
to  a  garden  ;  without  them  nothing  can  be  pleasant  ot 
thoroughly  useful.  Now  watch  all  of  you,  with  open  eyes, 
for  that  stripe  of  glittering  water  :  we  shall  not  be  safe  un- 
til it  is  flowing  between  our  trail  and  these  sharp-sighted 
Tetons." 

The  latter  declaration  was  enough  to  insure  a  vigilant 
lookout  for  the  desired  stream,  on  the  part  of  all  the  trap^ 
per's  followers.  With  this  object  in  view,  the  party  pro- 
ceeded in  profound  silence,  the  old  man  having  admonished 
them  of  the  Necessity  of  caution,  as  they  entered  the  clouds 
of  smoke,  which  were  rolling  like  masses  of  fog  along  the 
plain,  more  particularly  over  those  spots  where  the  fire 
had  encountered  occasional  pools  of  stagnant  water. 

They  travelled  near  a  league  in  this  mariner  without  ob- 
taining the  desired  glimpse  of  the  river.  The  fire  was  still 
raging  in  the  distance,  and,  as  the  air  swept  away  the  first 
vapor  of  the  conflagration,  fresh  volumes  rolled  along  the 
place,  limiting  the  view.  At  length  the  old  man,  who  had 
begun  to  betray  some  little  uneasiness,  which  caused  his 
followers  to  apprehend  that  even  his  acute  faculties  were 
beginning  to  be  confused  in  the  mazes  of  the  smoke,  made 
a  sudden  pause,  and,  dropping  his  rifle  to  the  ground,  he 
stood,  apparently  musing  over  some  object  at  his  feet. 
Middleton  and  the  rest  rode  up  to  his  side,  and  demanded 
the  reason  of  the  halt. 

"Look  ye  here,"  returned  the  trapper,  pointing  to  the 
mutilated  carcass  of  a  horse  that  lay  more  than  half  con- 
sumed in  a  little  hollow  of  the  ground  ;  "  here  may  you 
see  the  power  of  a  prairie  conflagration.  The  'arth  is 
moist,  hereaway,  and  the  grass  has  been  taller  than  usual. 
This  miserable  beast  has  been  caught  in  his  bed.  You  see 
the  bones,  the  crackling  and  scorched  hide,  and  the  grin- 
ning teeth.  A  thousand  winters  could 'not  wither  an 
animal  so  thoroughly  as  the  element  has  done  it  in  a 
minute." 


266  THE  PRAIRIE. 

11  And  this  might  have  been  our  fate/'  said  MiddJeton, 
"  had  the  flames  come  upon  us  in  our  sleep  !  " 

"  Nay,  I  do  not  say  that,  I  do  not  say  that.  Not  but 
that  man  will  burn  as  well  as  tinder  ;  but  that,  being  more 
reasoning  than  a  horse,  he  would  better  know  how  to 
avoid  the  danger." 

"  Perhaps  this,  then,  has  been  but  the  carcass  of  an  ani- 
mal, or  he  too  would  have  fled  ? " 

"  See  you  these  marks  in  the  damp  soil  ?  Here  have 
been  his  hoofs,  and  there  is  a  moccasin-print,  as  I'm  a  sin- 
ner !  The  owner  of  the  beast  has  tried  hard  to  move  him 
from  the  place,  but  it  is  in  the  instinct  of  the  creatur'  to 
be  faint-hearted  and  obstinate  in  a  fire." 

"  It  is  a  well-known  fact.  But  if  the  animal  has  had  a 
rider,  where  is  he  ?  " 

"Ay,  therein  lies  the  mystery,"  returned  the  trapper, 
stooping  to  examine  the  signs  in  the  ground  with  closer 
eye.  "  Yes,  yes,  it  is  plain  there  has  been  a  long  struggle 
atween  the  two.  The  master  has  tried  hard  to  save  his 
beast,  and  the  flames  must  have  been  very  greedy,  or  he 
would  have  had  better  success." 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  interrupted  Paul,  pointing  to  a 
little  distance,  where  the  ground  was  drier,  and  the  herb- 
age had,  in  consequence,  been  less  luxuriant  ;  "just  call 
fihem  two  horses.  Yonder  lies  another." 

"  The  boy  is  right !  Can  it  be  that  the  Tetons  have 
been  caught  in  their  own  snares  ?  Such  things  do  happen  ; 
and  here  is  an  example  to  all  evil-doers.  Ay,  look  you 
here  :  this  is  iron  ;  there  have  been  some  white  inventions 
about  the  trappings  of  the  beast — it  must  be  so — it  must 
be  so — a  party  of  the  knaves  have  been  skirting  in  the 
grass  after  us,  while  their  friends  have  fired  the  prairie,  and 
look  you  at  the  consequences  ;  they  have  lost  their  beasts, 
and  happy  have  they  been  if  their  own  souls  are  not  now 
skirting  along  the  path  which  leads  to  the  Indian  heaven." 

"  They  had  the  same  expedient  at  command  as  your- 
self," rejoined  Middleton,  as  the  party  slowly  proceeded, 
approaching  the  other  carcass,  which  lay  directly  on  their 
route. 

"  I  know  not  that.  It  is  not  every  savage  that  carries 
his  steel  and  flint,  or  as  good  a  rifle-pan  as  this  old  friend 
of  mine.  It  is  slow  making  a  fire  with  two  sticks,  and 
little  time  was  given  to  consider  or  invent  just  at  this  spot, 
as  you  may  see  by  yon  streak  of  flame,  which  is  flashing 


THE  PRAIRIE.  267 

along  afore  the  wind,  as  if  it  were  on  a  trail  of  powder. 
It  is  not  many  minutes  since  the  fire  has  passed  hereaway, 
and  it  may  be  Avell  to  look  at  our  primings  ;  not  that  I 
would  willingly  combat  the  Tetons,  God  forbid  !  but  if  a 
fight  needs  be,  it  is  always  wise  to  get  the  first  shot." 

"This  has  been  a  strange  beast,  old  man,"  said  Paul, 
who  had  pulled  the  bridle,  or  rather  halter  of  his  steed, 
over  the  second  carcass,  wrhile  the .  rest  of  the  party  were 
already  passing,  in  their  eagerness  to  proceed  ;  "  a  strange 
horse  do  I  call  it  ;  it  had  neither  head  nor  hoofs  ! " 

"  The  fire  has  not  been  idle,"  returned  the  trapper, 
keeping  his  eye  vigilantly  employed  in  profiting  by  those 
glimpses  of  the  horizon  which  the  whirling  smoke  offered 
to  his  examination.  "  It  would  soon  bake  you  a  buffalo 
whole,  or  for  that  matter  powder  his  hoofs  and  horns  into 
white  ashes.  Shame,  shame,  old  Hector !  As  for  the  cap- 
tain's pup,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  he  would  show  his 
want  of  years,  and  I  may  say,  I  hope  without  offence,  his 
want  of  education  too  ;  but  for  a  hound  like  you,  who 
have  lived  so  long  in  the  forest  afore  you  came  into  these 
plains,  it  is  very  disgraceful,  Hector,  to  be  showing  your 
teeth,  and  growling  at  the  carcass  of  a  roasted  horse,  the 
same  as  if  you  were  telling  your  master  that  you  had 
found  the  trail  of  a  grizzly  bear." 

"  I  tell  you,  old  trapper,  this  is  no  horse  ;  neither  in 
hoofs,  head,  nor  hide." 

"  Anan  !  Not  a  horse  ?  your  eyes  are  good  for  the  bees 
and  for  the  hollow  trees,  my  lad,  but — bless  me,  the  boy  is 
right !  That  I  should  mistake  the  hide  of  a  buffalo, 
scorched  and  crimpled  as  it  is,  for  the  carcass  of  a  horse  ! 
Ah's  me  !  The  time  has  been,  my  men,  when  I  would  tell 
you  the  name  of  a  beast  as  far  as  eye  could  reach,  and  that 
too  with  most  of  the  particulars  of  color,  age,  and  sex." 

"  An  inestimable  advantage  have  you  then  enjoyed,  ven- 
erable venator  !  "  observed  the  attentive  naturalist.  "  The 
man  who  can  make  these  distinctions  in  a  desert  is  saved 
the  pain  of  many  a  weary  walk,  and  often  of  an  inquiry 
that  in  its  result  proves  useless.  Pray  tell  me,  did  your 
exceeding  excellence  of  vision  extend  so  far  as  to  enable 
you  to  decide  on  their  order  or  genus  ?  " 

"  I  know  not  what  you  mean  by  your  orders  of  genius." 

"  No  !  "  interrupted  the  bee-hunter,  a  little  disdainfully 
for  him,  when  speaking  to  his  aged  friend  :  "  now,  old 
trapper,  that  is  admitting  your  ignorance  of  the  English 


268  THE  PRAIRIE. 

language  in  a  way  I  should  not  expect  from  a  man 
of  your  experience  and  understanding.  By  order,  oui 
comrade  means  whether  they  go  in  promiscuous  droves, 
like  a  swarm  that  is  following  its  queen-bee,  or  in  single 
file,  as  you  often  see  the  buffaloes  trailing  each  other 
through  a  prairie.  And  as  for  genius,  I'm  sure  that  is  .a 
word  well  understood,  and  in  everybody's  mouth.  There 
is  the  Congressman  in  our  district,  and  that  tonguey  little 
fellow  who  puts  out  the  paper  in  our  country,  they  are 
both  so  called,  for  their  smartness ;  which  is  what  the  doc- 
tor means,  as  I  take  it,  seeing  that  he  seldom  speaks  with 
out  some  considerable  meaning." 

When  Paul  finished  this  very  clever  explanation  he 
looked  behind  him  with  an  expression  which,  rightly  in- 
terpreted, would  have  said — "You  see,  though  I  don'f- 
often  trouble  myself  in  these  matters  I  am  no  fool." 

Ellen  admired  Paul  for  anything  but  his  learning. 
There  was  enough  in  his  frank,  fearless,  and  manly  char- 
acter, backed  as  it  was  by  great  personal  attraction,  to 
awaken  her  sympathies,  without  the  necessity  of  prying 
into  his  mental  attainments.  The  poor  girl  reddened  like 
a  rose,  her  pretty  fingers  played  with  the  belt  by  which 
she  sustained  herself  on  the  horse,  and  she  hurriedly  ob- 
served, as  if  anxious  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  other 
listeners  from  a  weakness  on  which  her  own  thoughts 
could  not  bear  to  dwell  : 

"  And  this  is  not  a  horse,  after  all  ? " 

"  It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  hide  of  a  buffalo," 
continued  the  trapper,  who  had  been  no  less  puzzled  by 
the  explanation  or  Paul  than  by  the  language  of  the  doc- 
tor ;  "the  hair  is  beneath  ;  the  fire  has  run  over  it  as  you 
see  ;  for,  being  fresh,  the  flames  could  take  no  hold.  The 
beast  has  not  been  long  killed,  and  it  may  be  that  some  of 
the  beef  is  still  hereaway." 

"Lift  the  corner  of  the  skin,  old  trapper,"  said  Paul 
with  the  tone  of  one  who  felt  as  if  he  had  now  proved  his 
right  to  mingle  his  voice  in  any  counsel  ;  "  if  there  is  a 
morsel  of  the  hump  left,  it  must  'be  well  cooked,  and  it 
shall  be  welcome." 

The  old  man  laughed  heartily  at  the  conceit  of  his 
companion.  Thrusting  his  foot  beneath  the  skin,  it 
moved.  Then  it  was  suddenly  cast  aside,  and  an  Indian 
warrior  sprang  from  its  cover  to  his  feet,  with  an  agility 
that  bespoke  how  urgent  he  deemed  the  occasion. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  26} 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"  I  would  it  were  bedtime,  Hal,  and  all  well." — SHAKESPEARE. 

A  SECOND  glance  sufficed  to  convince  the  whole  of  the 
startled  party  that  the  young  Pawnee,  whom  they  had  al- 
ready encountered,  again  stood  before  them.  Surprise  kept 
both  sides  mute,  and  more  than  a  minute  was  passed  in 
surveying  each  other  with  eyes  of  astonishment  if  not  of 
distrust.  The  wonder  of  the  young  warrior  was,  however, 
much  more  tempered  and  dignified  than  that  of  his  Chris- 
tian acquaintances.  While  Middleton  and  Paul  felt  the 
tremor  which  shook  the  persons  of  their  dependent  com- 
panions thrilling  through  their  own  quickened  blood,  the 
glowing  eye  of  the  Indian  rolled  from  one  to  another  as 
if  it  could  never  quail  before  the  rudest  assaults.  His 
gaze,  after  making  the  circuit  of  every  wondering  counte- 
nance, finally  settled  in  a  steady  look  on  the  equally  im- 
movable features  of  the  trapper.  The  silence  was  first 
broken  by  Dr.  Battius,  in  the  ejaculation  of — 

"  Order,  primates ;  genus,  homo  ;  species,  prairie  !  " 

"  Ay — ay — the  secret  is  out,"  said  the  old  trapper,  shak- 
ing his  head,  like  one  who  congratulated  himself  on  hav- 
ing mastered  the  mystery  of  some  knotty  difficulty.  "  The 
lad  has  been  in  the  grass  for  cover  ;  the  fire  has  come 
upon  him  in  his  sleep,  and,  having  lost  his  horse,  he  has 
been  driven  to  save  himself  under  that  fresh  hide  of  a  buf- 
falo. No  bad  invention,  when  powder  and  flint  were 
wanting  to  kindle  a  ring.  I  warrant  me,  now,  this  is  a 
clever  youth,  and  one  that  it  would  be  safe  to  journey  with  ! 
I  will  speak  to  him  kindly,  for  anger  can  at  least  serve  no 
turn  of  ours. — My  brother  is  welcome  again,"  using  the 
language  which  the  other  understood  ;  "  the  Tetons  have 
been  smoking  him,  as  they  would  a  raccoon." 

The  young  Pawnee  rolled  his  eyes  over  the  place,  as  if 
he  were  examining  the  terrific  danger  from  which  he  had 
just  escaped,  but  he  disdained  to  betray  the  smallest  emo- 
tion at  its  imminency.  His  brow  contracted  as  he  answered 
to  the  remark  of  the  trapper  by  saying  : 

"  A  Teton  is  a  dog.  When  the  Pawnee  war-whoop  is  in 
their  ears,  the  whole  nation  howls." 

"  It  is  true.     The  imps  are  on  our  trail,  and  I  am  glad  to 


270  THE  PRAIRIE.  . 

meet  a  warrior,  with  the  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  who  does 
not  love  them.  Will  my  brother  lead  my  children  to  his 
village  ?  If  the  Siouxes  follow  on  our  path,  my  young 
men  shall  help  him  to  strike  them." 

The  young  Pawnee  turned  his  eyes  from  one  to  another 
of  the  strangers,  in  a  keen  scrutiny,  before  he  saw  fit  to 
answer  so  important  an  interrogatory.  His  examination 
of  the  males  was  short,  and  apparently  satisfactory.  But 
his  gaze  was  fastened  long  and  admiringly,  as  in  their 
former  interview,  on  the  surpassing  and  unwonted  beauty 
of  a  being  so  fair  and  so  unknown  as  Inez.  Though  his 
glance  wandered,  for  moments,  from  her  countenance  to  the 
more  intelligible  and  yet  extraordinary  charms  of  Ellen,  it 
did  not  fail  to  return  promptly  to  the  study  of  a  creature 
who,  in  the  view  of  his  unpractised  eye  and  untutored  im- 
agination, was  formed  with  all  that  perfection  with  which 
the  youthful  poet  is  apt  to  endow  the  glowing  images  of 
his  brain.  Nothing  so  fair,  so  ideal,  so  every  way  worthy 
to  reward  the  courage  and  self-devotion  of  a  warrior,  had 
ever  before  been  encountered  on  the  prairies,  and  the  young 
brave  appeared  to  be  deeply  and  intuitively  sensible  to  the 
influence  of  so  rare  a  model  of  the  loveliness  of  the  sex. 
Perceiving,  however,  that  his  gaze  gave  uneasiness  to  the 
subject  of  his  admiration,  he  withdrew  his  eyes,  and,  lay- 
ing his  hand  impressively  on  his  chest,  he  modestly  an- 
swered : 

"  My  father  shall  be  welcome.  The  young  men  of  my 
nation  shall  hunt  with  his  sons  ;  the  chiefs  shall  smoke 
with  the  gray-head.  The  Pawnee  girls  will  sing  in  the 
ears  of  his  daughters." 

"  And  if  we  meet  the  Tetons  ?  "  demanded  the  trapper, 
who  wished  to  understand,  thoroughly,  the  more  important 
conditions  of  this  new  alliance. 

"  The  enemy  of  the  Big-knives  shall  feel  the  blow  of  the 
Pawnee." 

"It  is  well.  Now,  let  my  brother  and  I  meet  in  coun- 
sel, that  we  may  not  go  on  a  crooked  path,  but  that  our 
road  to  his  village  may  be  like  the  flight  of  the  pigeons." 

The  young  Pawnee  made  a  significant  gesture  of  assent, 
and  followed  the  other  a  little  apart,  in  order  to  be  removed 
from  all  danger  of  interruption  from  the  reckless  Paul  or 
the  abstracted  naturalist.  Their  conference  was  short, 
but,  as  it  was  conducted  in  the  sententious  manner  of  the 
natives,  it  served  to  make  each  of  the  parties  acquainted 


THE  PRAIRIE.  27* 

with  all  the  necessary  information  of  the  other.  When 
they  rejoined  their  associates,  the  old  man  saw  fit  to  ex- 
plain a  portion  of  what  had  passed  between  them  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Ay,  I  was  not  mistaken,"  he  said  ;  "this  good-looking 
young  warrior — for  good-looking  and  noble-looking  he  is, 
though  a  little  horrified  perhaps  with  paint — this  good- 
looking  youth,  then,  tells  me  he  is  out  on  the  scout  for 
these  very  Tetons.  His  party  was  not  strong  enough  to 
strike  the  devils,  who  are  down  from  their  towns  in  great 
numbers  to  hunt  the  buffalo,  and  runners  have  gone  to  the 
Pawnee  villages  for  aid.  It  would  seem  that  this  lad  is  a 
fearless  boy,  for  he  has  been  hanging  on  their  skirts  alone, 
until,  like  ourselves,  he  was  driven  to  the  grass  for  a  cover. 
But  he  tells  me  more,  my  men,  and  what  I  am  mainly 
sorry  to  hear,  which  is,  that  the  cunning  Mahtoree,  instead 
of  going  to  blows  with  the  squatter,  has  become  his  friend, 
and  that  both  broods,  red  and  white,  are  on  our  heels,  and 
out-lying  around  this  very  burning  plain  to  circumvent  us 
to  our  destruction." 

"How  knows  he  all  this  to  be  true  ?"  demanded  Mid- 
dleton. 

"  Anan  ! " 

"In  what  manner  does  he  know  that  these  things  are 
so?" 

"In  what  manner  !  Do  you  think  newspapers  and  town- 
criers  are  needed  to  tell  a  scout  what  is  doing  on  the 
prairies,  as  they  are  in  the  bosom  of  the  States  ?  No  gos- 
siping woman,  who  hurries  from  house  to  house  to  spread 
evil  of  her  neighbor,  can  carry  tidings  with  her  tongue  so 
fast  as  these  people  will  spread  their  meaning,  by  signs 
and  warnings  that  the*y  alone  understand.  "Tis  their  Tam- 
ing, and,  what  is  better,  it  is  got  in  the  open  air,  and  not 
within  the  walls  of  a  school.  I  tell  you,  captain,  that 
what  he  says  is  true." 

"  For  that  matter,"  said  Paul,  "  I'm  ready  to  swear  to  it. 
It  is  reasonable,  and  therefore  it  must  be  true." 

"And  well  you  might,  lad — well  you  might.  He  fur- 
thermore declares  that  my  old  eyes  for  once  were  true  to 
me,  and  that  the  river  lies,  hereaway,  at  about  the  distance 
of  half  a  league.  You  see  the  fire  has  done  most  of  its 
work  in  that  quarter,  and  our  path  is  clouded  in  smoke. 
He  also  agrees  that  it  is  needful  to  wash  our  trail  in  water. 
Yes,  we  must  put  that  river  atween  us  and  the  Sioux  eyes. 


272  THE  PRAIRIE. 

and  then,  by  the  favor  of  the  Lord,  not  forgetting  our  own 
industry,  we  may  gain  the  village  of  the  Loups." 

u  Words  will  not  forward  us  a  foot,"  said  Middleton  , 
"  let  us  move." 

The  old  man  assented,  and  the  party  once  more  prepared 
to  renew  its  route.  The  Pawnee  threw  the  skin  of  the 
buffalo  over  his  shoulder  and  led  the  advance,  casting 
many  a  stolen  glance  behind  him  as  he  proceeded,  in  order 
to  fix  his  gaze  on  the  extraordinary  and,  to  him,  unac- 
countable loveliness  of  the  unconscious  Inez. 

An  hour  sufficed  to  bring  the  fugitives  to  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  which  was  one  of  the  hundred  rivers  that  serve  to 
conduct,  through  the  mighty  arteries  of  the  Missouri  and 
Mississippi,  the  waters  of  that  vast  and  still  uninhabited 
region  to  the  ocean.  The  river  was  not  deep,  but  its  cur- 
rent was  troubled  and  rapid. 

The  flames  had  scorched  the  earth  to  its  very  margin, 
and  as  the  warm  streams  of  the  fluid  mingled,  in  the  cooler 
air  of  the  morning,  with  the  smoke  of  the  raging  confla- 
gration, most  of  its  surface  was  wrapped  in  a  mantle  of 
moving  vapor.  The  trapper  pointed  out  the  circumstance 
with  pleasure,  saying,  as  he  assisted  Inez  to  dismount  on 
the  margin  of  the  water-course  : 

"  The  knaves  have  outwitted  themselves  !  I  am  far 
from  certain  that  I  should  not  have  fired  the  prairie,  to 
have  got  the  benefit  of  this  very  smoke  to  hide  our  move- 
ments, had  not  the  heartless  imps  saved  us  the  trouble. 
I've  known  such  things  done  in  my  day,  and  done  with 
success.  Come,  lady,  put  your  tender  foot  upon  the 
ground — for  a  fearful  time  has  it  been  to  one  of  your  breed- 
ing and  skeary  qualities.  Ah's  me  !  what  have  I  not  known 
the  young,  and  the  delicate,  and  the  virtuous,  and  the 
modest,  to  undergo,  in  my  time,  among  the  horrifications 
and  circumventions  of  Indian  warfare  !  Come,  it  is  a  short 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  other  bank,  and  then  our  trail,  at 
least,  will  be  broken." 

Paul  had  by  this  time  assisted  Ellen  to  dismount,  and  he 
now  stood  looking,  with  rueful  eyes,  at  the  naked  banks  of 
the  river.  Neither  tree  nor  shrub  grew  along  its  borders, 
with  the  exception  of  here  and  there  a  solitary  thicket  of 
low  bushes,  from  among  which  it  would  not  have  been  an 
easy  matter  to  have  found  a  dozen  stems  of  a  size  sufficient 
to  make  an  ordinary  walking-stick. 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  the  moody-looking  bee-hunter 


7-HE  PRAIRIE.  273 

exclaimed  ;  "  it  is  very  well  to  talk  of  the  other  side  of  this 
ripple  of  a  river,  or  brook,  or  whatever  you  may  call  it, 
but  in  my  judgment  it  would  be  a  smart  rifle  that  would 
throw  its  lead  across  it — that  is,  to  any  detriment  to  Indian 
or  deer." 

"That  it  would — that  it  would  ;  though  I  carry  a  piece 
here  that  has  done  its  work,  in  time  of  need,  at  as  great  a 
distance." 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  shoot  Ellen  and  the  captain's  lady 
across,  or  do  you  intend  them  to  go,  trout-fashion,  with 
their  mouths  under  water  ?  " 

"  Is  this  river  too  deep  to  be  forded  ?  "  asked  Middleton, 
who,  like  Paul,  began  to  consider  the  impossibility  of 
transporting  her  whose  safety  he  valued  more  than  his 
own  to  the  opposite  shore. 

"  When  the  mountains  above  feed  it  with  their  tor- 
rents, it  is,  as  you  see,  a  swift  and  powerful  stream. 
Yet  have  I  crossed  its  sandy  bed,  in  my  time,  without 
Wetting  a  knee.  But  we  have  the  Sioux  horses  ;  I  war- 
rant me  that  the  kicking  imps  will  swim  like  so  many 
deer." 

"  Old  trapper,"  said  Paul,  thrusting  his  fingers  into  his 
mop  of  a  head,  as  was  usual  with  him  when  any  difficulty 
confounded  his  philosophy,  "  I  have  swum  like  a  fish  in 
my  day,  and  I  can  do  it  again,  when  there  is  need  ;  nor  do 
I  much  regard  the  weather  ;  but  I  question  if  you  get 
Nelly  to  sit  a  horse,  with  this  water  whirling  like  a  mill^ 
race  before  her  eyes  ;  besides,  it  is  manifest  the  thing  is 
not  to  be  done  dry  shod." 

"  Ah,  the  lad  is  right.  We  must  to  our  inventions,  there-- 
fore, or  the  river  cannot  be  crossed."  Then,  cutting  the 
discourse  short,  he  turned  to  the  Pawnee,  and  explained 
to  him  the  difficulty  which  existed'in  relation  to  the  women. 
The  young  warrior  listened  gravely,  and,  throwing  the 
buffalo-skin  from  his  shoulder,  he  immediately  com- 
menced, assisted  by  the  occasional  aid  of  the  understanding 
old  man,  the  preparations  necessary  to  effect  his  desirable 
object. 

The  hide  was  soon  drawn  into  the  shape  of  an  umbrella 
top,  or  an  inverted  parachute,  by  thongs  of  deer-skin,  with 
which  both  the  laborers  were  well  provided.  A  few  light 
sticks  served  to  keep  the  parts  from  collapsing,  or  falling 
in.  When  this  simple  and  natural  expedient  was  arranged, 
it  was  placed  on  the  water,  the  Indian  making  a  sign  that 
18 


274  THE  PRAIRIE. 

it  was  ready  to  receive  its  freight.  Both  Inez  and  Ellen 
hesitated  to  trust  themselves  in  a  bark  of  so  frail  a  con- 
struction, nor  would  Middleton  or  Paul  consent  that  they 
should  do  so  until  each  had  assured  himself,  by  actual  ex- 
periment, that  the  vessel  was  capable  of  sustaining  a  load 
much  heavier  than  it  was  destined  to  receive.  Then,  in- 
deed, their  scruples  were  reluctantly  overcome,  and  the 
skin  was  made  to  receive  its  precious  burden. 

"  Now  leave  the  Pawnee  to  be  the  pilot,"  said  the  trap- 
per ;  "  my  hand  is  not  so  steady  as  it  used  to  be  ;  but  he  has 
limbs  like  toughened  hickory.  Leave  all  to  the  wisdom 
of  the  Pawnee." 

The  husband  and  lover  could  not  well  do  otherwise,  and 
they  were  fain  to  become  deeply  interested,  it  is  true,  but 
passive  spectators  of  this  primitive  species  of  ferrying. 
The  Pawnee  selected  the  beast  of  Mahtoree  from  among 
the  three  horses,  with  a  readiness  that  proved  he  was  far 
from  being  ignorant  of  the  properties  of  that  noble  ani- 
mal, and  throwing  himself  upon  its  back,  he  rode  into  the 
margin  of  the  river.  Thrusting  an  end  of  his  lance  into 
the  hide,  he  bore  the  light  vessel  up  against  the  stream, 
and  giving  his  steed  the  rein,  they  pushed  boldly  into  the 
current.  Middleton  and  Paul  followed,  pressing  as  nigh 
the  bark  as  prudence  would  at  all  warrant.  In  this  man- 
ner the  young  warrior  bore  his  precious  cargo  to  the  op- 
posite bank  in  perfect  safety,  without  the  slightest  incon- 
venience to  the  passengers,  and  with  a  steadiness  and 
celerity  which  proved  that  both  horse  and  rider  were  not 
unused  to  the  operation.  When  the  shore  was  gained  the 
young  Indian  undid  his  work,  threw  the  skin  over  his 
shoulder,  placed  the  sticks  under  his  arm,  and  returned, 
without  speaking,  to  transfer  the  remainder  of  the  party, 
in  a  similar  manner,  to  what  was  very  justly  considered 
the  safer  side  of  the  river. 

"  Now,  friend  doctor,"  said  the  old  man,  when  he  saw 
the  Indian  plunging  into  the  river  a  second  time,  "  do  I 
know  there  is  faith  in  yonder  red-skin.  He  is  good-look- 
ing, ay,  and  an  honest-looking  youth,  but  the  winds  of 
heaven  are  not  more  deceitful  than  these  savages  when 
the  devil  has  fairly  beset  them.  Had  the  Pawnee  been  a 
Teton,  or  one  of  them  heartless  Mingoes  that  used  to  be 
prowling  through  the  woods  of  York  a  time  back,  that  is, 
some  sixty  years  agone,  we  should  have  seen  his  back  and 
not  his  face  turned  toward  us.  My  heart  had  its  misgiv- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  275 

ings  when  I  saw  the  lad  choose  the  better  horse,  for  it 
would  be  as  easy  to  leave  us  with  that  beast  as  it  would 
for  a  nimble  pigeon  to  part  company  from  a  flock  of  noisy 
and  heavy-winged  crows.  But  you  see  that  truth  is  in 
the  boy,  and  make  a  red-skin  once  your  friend,  he  is  yours 
so  long  as  you  deal  honestly  by  him." 

"What  may  be  the  distance  to  the  sources  of  this 
stream  ?"  demanded  Dr.  Battius,  whose  eyes  were  rolling 
over  the  whirling  eddies  of  the  current,  with  a  very  por* 
tentous  expression  of  doubt.  "  At  what  distance  may  its 
secret  spriags  be  found  ?  " 

"  That  may  be  as  the  weather  proves.  I  warrant  me 
your  legs  would  be  a-weary  before  you  had  followed  its 
bed  into  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  but  then  there  are  seasons 
when  it  might  be  done  without  wetting  a  foot" 

"  And  in  what  particular  divisions  of  the  year  do  these 
periodical  seasons  occur  ?" 

"  He  that  passes  this  spot  a  few  months  from  this  time 
will  find  that  foaming  water-course  a  desert  of  drifting 
sand." 

The  naturalist  pondered  deeply.  Like  most  others  who 
are  not  endowed  with  a  superfluity  of  physical  fortitude, 
the  worthy  man  had  found  the  danger  of  passing  the  river, 
in  so  simple  a  manner,  magnifying  itself  in  his  eyes  so 
rapidly,  as  the  moment  of  adventure  approached,  that  he 
actually  contemplated  the  desperate  effort  of  going  round 
the  river  in  order  to  escape  the  hazard  of  crossing  it.  It 
may  not  be  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  incredible  ingenuity 
with  which  terror  will  at  any  time  prop  a  tottering  argu- 
ment. The  worthy  Obed  had  gone  over  the  whole  sub- 
ject with  commendable  diligence,  and  had  just  arrived  at 
the  consoling  conclusion  that  there  was  nearly  as  much 
glory  in  discerning  the  hidden  sources  of  so  considerable 
a  stream,  as  in  adding  a  plant  or  an  insect  to  the  lists  of 
the  learned,  when  the  Pawnee  reached  the  shore  for  the 
second  time.  The  old  man  took  his  seat  with  the  utmost 
deliberation  in  the  vessel  of  skin  (so  soon  as  it  had  been 
duly  arranged  for  his  reception),  and,  having  carefully 
disposed  of  Hector  between  his  legs,  he  beckoned  to  his 
companion  to  occupy  the  third  place. 

The  naturalist  placed  a  foot  in  the  frail  vessel,  as  an 
elephant  will  try  a  bridge,  or  a  horse  is  seen  to  make  a 
similar  experiment  before  he  will  trust  the  whole  of  his 
corporeal  treasure  on  the  dreaded  flat,  and  then  withdrew 


276  THE  PRAIRIE. 

just  as  the  old  man  believed  he  was  about  to  seat  him* 
self. 

"  Venerable  venator,"  he  said,  mournfully,  "  this  is  a 
most  unscientific  bark.  There  is  an  inward  monitor  which 
bids  me  distrust  its  security  ! " 

"  Anan  !  "  said  the  old  man,  who  was  pinching  the  ears 
of  the  hound,  as  a  father  would  play  with  the  same  mem- 
ber in  a  favorite  child. 

"  I  incline  not  to  this  irregular  mode  of  experimenting 
on  fluids.  The  vessel  has  neither  form  nor  proportions." 

"  It  is  not  as  handsomely  turned  as  I  have  s^en  a  canoe 
in  birchen  bark,  but  comfort  may  be  taken  in  a  wigwam 
as  well  as  in  a  palace." 

"  It  is  impossible  that  any  vessel  constructed  on  prin- 
ciples so  repugnant  to  science  can  be  safe.  This  tub,  ven« 
erable  hunter,  will  never  reach  the  opposite  shore  in 
safety." 

"  You  .are  a  witness  of  what  it  has  done." 

"  Ay  ;  but  it  was  an  anomaly  in  prosperity.  If  excep- 
tions were  to  be  taken  as  rules  in  the  government  of  things, 
the  human  race  would  speedily  be  plunged  into  the  abysses 
of  ignorance.  Venerable  trapper,  this  expedient  in  which 
you  would  repose  your  safety  is,  in  the  annals  of  regular 
inventions,  what  a  lusus  natures  may  be  termed  in  the  lists 
of  natural  history — a  monster  !  " 

How  much  longer  Dr.  Battius  might  have  felt  disposed 
to  prolong  the  discourse  it  is  difficult  to  say,  for,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  powerful  personal  considerations  which  induced 
him  to  procrastinate  an  experiment  which  was  certainly 
not  without  its  dangers,  the  pride  of  reason  was  beginning 
to  sustain  him  in  the  discussion.  But  fortunately  for  the 
credit  of  the  old  man's  forbearance,  when  the  naturalist 
reached  the  word  with  which  he  terminated  his  last  speech, 
a  sound  arose  in  the  air  that  seemed  a  sort  of  supernatural 
echo  to  the  idea  itself.  The  young  Pawnee,  who  had 
awaited  the  termination  of  the  incomprehensible  discus- 
sion with  grave  and  characteristic  patience,  raised  his  head 
and  listened  to  the  unknown  cry,  like  a  stag  whose  myste- 
rious faculties  had  detected  the  footsteps  of  the  distant 
hounds  in  the  gale.  The  trapper  and  the  doctor  were 
not,  however,  entirely  so  uninstructed  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  extraordinary  sounds.  The  latter  recognized  in  them 
the  well-known  sounds  of  his  own  beast,  and  he  was  about 
to  rus^i  up  the  little  bank  which  confined  the  current,  witb 


THE  PRAIRIE.  27 J 

all  the  longings  of  strong  affection,  when  Asinus  himself 
galloped  into  view,  at  no  great  distance,  urged  to  the  un- 
natural gait  by  the  impatient  and  brutal  Weucha,  who 
bestrode  him. 

The  eyes  of  the  Teton  and  those  of  the  fugitives  met. 
The  former  raised  a  long,  loud,  and  piercing  yell,  in  which 
the  notes  of  exultation  were  fearfully  blended  with  those 
of  warning.  The  signal  served  for  a  finishing  blow  to  the 
discussion  on  the  merits  of  the  bark,  the  doctor  stepping 
as  promptly  to  the  side  of  the  old  man,  as  if  a  mental  mist 
had  been  miraculously  removed  from  his  eyes.  In  another 
instant  the  steed  of  the  young  Pawnee  was  struggling  with 
the  torrent. 

The  utmost  strength  of  the  horse  was  needed  to  urge 
the  fugitives  beyond  the  flight  of  arrows  that  came  sailing 
through /the  air  at  the  next  moment.  The  cry  of  Weucha 
had  brought  fifty  of  his  comrades  to  the  shore,  but  fortu- 
nately, among  them  all,  there  was  not  one  of  a  rank  suffi- 
cient to  entitle  him  to  the  privilege  of  bearing  a  fusee. 
One-half  the  stream,  however,  was  not  passed,  before  the 
form  of  Mahtoree  himself  was  seen  on  its  bank,  and  an 
ineffectual  discharge  of  fire-arms  announced  the  rage  and 
disappointment  of  the  chief.  More  than  once  the  trapper 
had  raised  his  rifle,  as  if  about  to  try  its  power  on  his  ene- 
mies, but  he  as  often  lowered  it,  without  firing.  The  eyes 
of  the  Pawnee  warrior  glared  like  those  of  the  cougar,  at 
the  sight  of  so  many  of  the  hostile  tribe,  and  he  answered 
the  impotent  effort  of  their  chief,  by  tossing  a  hand  into 
the  air  in  contempt,  and  raising  the  war-cry  of  his  nation. 
The  challenge  was  too  taunting  to  be  endured.  The  Tetona 
dashed  into  the  stream  in  a  body,  and  the  river  became 
dotted  with  the  dark  forms  of  beasts  and  riders. 

There  was  now  a  fearful  struggle  for  the  friendly  bank. 
As  the  Dahcotahs  advanced  with  beasts  which  had  not, 
like  that  of  the  Pawnee,  expended  their  strength  in  former 
efforts,  and  as  they  moved  unencumbered  by  anything  but 
their  riders,  the  speed  of  the  pursuers  greatly  outstripped 
that  of  the  fugitives.  The  trapper,  who  clearly  compre- 
hended the  whole  danger  of  their  situation,  calmly  turned 
his  eyes  from  the  Tetons  to  his  young  Indian  associate,  in 
order  to  examine  whether  the  resolution  of  the  latter  be- 
gan to  falter,  as  the  former  lessened  the  distance  between 
them.  Instead  of  betraying  fear,  however,  or  any  of  that 
concern  which  might  so  readily  have  been  excited  by  the 


2;5  THE  PRAIRIE. 

peculiarity  of  his  risk,  the  brow  of  the  young  warriol 
contracted  to  a  look  which  indicated  high  and  deadly 
hostility. 

"  Do  you  greatly  value  life,  friend  doctor  ? "  demanded 
the  old  man,  with  a  sort  of  philosophical  calmness,  which 
made  the  question  doubly  appalling  to  his  companion. 

"  Not  for  itself,"  returned  the  naturalist,  sipping  some 
of  the  water  of  the  river  from  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  in 
order  to  clear  his  husky  throat — "  not  for  itself,  but  ex- 
ceedingly, inasmuch  as  natural  history  has  so  deep  a  stake 
in  my  existence.  Therefore " 

"Ay!"  resumed  the  other,  who  mused  too  deeply  to 
dissect  the  ideas  of  the  doctor  with  his  usual  sagacity,  "'tis 
in  truth  the  history  of  natur',  and  a  base  and  craven  feel- 
ing it  is !  Now  is  life  as  precious  to  this  young  Pawnee, 
as  to  any  governor  in  the  States,  and  he  might  save  it,  or 
at  least  stand  some  chance  of  saving  it,  by  letting  us  go 
down  the  stream  ;  and  yet  you  see  he  keeps  his  faith  man- 
fully, and  like  an  Indian  warrior.  For  myself,  I  am  old, 
and  willing  to  take  the  fortune  that  the  Lord  may  see  fit 
f,o  give,  nor  do  I  conceit  that  you  are  of  much  benefit  to 
mankind  ;  and  it  is  a  crying  shame,  if  not  a  sin,  that  so 
fine  a  youth  as  this  should  lose  his  scalp  for  two  beings  so 
worthless  as  ourselves.  I  am  therefore  disposed,  provided 
that  it  shall  prove  agreeable  to  you,  to  tell  the  lad  to  make 
the  best  of  his  way,  and  to  leave  us  to  the  mercy  of  the 
Tetons." 

"  I  repel  the  proposition,  as  repugnant  to  nature,  and  as 
treason  to  science  ! "  exclaimed  the  alarmed  naturalist. 
"Our  progress  is  miraculous;  and,  as  this  admirable  in- 
vention moves  with  so  wonderful  a  facility,  a  few  more 
minutes  will  serve  to  bring  us  to  land." 

The  old  man  regarded  him  intently  for  an  instant,  and 
shaking  his  head,  he  said : 

"  Lord,  what  a  thing  is  fear  !  it  transforms  the  creatur's 
of  the  world  and  the  craft  of  men,  making  that  which  is 
ugly,  seemly  in  our  eyes,  and  that  which  is  beautiful,  un- 
sightly !  Lord,  Lord,  w^hat  a  thing  is  fear  !  " 

A  termination  was,  however,  put  to  the  discussion  by 
the  increasing  interest  of  the  chase.  The  horses  of  the 
Dahcotahs  had  by  this  time  gained  the  middle  of  the  cur- 
rent, and  their  riders  were  already  filling  the  air  with  yells 
of  triumph.  At  this  moment  Middleton  and  Paul,  who 
had  led  the  femajies  to  a  little  thicket,  appeared  again  on 


THE  PRAIRIE.  279 

the  margin  of  the  stream,  menacing  their  enemies  with  the 
rifle. 

"  Mount,  mount, "shouted  the  trapper,  the  instant  he  be- 
held  them  ;  "  mount  and  fly,  if  you  value  those  who  lean 
on  you  for  help  !  Mount,  and  leave  us  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lord." 

"  Stoop  your  head,  old  trapper,  "  returned  the  voice  of 
Paul,  "down  with  you  both  into  your  nest.  The  Teton 
devil  is  in  your  line  ;  down  with  your  heads,  and  make 
room  for  a  Kentucky  bullet !  " 

The  old  man  turned  his  head,  and  saw  chat  the  eager 
Mahtoree,  who  preceded  his  party  some  distance,  had 
brought  himself  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  bark  and  the  bee- 
hunter,  who  stood  perfectly  ready  to  execute  his  hostile 
threat.  Bending  his  body  low,  the  rifle  was  discharged, 
and  the  swift  lead  whizzed  harmlessly  past  him,  on  its 
more  distant  errand.  But  the  eye  of  the  Teton  chief  was 
not  less  quick  and  certain  thari  that  of  his  enemy.  He 
threw  himself  from  his  horse  t'ne  moment  preceding  the 
report,  and  sank  into  the  water.  The  beast  snorted  with 
terror  and  anguish,  throwing  half  his  form  out  of  the  river 
in  a  desperate  plunge.  Then  he  was  seen  drifting  away  in 
the  torrent,  and  dyeing  the  turbid  waters  with  his  blood. 

The  Teton  chief  soon  reaj  /peared  on  the  surface,  and, 
understanding  the  nature  of  his  loss,  he  swam  with  vigor- 
ous strokes  to  the  nearest  of  the  young  men,  who  relin- 
quished his  steed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  so  renowned  a 
warrior.  The  incident,  however,  created  a  confusion  in 
the  whole  of  the  Dahcotah  band,  who  appeared  to  await 
the  intention  of  their  leader,  before  they  renewed  their 
efforts  to  reach  the  shore.  In  the  meantime  the  vessel  of 
skin  had  reached  the  land,  and  the  fugitives  were  once 
more  united  on  the  margin  of  the  river. 

The  savages  were  now  swimming  about  in  indecision,  as 
a  flock  of  pigeons  is  often  seen  to  hover  in  confusion  after 
receiving  a  heavy  discharge  into  its  leading  column,  ap- 
parently hesitating  on  the  risk  of  storming  a  bank  so  for- 
midably defended.  The  well-known  precaution  of  Indian 
warfare  prevailed,  and  Mahtoree,  admonished  by  his 
recent  adventure,  led  his  warriors  back  to  the  shore  from 
which  they  had  come,  in  order  to  relieve  their  beasts, 
which  were  already  becoming  unruly. 

"Now,  mount  you  with  the  tender  ones,  and  ride  for 
yonder  hillock,"  said  the  trapper  ;  "  beyond  it  you  will  find 


28o  THE  PRAIRTE. 

another  stream,  into  which  you  must  enter,  and,  turning 
to  the  sun,  follow  its  bed  for  a  mile,  until  you  reach  a  high 
and  sandy  plain  ;  there  will  I  meet  you.  Go  ;  mount ; 
this  Pawnee  youth  and  I,  and  my  stout  friend  the  physic- 
ian, who  is  a  desperate  warrior,  are  men  enough  to  keep 
the  bank,  seeing  that  show  and  not  use  is  all  that  is 
needed." 

Middleton  and  Paul  saw  no  use  in  wasting  their  breath 
in  remonstrances  against  this  proposal.  Glad  to  know 
that  their  rear  was  to  be  covered,  even  in  this  imperfect 
manner,  they  hastily  got  their  horses  in  motion,  and  soon 
disappeared  on  the  required  route.  Some  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes  succeeded  this  movement,  before  the  Tetons  on 
the  opposite  shore  seemed  inclined  to  enter  on  any  new 
enterprise  Mahtoree  was  distinctly  visible,  in  the  midst 
of  his  warriors,  issuing  his  mandates  and  betraying  his 
desire  for  vengeance,  by  occasionally  shaking  an  arm  in 
the  direction  of  the  fugitives  ;  but  no  step  was  taken  which 
appeared  to  threaten  any  further  act  of  immediate  hostility. 
At  length  a  yell  arose  among  the  savages,  which  announced 
the  occurrence  of  some  fresh  event.  Then  Ishmael  and 
his  sluggish  sons  were  seen  in  the  distance,  and  soon  the 
whole  of  the  united  force  moved  down  to  the  very  limits 
of  the  stream.  The  squatter  proceeded  to  examine  the 
position  of  his  enemies  with  his  usual  coolness,  and,  as  if 
to  try  the  power  of  his  rifle,  he  sent  a  bullet  among  them, 
with  a  force  sufficient  to  do  execution,  even  at  the  distance 
at  which  he  stood. 

"  Now  let  us  depart  ! "  exclaimed  Obed,  endeavoring  to 
catch  a  furtive  glimpse  of  the  lead,  which  he  fancied  was 
whizzing  at  his  very  ear  ;  "we  have  maintained  the  bank 
in  a  gallant  manner  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  ;  quite 
as  much  military  skill  is  to  be  displayed  in  a  retreat  as  in 
an  advance." 

The  old  man  cast  a  look  behind  him,  and  seeing  that 
the  equestrians  had  reached  the  cover  of  the  hill,  he  made 
no  objections  to  the  proposal.  The  remaining  horse  was 
given  to  the  doctor,  with  instructions  to  pursue  the  course 
just  taken  by  Middleton  and  Paul.  When  the  naturalist 
was  mounted  and  in  full  retreat,  the  trapper  and  the  young 
Pawnee*  stole  from  the  spot  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave 
their  enemies  for  some  time  in  doubt  as  to  their  movements. 
Instead,  however,  of  proceeding  across  the  plain  toward 
the  hill,  a  route  on  which  they  must  have  been  in  open 


THE  PRAIRIE.  281 

riew,  they  took  a  shorter  path,  covered  by  the  formation 
of  the  ground,  and  intersected  the  little  water-course  at 
the  point  where  -Middleton  had  been  directed  to  leave  it, 
and  just  in  season  to  join  his  party.  The  doctor  had  used 
so  much  diligence  in  the  retreat  as  to  have  already  over- 
taken his  friends,  and  of  course  all  the  fugitives  were  again 
assembled. 

The  trapper  now  looked  about  him  for  some  convenient 
spot  where  the  whole  party  might  halt,  as  he  expressed  it, 
for  some  five  or  six  hours. 

"  Halt ! "  exclaimed  the  doctor,  when  the  alarming  pro- 
posal reached  his  ears  ;  "  venerable  hunter,  it  would  seem 
that,  on  the  contrary,  many  days  should  be  passed  in  in- 
dustrious flight." 

Middleton  and  Paul  were  both  of  this  opinion,  and  each 
in  his  particular  manner  expressed  as  much. 

The  old  man  heard  them  with  patience,  but  shook  his 
head  like  one  who  is  unconvinced,  and  then  answered  all 
their  arguments  in  one  general  and  positive  reply. 

"Why  should  we  fly?"  he  asked.  "Can  the  legs  of 
mortal  men  outstrip  the  speed  of  horses  ?  Do  you  think 
the  Tetons  will  lie  down  and  sleep,  or  will  they  cross  the 
water  and  nose  for  our  trail  ?  Thanks  be  to  the  Lord,  we 
have  washed  it  well  in  this  stream,  and,  if  we  leave  the 
place  with  discretion  and  wisdom,  we  may  yet  throw  them 
off  its  track.  But  a  prairie  is  not  a  wood.  There  a  man 
may  journey  long,  caring  for  nothing  but  the  print  his 
moccasin  leaves  ;  whereas,  on  these  open  plains,  a  runner 
placed  on  yonder  hill,  for  instance,  could  see  far  on  every 
side  of  him,  like  a  hovering  hawk  looking  down  on  his 
prey.  No,  no  ;  night  must  come  and  darkness  be  upon 
us  afore  we  leave  this  spot.  But  listen  to  the  words  of  the 
Pawnee  ;  he  is  a  lad  of  spirit,  and,  I  warrant  me,  many  is 
the  hard  race  that  he  has  run  with  the  Sioux  bands.  Does 
my  brother  think  our  trail  is  long  enough  ?  "  he  demanded, 
in  the  Indian  tongue. 

"  Is  a  Teton  a  fish,  that  he  can  see  it  in  the  river  ?  " 

"  But  my  young  men  think  we  should  stretch  it  until  it 
reaches  across  the  prairie." 

"  Mahtoree  has  eyes  ;  he  will  see  it." 

"  What  does  my  brother  counsel  ?" 

The  young  warrior  studied  the  heavens  a  moment,  and 
appeared  to  hesitate.     He  mused  some  time  with  himself 
nd  then  he  replied,  like  one  whose  opinion  was  fixed. 


282  THE  PRAIRIE. 

'-The  Dahcotahs  are  not  asleep/' he  said;  "we  must 
lie  in  the  grass." 

"  Ah  !  the  lad  is  of  my  mind/'  said  the  old  man,  briefly 
explaining  the  opinion  of  his  companion  to  his  white  friends. 
Middleton  was  obliged  to  acquiesce,  and,  as  it  was  confess- 
edly dangerous  to  remain  upon  their  feet,  each  one  set 
about  assisting  in  the  means  to  be  adopted  for  their  se- 
curity. Inez  and  Ellen  were  quickly  bestowed  beneath 
the  warm  and  not  uncomfortable  shelter  of  the  buffalo 
skins,  which  formed  a  thick  covering,  and  tall  grass  was 
drawn  over  the  place  in  such  a  manner  as  to  evade  any  ex- 
amination from  a  common  eye.  Paul  and  the  Pawnee  fet- 
tered the  beasts  and  cast  them  to  the  earth,  where,  after 
supplying  them  with  food,  they  were  also  left  concealed 
in  the  fog  of  the  prairie.  No  time  was  lost,  when  these 
several  arrangements  were  completed,  before  each  of  the 
others  sought  a  place  of  rest  and  concealment,  and  then 
the  plain  appeared  again  deserted  to  its  solitude. 

The  old  man  had  advised  his  companions  of  the  absolute 
necessity  of  their  continuing  for  hours  in  this  concealment. 
All  their  hopes  of  escape  depended  on  the  success  of  the 
artifice.  If  they  might  elude  the  cunning  of  their  pursu- 
ers by  this  simple,  and  therefore  less  suspected,  expedient, 
they  could  renew  their  flight  as  the  evening  approached, 
and,  by  changing  their  course,  the  chance  of  final  success 
would  be  greatly  increased.  Influenced  by  these  moment- 
ous considerations  the  whole  party  lay  musing  on  their 
situation,  until  thoughts  grew  weary,  and  sleep  finally  set- 
tled on  them  all,  one  after  another. 

The  deepest  silence  had  prevailed  for  hours,  when  the 
quick  ears  of  the  trapper  and  the  Pawnee  were  startled  by 
a  faint  cry  of  surprise  from  Inez.  Springing  to  their  feet, 
like  men  who  were  about  to  struggle  for  their  lives,  they 
found  the  vast  plain,  the  rolling  swells,  the  little  hillock, 
and  the  scattered  thickets,  covered  alike  in  one  white,  daz- 
zling sheet  of  snow. 

"  The  Lord  have  mercy  on  ye  all ! "  exclaimed  the  old 
man,  regarding  the  prospect  with  a  rueful  eye.  "  Now, 
Pawnee,  do  I  know  the  reason  why  you  studied  the  clouds 
so  closely  ;  but  it  is  too  late !  it  is  too  late !  A  squirrel 
would  leave  his  trail  on  this  light  coating  of  the  'arth.  Ha ! 
there  come  the  imps  to  a  certainty.  Down  with  ye  aK, 
down  with  ye ;  your  chance  is  but  small,  and  yet  it  must 
not  be  wilfully  cast  away." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  283 

The  whole  party  was  instantly  concealed  again,  though 
many  an  anxious  and  stolen  glance  was  directed  through 
the  tops  of  the  grass,  on  the  movements  of  their  enemies. 
At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  the  Teton  band  was  seen 
riding  in  a  circuit,  which  was  gradually  contracting  itself, 
and  evidently  closing  upon  the  very  spot  where  the  fugi- 
tives lay.  There  was  but  little  difficulty  in  solving  the 
mystery  of  this  movement.  The  snow  had  fallen  in  time  to 
assure  them  that  those  they  sought  were  in  their  rear,  and 
they  were  now  employed,  with  the  unwearied  perseverance 
and  patience  of  Indian  warriors,  in  circling  the  certain 
boundaries  of  their  place  of  concealment. 

Each  minute  added  to  the  jeopardy  of  the  fugitives 
Paul  and  Middleton  deliberately  prepared  their  rifles,  and 
as  the  occupied  Mahtoree  came,  at  length,  within  fifty  feet 
of  them,  keeping  his  eyes  riveted  on  the  grass  through 
which  he  rode,  they  levelled  them  together  and  pulled  the 
triggers.  The  effort  was  answered  by  the  mere  snapping 
of  the  locks. 

"Enough,"  said  the  old  man,  rising  with  dignity;  "I 
have  cast  away  the  priming ;  for  certain  death  would  fol- 
low your  rashness.  Now  let  us  meet  our  fates  like  men. 
Cringing  and  complaining  find  no  favor  in  Indian  eyes." 

His  appearance  was  greeted  by  a  yell  that  spread  far  and 
wide  over  the  plain,  and  in  a  moment  a  hundred  savages 
were  seen  riding  madly  to  the  spot.  Mahtoree  received 
his  prisoners  with  great  self-restraint,  though  a  single 
gleam  of  fierce  joy  broke  through  his  clouded  brow,  and 
the  heart  of  Middleton  grew  cold  as  he  caught  the  expres- 
sion of  that  eye,  which  the  chief  turned  on  the  nearly  in- 
sensible but  still  lovely  Inez. 

The  exultation  of  receiving  the  white  captiyes  was  so 
great  as  for  a  time  to  throw  the  dark  and  immovable  form 
of  their  young  Indian  companion  entirely  out  of  view. 
He  stood  apart,  disdaining  to  turn  an  eye  on  his  enemies, 
as  motionless  as  if  he  were  frozen  in  that  attitude  of  dig- 
nity and  composure.  But  when  a  little  time  had  passed, 
even  this  secondary  object  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Tetons.  Then  it  was  that  the  trapper  first  learned,  by  the 
shouts  of  triumph  and  long-drawn  yell  of  delight,  which 
burst  at  once  from  a  hundred  throats,  as  well  as  by  the 
terrible  name  which  filled  the  air,  that  his  youthful  friend 
was  no  other  than  that  redoubtable  ard  hitherto  invincible 
warrior,  Hard-Heart 


284  THE  PRAIRIE, 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

"What,  are  ancient  Pistol  and  you  friends  yet?" — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  curtain  of  our  imperfect  drama  must  fall  to  rise 
upon  another  scene.  The  time  is  advanced  several  days, 
during  which  very  material  changes  had  occurred  in  the 
situation  of  the  actors.  The  hour  is  noon,  and  the  place 
an  elevated  plain,  that  rose,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
water,  somewhat  abruptly  from  a  fertile  bottom  which 
stretched  along  the  margin  of  one  of  the  numberless  water- 
courses of  that  region.  The  river  took  its  rise  near  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  after  washing  a  vast  ex- 
tent of  plain  it  mingled  its  waters  with  a  still  larger  stream, 
to  become  finally  lost  in  the  turbid  current  of  the  Missouri. 

The  landscape  was  changed  materially  for  the  better  ; 
though  the  hand  which  had  impressed  so  much  of  the 
desert  on  the  surrounding  region  had  laid  a  portion  of  its 
power  on  this  spot.  The  appearance  of  vegetation  was, 
however,  less  discouraging  than  in  the  more  sterile  wastes 
of  the  rolling  prairies.  Clusters  of  trees  were  scattered 
in  greater  profusion,  and  a  long  outline  of  ragged  forest 
marked  the  northern  boundary  of  the  view.  Here  and 
there  on  the  bottom  were  to  be  seen  the  evidences  of  a 
hasty  and  imperfect  culture  of  such  indigenous  vegetables 
as  were  of  a  quick  growth,  and  which  were  known  to* 
flourish  without  the  aid  of  art  in  deep  and  alluvial  soils. 
On  the  very  edge  of  what  might  be  called  the  table-land, 
were  pitched  the  hundred  lodges  of  a  horde  of  wandering 
Sioux.  Their  light  tenements  were  arranged  without  the 
least  attention  to  order.  Proximity  to  the  water  seemed 
to  be  the  only  consideration  which  had  been  consulted  in 
their  disposition,  nor  had  even  this  important  convenience 
been  always  regarded.  While  most  of  the  lodges  stood 
along  the  brow  of  the  plain,  many  were  to  be  seen  at 
greater  distances,  occupying  such  places  as  had  first 
pleased  the  capricious  eyes  of  their  untutored  owners, 
The  encampment  was  not  military  nor  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree protected  from  surprise  by  its  position  or  defences. 
It  was  open  on  every  side,  and  on  every  side  as  accessible 
as  any  other  point  in  those  wastes,  if  the  imperfect  and 
natural  obstruction  offered  by  the  river  be  excepted.  In 


THE  PRAIRIE.  285 

short,  the  place  bore  the  appearance  of  having  been  ten- 
anted longer  than  its  occupants  had  originally  intended, 
while  it  was  not  wanting  in  the  signs  of  readiness  for  a 
hasty,  or  even  a  compelled,  departure. 

This  was  the  temporary  encampment  of  that  portion  of 
his  people  who  had  long  been  hunting  under  the  direction 
of  Mahtoree,  on  those  grounds  which  separated  the  sta- 
tionary abodes  of  his  nation  from  those  of  the  warlike 
tribes  of  the  Pawnees.  The  lodges  were  tents  of  skin, 
high,  conical,  and  of  the  most  simple  and  primitive  con- 
struction. The  shield,  the  quiver,  the  lance,  and  the  bow 
of  its  master,  were  to  be  seen  suspended  from  a  light  post 
before  the  opening  or  door  of  each  habitation.  The  dif- 
ferent domestic  implements  of  his  one,  two,  or  three 
wives,  as  the  brave  was  of  greater  or  lesser  renown,  were 
carelessly  thrown  at  its  side,  and  here  and  there  the  round, 
full,  patient  countenance  of  an  infant  might  be  found 
peeping  from  its  comfortless  wrappers  of  bark,  as,  sus 
pended  by  a  deer-skin  thong  from  the  same  post,  it  rocked 
in  the  passing  air.  Children  of  a  larger  growth  were  tum- 
bling over  each  other  in  piles,  the  males,  even  at  that 
early  age,  making  themselves  distinguished  for  that  species 
of  domination,  which  in  after-life  was  to  mark  the  vast 
distinction  between  the  sexes.  Youths  were  in  the  bottom, 
essaying  their  juvenile  powers  in  curbing  the  wild  steeds 
of  their  fathers,  while  here  and  there  a  truant  girl  was  to 
be  seen  stealing  from  her  labors  to  admire  their  fierce  and 
impatient  daring. 

Thus  far  the  picture  was  the  daily  exhibition  of  an  en- 
campment confident  in  its  security.  But  immediately  in 
front  of  the  lodges  was  a  gathering  that  seemed  to  fore- 
bode some  movements  of  more  than  usual  interest.  A 
few  of  the  withered  and  remorseless  crones  of  the  band 
were  clustering  together,  in  readiness  to  lend  their  fell 
voices,  if  needed,  to  aid  in  exciting  their  descendants  to 
an  exhibition  which  their  depraved  tastes  coveted,  as  the 
luxurious  Roman  dame  witnessed  the  struggles  and  the 
agony  of  the  gladiator.  The  men  were  subdivided  into 
groups,  assorted  according  to  the  deeds  and  reputations 
of  the  several  individuals  of  whom  they  were  composed. 

They  who  were  of  that  equivocal  age  which  admitted 
them  to  the  hunts,  while  their  discretion  was  still  too  doubt- 
ful to  permit  them  to  be  trusted  on  the  war-path,  hung 
around  the  skirts  of  the  whole,  catching  from  the  fierce 


286  THE  PRAIRIK. 

models  before  them  that  gravity  of  demeanor  and  restraint 
of  manner  which  in  time  was  to  become  so  deeply  ingrafted' 
in  their  own  characters.  A  few  of  the  still  older  class,  and 
who  had  heard  the  whoop  in  anger,  were  a  little  more  pre- 
suming, pressing  higher  to  the  chiefs,  though  far  from 
presuming  to  mingle  in  their  councils,  sufficiently  distin- 
guished by  being  permitted  to  catch  the  wisdom  which  fell 
from  lips  so  venerated.  The  ordinary  warriors  of  the  band 
were  still  less  diffident,  not  hesitating  to  mingle  among  the 
chiefs  of  lesser  note,  though  far  from  assuming  the  right 
to  dispute  the  sentiments  of  any  established  brave,  or  to 
call  in  question  the  prudence  of  measures  that  were  recom* 
mended  by  the  more  gifted  counsellors  of  the  nation. 

Among  the  chiefs  themselves  there  was  a  singular  com- 
pound of  exterior.  They  were  divided  into  two  classes  : 
those  who  were  mainly  indebted  for  their  influence  to  phy- 
sical causes  and  to  deeds  in  arms,  and  those  who  had  be- 
come distinguished  rather  for  their  wisdom  than  for  their 
services  in  the  field.  The  former  was  by  far  the  most  nu- 
merous and  the  most  important  class.  They  were  men  of 
stature  and  mien,  whose  stern  countenances  were  rendered 
doubly  imposing  by  those  evidences  of  their  valor  which 
had  been  roughly  traced  on  their  lineaments  by  the  hands 
of  their  enemies.  That  class  which  had  gained  its  influ- 
ence by  a  moral  ascendency  was  extremely  limited.  They 
were  uniformly  to  be  distinguished  by  the  quick  and  lively 
expression  of  their  eyes,  by  the  air  of  distrust  that  marked 
their  movements,  and  occasionally  by  the  vehemence  of 
their  utterance  in  those  sudden  outbreakings  of  the  mind 
by  which  their  present  consultations  were  from  time  to 
Sime  distinguished. 

In  the  very  centre  of  a  ring  formed  by  these  chosen  coun- 
sellors was  to  be  seen  the  person  of  the  disquieted  but  seem- 
ingly calm  Mahtoree.  There  was  a  conjunction  of  all  the 
several  qualities  of  the  others  in  his  person  and  character. 
Mind  as  well  as  matter  had  contributed  to  establish  his 
authority.  His  scars  were  as  numerous  and  deep  as  those 
of  the  whitest  head  in  his  nation  ;  his  limbs  were  in  their 
greatest  vigor  ;  his  courage  at  its  fullest  height.  Endowed 
with  this  rare  combination  of  moral  and  physical  influence, 
the  keenest  eye  in  all  that  assembly  was  wont  to  lower  be« 
fore  his  threatening  glance.  Courage  and  cunning  had  es- 
tablished his  ascendency,  and  it  had  been  rendered  in  some 
degree  sacred  by  time.  He  knew  so  well  how  to  unite 


THE  PRAIRIE.  *8; 

the  powers  of  reason  and  force,  that,  in  a  state  of  society 
which  admitted  of  a  greater  display  of  his  energies,  the 
Teton  would  in  all  probability  have  been  both  a  conqueroi 
and  a  despot. 

A  little  apart  from  the  gathering  of  the  band  was  to  be 
seen  a  set  of  beings  of  an  entirely  different  origin.  Taller 
and  far  more  muscular  in  their  persons,  the  lingering  ves- 
tiges of  their  Saxon  and  Norman  ancestry  were  yet  to  be 
found  beneath  the  swarthy  complexions  which  had  been 
bestowed  by  an  American  sun.  It  would  have  been  a  curi- 
ous investigation  for  one  skilled  in  such  an  inquiry  to  have 
traced  those  points  of  difference  by  which  the  offspring  of 
the  most  western  European  was  still  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  descendant  of  the  most  remote  Asiatic,  now  that 
the  two,  in  the  revolutions  of  the  world,  were  approximat- 
ing in  their  habits,  their  residence,  and  not  a  little  in  their 
characters.  The  group  of  whom  we  write  was  comp^pcl 
of  the  family  of  the  squatter.  They  stood  indolent,  xoung- 
ing,  and  inert,  as  usual,  when  no  immediate  demand  was 
made  on  their  dormant  energies,  clustered  in  front  of  some 
four  or  five  habitations  of  skin,  for  which  they  were  indebt- 
ed to  the  hospitality  of  their  Teton  allies.  The  terms  of 
their  unexpected  confederation  were  sufficiently  explained 
by  the  presence  of  the  horses  and  domestic  cattle  that  were 
quietly  grazing  on  the  bottom  beneath,  under  the  jealous 
eyes  of  the  spirited  Hetty.  Their  wagons  were  drawn 
about  the  lodges  in  a  sort  of  irregular  barrier,  which  at 
once  manifested  that  their  confidence  was  not  entirely  re- 
stored, while,  on  the  other  hand,  their  policy  or  indolence 
prevented  any  very  positive  exhibition  of  distrust.  There 
was  a  singular  union  of  passive  enjoyment  and  of  dull  curi- 
osity slumbering  in  every  dull  countenance,  as  each  of  the 
party  stood  leaning  on  his  rifle,  regarding  the  movements 
of  the  Sioux  conference.  Still  no  sign  of  expectation  or 
interest  escaped  from  the  youngest  among  them,  the  whole 
appearing  to  emulate  the  most  phlegmatic  of  their  savage 
allies  in  an  exhibition  of  patience.  They  rarely  spoke  ; 
and,  when  they  did,  it  was  in  some  short  and  contemptuous 
remark,  which  served  to  put  the  physical  superiority  of  a 
white  man  and  that  of  an  Indian  in  a  sufficiently  striking 
point  of  view.  In  short,  the  family  of  Ishmael  appeared 
now  to  be  in  the  plenitude  of  enjoyment  which  depended 
on  inactivity,  but  which  was  not  entirely  free  from  certain 
confused  glimmerings  of  a  perspective  in  which  their  se- 


e88  17 fR  PRAIRIE. 

curity  stood  in  some  little  danger  of  a  rude  interruption 
from  Teton  treachery.  Abiram  alone  formed  a  solitary  ex- 
ception to  this  state  of  equivocal  repose. 

After  a  life  passed  in  the  commission  of  a  thousand  mean 
and  insignificant  villanies,  the  mind  of  the  kidnapper  had 
become  hardy  enough  to  attempt  the  desperate  adventure 
which  has  been  laid  before  the  reader  in  the  course  of  the 
narrative.  His  influence  over  the  bolder  but  less  active 
spirit  of  Ishmael  was  far  from  great ;  and  had  not  the  latter 
been  suddenly  expelled  from  a  fertile  bottom,  of  which  he 
had  taken  possession  with  intent  to  keep  it  without  much 
deference  to  the  forms  of  law,  he  would  never  have  suc- 
ceeded in  enlisting  the  husband  of  his  sister  in  an  enter- 
prise that  required  so  much  decision  and  forethought. 
Their  original  success  and  subsequent  disappointment 
have  been  seen  ;  and  Abiram  now  sat  apart  plotting  the 
means  by  which  he  might  secure  to  himself  the  advantages 
of  his  undertaking,  which  he  perceived  were  each  moment 
becoming  more  uncertain,  through,  the  open  admiration  of 
Mahtoree  for  the  innocent  subject  of  his  villainy.  We 
shall  leave  him  to  his  vacillating  and  confused  expedients, 
in  order  to  pass  to  the  description  of  certain  other  person- 
ages in  the  drama. 

There  was  still  another  corner  of  the  picture  that  was 
occupied.  On  a  little  bank  at  the  extreme  right  of  the 
encampment,  lay  the  forms  of  Middleton  and  Paul.  Their 
limbs  were  painfully  bound  with  thongs  cut  from  the  skin 
of  a  bison,  while,  by  a  sort  of  refinement  in  cruelty,  they 
were  so  placed  that  each  could  see  a  reflection  of  his  own 
misery  in  the  case  of  his  neighbor.  Within  a  dozen  yards 
of  them  a  post  was  set  firmly  in  the  ground,  and  against  it 
was  bound  the  light  and  Apollo-like  person  of  Hard-Heart. 
Between  the  two  stood  the  trapper,  deprived  of  his  rifle, 
his  pouch,  and  his  horn,  but  otherwise  left  in  a  sort  of 
contemptuous  liberty.  Some  five  or  six  young  warriors, 
however,  with  quivers  at  their  backs  and  long  tough  bows 
dangling  from  their  shoulders,  who  stood  with  grave  watch- 
fulness at  no  great  distance  from  the  spot,  sufficiently  pro- 
claimed how  fruitless  any  attempt  to  escape,  on  the  part  of 
one  so  aged  and  so  feeble,  might  prove.  Unlike  the  other 
spectators  of  the  important  conference,  these  individuals 
were  engaged  in  a  discourse  that  for  them  contained  an 
interest  of  its  own. 

"  Captain,"  said  the  bee-hunter,  with  an  expression  of 


7//7s  PRAIRIE.  289 

comical  concern  that  no  misfortune  could  depress  in  one 
of  his  buoyant  feelings,  "do  you  really  find  that  accursed 
strap  of  untanned  leather  cutting  into  your  shoulder,  or  is 
it  only  the  tickling  in. my  own  arm  that.  I  feel  ? " 

"  When  the  spirit  suffers  so  deeply,  the  body  is  insensible 
to  pain,  "  returned  the  more  refined,  though  scarcely  so 
spirited  Middleton  ;  "  would  to  Heaven  that  some  of  m\y 
trusty  artillerists  might  fall  upon  this  accursed  encampy 
iment ! " 

"  You  might  as  well  wish  that  these  Teton  lodges  were 
so  many  hives  of  hornets,  and  that  the  insects  would  come 
forth  and  battle  with  yonder  tribe  of  half  naked  savages." 
Then  chuckling  with  his  own  conceit,  the  bee-hunter  turned 
away  from  his  companion,  and  sought  a  momentary  re- 
lief from  his  misery  by  imagining  that  so  wild  an  idea  might 
be  realized,  and  fancying  the  manner  in  which  the  attack 
would  upset  even  the  well-established  patience  of  an  In- 
dian. 

Middleton  was  glad  to  be  silent  ;  but  the  old  man,  who 
had  listened  to  their  words,  drew  a  little  nigher,  and  con- 
tinued the  discourse. 

"  Here  is  likely  to  be  a  merciless  and  a  hellish  business!  " 
he  said,  shaking  his  head  in  a  manner  to  prove  that  even 
his  experience  was  at  a  loss  for  a  remedy  in  so  trying  a 
dilemma.  "  Our  Pawnee  friend  is  already  staked  for  the 
torture,  and  I  well  know,  by  the  eye  and  the  countenance 
of  the  great  Sioux,  that  he  is  leading  on  the  temper  of  his 
people  to  further  enormities." 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  said  Paul,  writhing  in  his  bonds 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  other's  melancholy  face  ;  "  you  ar ' 
skilled  in  Indian  tongues  and  know  somewhat  of  Indian 
deviltries.  Go  you  to  the  council,  and  tell  their  chiefs  in 
my  name,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  name  of  Paul  Hover,  of  the 
State  of  Kentucky,  that  provided  they  will  guarantee  the 
safe  return  of  one  Ellen  Wade  into  the  States,  they  are 
welcome  to  take  his  scalp  when  and  in  such  manner  as 
best  suits  their  amusements  ;  or,  if  so  be  they  will  not 
trade  on  these  conditions,  you  may  throw  in  an  hour  or 
two  of  torture  beforehand  in  order  to  sweeten  the  bargain 
to  their  damnable  appetites." 

"Ah!  lad,  it  is  little  they  would  hearken  to  such  an 
offer,  knowing,  as  they  do,  that  you  are  already  like  a  bear 
in  a  trap,  as  little. able  to  fight  as  to  fly.  But  be  not  down- 
hearted, for  the  color  of  a  white  man  is  sometimes  his 

19 


29o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

death-warrant  among  these  far  tribes  of  savages,  and  some* 
times  his  shield.  Though  they  love  us  not,  cunning  often 
ties  their  hands.  Could  the  red  nations  work  their  will, 
trees  would  shortly  be  growing  again  on  the  ploughed 
fields  of  America  ;  and  woods  would  be  whitened  with 
Christian  bones.  No  one  can  doubt  that,  who  knows  the 
quality  of  the  love  which  a  red-skin  bears  a  pale-face  ;  but 
they  have  counted  our  numbers  until  their  memories  fail 
them,  and  they  are  not  without  their  policy.  Therefore  is 
our  fate  unsettled  ;  but  I  fear  me  there  is  small  hope  left 
for  the  Pawrnee  !  " 

As  the  old  man  concluded,  he  walked  slowly  toward  the 
subject  of  his  latter  observation,  taking  his  post  at  no  great 
distance  from  his  side.  Here  he  stood,  observing  such  a 
silence  and  mien  as  became  him  to  manifest,  to  a  chief  so 
renowned  and  so  situated  as  his  captive  associate.  But 
the  eye  of  Hard-Heart  was  fastened  on  the  distance,  and 
his  whole  air  was  that  of  one  whose  thoughts  were  entirely 
removed  from  the  present  scene. 

"  The  Siouxes  are  in  council  on  my  brother,"  the  trapper 
at  length  observed,  when  he  found  he  could  only  attract 
the  other's  attention  by  speaking. 

The  young  partisan  turned  his  head  with  a  calm  smile 
as  he  answered  : 

"  They  are  counting  the  scalps  over  the  lodge  of  Hard- 
Heart  ! " 

"  No  doubt,  no  doubt  ;  their  tempers  begin  to  mount, 
as  they  remember  the  number  of  Tetons  you  have  struck, 
and  better  would  it  be  for  you  now,  had  more  of  your  days 
been  spent  in  chasing  the  deer,  and  fewer  on  the  war-path, 
Then  some  childless  mother  of  this  tribe  might  take  you  in 
the  place  of  her  lost  son,  and  your  time  would  be  filled  in 
peace." 

"  Does  my  father  think  that  a  warrior  can  ever  die  ? 
The  Master  of  Life  does  not  open  his  hand  to  take  away 
his  gifts  again.  When  he  wants  his  young  men  he  calls 
them,  and  they  go.  But  the  red-skin  that  he  has  once 
breathed  on  lives  forever." 

"  Ay,  this  is  a  more  comfortable  and  a  more  humble 
faith  than  that  which  yonder  heartless  Teton  harbors  ! 
There  is  something  in  these  Loups  which  opens  my  inmost 
heart  to  them  ;  they  seem  to  have  the  courage,  ay,  and  the 
honesty,  too,  of  the  Delawares  of  the  hills.  And  this  lad 
— it  is  wonderful,  it  is  very  wcnderful  ;  but  the  age,  and 


THE  PRAIRIE.  29i 

the  eye,  and  the  limbs,  are  as  if  they  might  have  been 
brothers?  Tell  me,  Pawnee,  have  you  ever  in  your  tra- 
ditions heard  of  a  mighty  people  who  once,  lived  on  the 
shores  of  the  Salt-lake,  hard  by  the  ri'sing  sun  ? " 

"  The  earth  is  white  by  people  of  the  color  of  mv 
father." 

"Nay,  nay,  I  speak  not  now  of  any  strollers  who  have 
crept  into  the  land  to  rob  the  lawful  owners  of  their  birth- 
right, but  of  a  people  who  are,  or  rather  were,  what  with 
nature  and  what  with  paint,  red  as  the  berry  on  the  bush.1' 

"  I  have  heard  the  old  men  say  that  there  were  bands 
who  hid  themselves  in  the  woods  under  the  rising  sun,  be- 
cause they  dared  not  come  upon  the  open  prairies  to  fight.'' 

"  Do  not  your  traditions  tell  you  of  the  greatest,  the 
bravest,  and  the  wisest  nations  of  red  skins  that  the  \Vah- 
condah  has  ever  breathed  upon  ? " 

Hard- Heart  raised  his  head,  with  a  loftiness  and  dignity 
that  even  his  bonds  could  not  repress,  as  he  answered  : 

"  Has  age  blinded  my  father;  or  does  he  see  so  many 
Siouxes  that  he  believes  there  are  no  longer  any  Paw- 
nees ? '' 

"  Ah  !  such  is  mortal  vanity  and  pride  !"  exclaimed  the 
disappointed  old  man,  in  English  ;  "Natur'  is  as  strong  in 
a  red-skin  as  in  the  bosom  of  a  man  of  white  gifts.  Now 
would  a  Delaware  conceit  himself  far  mightier  than  a  Paw- 
nee, just  as  a  Pawnee  boasts  himself  to  be  of  the  princes 
of  the  'arth.  And  so  it  was  atween  the  Frenchers  of  the 
Canadas  and  the  red-coated  English,  that  the  king  did  use 
to  send  into  the  States,  when  States  they  were  not,  but 
outcrying  and  petitioning  provinces  ;  they  fou't  and  they 
fou't,  and  what  marvellous  boastings  did  they  give  forth  to 
the  world  of  their  own  valor  and  victories,  while  both  par- 
ties forgot  to  name  the  humble  soldier  of  the  land  who  did 
the  real  service,  but  who,  as  he  was  not  privileged  then  to 
smoke  at  the  great  council-fire  of  his  nation,  seldom  heard 
of  his  deeds,  after  they  were  once  bravely  done." 

When  the  old  man  had  thus  given  vent  to  the  nearly 
dormant  but  far  from  extinct  military  pride  that  had  so 
unconsciously  led  him  into  the  very  error  he  deprecated, 
his  eye,  which  had  begun  to  quicken  and  glimmer  with 
some  of  the  ardor  of  his  youth,  softened  and  turned  its 
anxious  look  on  the  devoted  captive,  whose  countenance 
was  also  restored  to  its  former  cold  look  of  abstracriov 
and  thought. 


292  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"Young  warrior/  he  continued,  in  a  voice  that  \vai 
growing  tremulous,  "I  have  never  been  father  or  brother. 
The  Wahcondah  made  me  to  live  alone.  He  never  tied 
my  heart  to  house  or  field,  by  the  cords  with  which  the 
men  of  my  race  are  bound  to  their  lodges  ;  if  he  had,  I 
should  not  have  journeyed  so  far,  and  seen  so  much.  But 
I  have  tarried  long  among  a  people  who  lived  in  those 
woods  you  mention,  and  much  reason  did  I  find  to  imitate 
their  courage  and  love  their  honesty.  The  Master  of  Life 
has  made  us  all,  Pawnee,  with  a  feeling  for  our  kind.  I 
never  was  a  father,  but  well  do  I  know  what  is  the  love  of 
one.  You  are  like  a  lad  I  valued,  and  I  had  even  begun 
to  fancy  that  some  of  his  blood  might  be  in  your  veins. 
But  what  matters  that  ?  You  are  a  true  man,  as  I  know 
by  the  way  in  which  you  keep  your  faith  ;  and  honesty  is 
a  gift  too  rare  to  be  forgotten.  My  heart  yearns  to  you, 
boy,  and  gladly  would  I  do  you  good." 

The  youthful  warrior  listened  to  the  words  which  came 
from  the  lips  of  the  other  with  a  force  and  simplicity  that 
established  their  truth,  and  he  bowed  his  head  on  his 
naked  bosom,  in  testimony  of  the  respect  with  which  he 
met  the  proffer.  Then  lifting  his  dark  eye  to  the  level  of 
the  view,  he  seemed  to  be  again'considering  of  things  re- 
moved from  every  personal  consideration.  The  trapper, 
who  well  knew  how  high  the  pride  of  a  warrior  would  sus- 
tain him,  in  those  moments  he  believed  to  be  his  last, 
awaited  the  pleasure  of  his  young  friend  with  a  meekness 
and  patience  that  he  had  acquired  by  his  association  with 
that  remarkable  race.  At  length  the  gaze  of  the  Pawnee 
began*  to  wraver ;  and  then  quick,  flashing  glances  were 
turned  from  the  countenance  of  the  old  man  to  the  air, 
and  from  the  air  to  his  deeply  marked  lineaments  again, 
as  if  the  spirit  which  governed  their  movements  was  be- 
ginning to  be  troubled. 

"  Father,"  the  young  brave  finally  answered,  in  a  voice 
:>f  confidence  and  kindness,  "I  have  heard  your  words. 
They  have  gone  in  at  my  ears,  and  are  now  within  me. 
The  white-headed  Long-knife  has  no  son  ;  the  Hard- 
Heart  of  the  Pawnees  is  young,  but  he  is  already  the  oldest 
of  his  family.  He  found  the  bones  of  his  father  on  the 
hunting-ground  of  the  Osages,  and  he  has  sent  them  to  the 
prairies  of  the  Good  Spirits.  No  doubt  the  great  chief, 
his  father,  has  seen  them,  and  knows  what  is  a  part  of  him- 
self.  But  the  Wahcondah  will  soon  call  to  us  both  ;  you, 


JRAItilE.  29$ 

because  you  have  seen  all  that  is  to  be  seen  in  this  country ; 
and  Hard-Heart,  because  he  has  need  of  a  warrior  who  is 
young.  There  is  no  time  for  the  Pawnee  to  show  the 
pale-face  the  duty  that  a  son  owes  to  his  father." 

"Old  as  I  am,  and  miserable  and  helpless  as  I  now 
stand,  to  what  I  once  was,  I  may  live  to  see  the  sun  gc 
down  in  the  prairie.  Does  my  son  expect  to  do  as  much  ?  * 

"  The  Tetbns  are  counting  the  scalps  on  my  lodge  !  "  re- 
turned the  young  chief,  with  a  smile  whose  melancholy 
was  singularly  illuminated  by  a  gleam  of  triumph. 

"  And  they  find  them  many — too  many  for  the  safety  of 
its  owner,  while  he  is  in  their  revengeful  hands.  My  son 
is  not  a  woman,  and  he  looks  on  the  path  he  is  about  to 
travel  with  a  steady  eye.  Has  he  nothing  to  whisper  in 
the  ears  of  his  people  before  he  starts  ?  These  legs  are  old, 
but  they  may  yet  carry  me  to  the  forks  of  the  Loup  river." 

"  Tell  them  that  Hard-Heart  has  tied  a  knot  in  his 
wampum  for  every  Teton  !"  burst  from  the  lips  of  the 
captive,  with  that  vehemence  with  which  sudden  passion 
is  known  to  break  through  the  barriers  of  artificial  re- 
straint ;  "  if  he  meets  one  of  them  all  in  the  prairies  of  the 
Master  of  Life  his  heart  will  become  Sioux  !  " 

"Ah  !  that  feeling  would  be  a  dangerous  companion  for 
a  man  with  white  gifts  to  start  with  on  so  solemn  a  jour 
ney,"  muttered  the  old  man  in  English.  "  This  is  not 
what  the  good  Moravians  said  to  the  councils  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  nor  what  is  so  often  preached  to  the  white  skins  in 
the  settlements,  though,  to  the  shame  of  the  color  be  it 
said,  it  is  so  little  heeded.  Pawnee,  I  love  you  ;  but,  be- 
ing a  Christian  man,  I  cannot  be  the  runner  to  bear  such 
a  message." 

"If  my  father  is  afraid  the  Tetons  will  hear  him,  let 
him  whisper  it  softly  to  our  old  men." 

"  As  for  fear,  young  warrior,  it  is  no  more  the  shame  of 
a  pale-face  than  of  a  red-skin.  The  Wahcondah  teaches 
us  to  love  the  life  he  gives  ;  but  it  is  as  men  love  their 
hunts,  and  their  dogs,  and  their  carabines,  and  not  with 
the  doting  that  a  mother  looks  upon  her  infant.  The 
Master  of  Life  will  not  have  to  speak  aloud  twice  when  he 
calls  my  name.  I  am  as  ready  to  answer  to  it  now  as  I 
shall  be  to-morrow,  or  at  any  time  it  may  please  his  mighty 
'•:v ill.  But  what  is  a  warrior  without  his  traditions  ?  Mine 
forbid  me  to  carry  your  words." 

The  chief  made  a  dignified  motion  of  assent,  and  hen? 


294 

there  was  great  danger  that  those  feelings  of  confidence 
which  had  been  so  singularly  awakened  would  as  sudden- 
ly subside.  But  the  heart  of  the  old  man  had  been  too  sen- 
sibly touched,  through  long  dormant  but  still  living  recol- 
lections, to  break  off  the  communication  so  rudely.  He 
pondered  for  a  minute,  and  then,  bending  his  look  wist- 
fully on  his  young  associate,  again  continued  : 

"  Each  warrior  must  be  judged  by  his  gifts.  I  have  told 
my  son  what  I  cannot,  but  let  him  open  his  ears  to  what  I 
can  do.  An  elk  shall  not  measure  the  prairie  much 
swifter  than  these  old  legs,  if  the  Pawnee  will  give  me  a 
message  that  a  white  man  may  bear." 

"  Let  the  pale-face  listen,"  returned  the  other,  after  hesi- 
tating a  single  instant  longer,  under  a  lingering  sensation 
of  his  former  disappointment.  "He  will  stay  here  till  the 
Siouxes  have  done  counting  the  scalps  of  their  dead  war- 
riors. He  will  wait  until  they  have  tried  to  cover  the 
heads  of  eighteen  Tetons  with  the  skin  of  one  Pawnee  ; 
he  will  open  his  eyes  wide,  that  he  may  see  the  place 
where  they  bury  the  bones  of  a  warrior." 

"  All  this  will  I,  and  may  I,  do,  noble  boy." 

"  He  will  mark  the  spot,  that  he  may  know  it." 

"No  fear,  no  fear  that  I  shall  forget  the  place,"  inter- 
rupted the  other,  whose  fortitude  began  to  give  way  under 
so  trying  an  exhibition  of  calmness  and  resignation. 

"  Then  I  know  that  my  father  will  go  to  my  people. 
His  head  is  gray,  and  his  words  will  not  be  blown  away 
with  the  smoke.  Let  him  get  on  my  lodge,  and  call  the 
name  of  Hard-Heart  aloud.  No  Pawnee  will  be  deaf.  Then 
let  my  father  ask  for  the  colt  that  has  never  been  ridden, 
but  which  is  sleeker  than  the  buck,  and  swifter  than  the 
elk." 

"  I  understand  you,  boy,  I  understand  you,"  interrupted 
the  attentive  old  man  ;  "  and  what  you  say  shall  be  done, 
ay,  and  well  done  too,  or  I'm  but  little  skilled  in  the 
wishes  of  a  dying  Indian." 

"  And  when  my  young  men  have  given  my  father  the 
halter  of  that  colt,  he  will  lead  him  by  a  crooked  path  to 
the  grave  of  Hard-Heart  ?  " 

".Will  I  !  ay,  that  I  will,  brave  youth,  though  the  winter 
covers  these  plains  in  banks  of  snow,  and  the  sun  is  hidden 
as  much  by  day  as  by  night.  To  the  head  of  the  holy  spot 
will  I  lead  the  beast,  and  place  him  with  his  eyes  looking 
towTard  the  setting  sun." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  s  295 

"  And  my  father  will  speak  to  him,  and  tell  him  that  the 
master  who  has  fed  him  since  he  was  foaled  has  now  need 
of  him." 

"That,  too,  will  I  do  ;  though  the  Lord  he  knows  that 
I  shall  hold  discourse  with  a  horse,  not  with  any  vain  con- 
ceit that  my  words  will  be  understood,  but  only  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  Indian  superstition. — Hector,  my  pup, 
what  think  you,  dog,  of  talking  to  a  horse  ? " 

"  Let  the  gray-beard  speak  to  him  with  the  tongue  of  a 
Pawnee,"  interrupted  the  young  victim,  perceiving  that 
his  companian  had  used  an  unknown  language  for  the 
preceding  speech. 

"  My  son's  will  shall  be  done.  And  with  these  old 
hands,  which  I  had  hoped  had  nearly  done  with  bloodshed, 
whether  it  be  of  man  or  beast,  will  I  slay  the  animal  on 
your  grave  !  " 

';  It  is  good,"  returned  the  other,  a  gleam  of  satisfaction 
flitting  across  his  features.  "Hard-Heart  will  ride  his 
horse  co  the  blessed  prairies,  and  he  will  come  before  the 
Master  of  Life  like  a  chief !  " 

The  sudden  and  striking  change  which  instantly  oc- 
curred in  the  countenance  of  the  Indian,  caused  the  trap- 
per to  look  aside,  when  he  perceived  that  the  conference 
of  the  Sioux  had  ended,  and  that  Mahtoree,  attended  by 
one  or  two  of  the  principal  warriors,  was  deliberately  ap- 
proaching his  intended 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"  I  am  not  prone  to  weeping,  .as  our  sex 
Commonly  are.     .     .     . 

— But  I  have  that  honorable 
Grief  lodged  here,  which  burns  worse  than 
Tears  drown." — SHAKESPEARE. 

WHEN  within  twenty  feet  of  the  prisoners,  the  Tetons 
stopped,  and  their  leader  made  a  sign  to  the  old  man  to 
draw  nigh.  The  trapper  obeyed,  quitting  the  young  Paw- 
nee with  a  significant  look,  which  was  received,  as  it  was 
meant,  for  an  additional  pledge  that  he  would  never  for 
get  his  promise.  So  soon  as  Mahtoree  found  that  the  other 
had  stopped  within  reach  of  him,  he  stretched  forth  his 
arm,  and  laying  a  hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  attentive 


296  THE  PKATRIE. 

old  man,  he  stood  regarding  him  a  minute,  with  eyes  tkai 
seemed  willing  to  penetrate  the  recesses  of  his  most  secret 
thoughts. 

"  Is  a  pale-face  always- made  with  two  tongues  ?"  he  de- 
manded, when  he  found  that,  as  usual  with  the  subject  oi 
this  examination,  he  was  as  little  intimidated  by  his  present 
frown,  as  moved  by  any  apprehensions  of  the  future. 

"  Honesty  lies  deeper  than  the  skin." 

"  It  is  so.  Now  let  my  father  hear  me.  Mahtoree  has 
but  one  tongue,  the  gray-head  has  many.  They  may  be  all 
straight,  and  none  of  them  forked.  A  Sioux  is  no  more 
than  a  Sioux,  but  a  pale-face  is  everything!  He  can  talk 
to  the  Pawnee,  and  the  Konza,  arid  the  Omahaw,  and  he 
can  talk  to  his  own  people." 

"Ay,  there  are  linguisters  in  the  settlements  that  can  do 
still  more.  But  what  profits  it  all  ?  The  Master  of  Life 
has  an  ear  for  every  language  !" 

"  The  gray-head  has  done  wrong.  He  has  said  one  thing 
when  he  meant  another.  He  has  looked  before  him  with 
his  eyes,  and  behind  him  with  his  mind.  He  has  ridden 
the  horse  of  a  Sioux  too  hard  ;  he  has  been  the  friend  of  a 
Pawnee,  and  the  enemy  of  my  people." 

"  Teton,  I  am  your  prisoner.  Though  my  words  are 
white,  they  will  not  complain.  Act  your  will." 

"No.  Mahtoree  will  not  make  a  white  hair  red.  My 
father  is  free.  The  prairie  is  open  on  every  side  of  him. 
But  before  the  gray-head  turns  his  back  on  the  Siouxes, 
let  him  look  well  at  them,  that  he  may  tell  his  own  chief 
how  great  is  a  Dahcotah  !  " 

"I  am  not  in  a  hurry  to  go  on  my  path.  You  see  a  man 
with  a  white  head,  and  no  woman,  Teton  ;  therefore  shall 
I  not  run  myself  out  of  breath  to  tell  the  nations  of  the 
prairies  what  the  Siouxes  are  doing." 

"  It  is  good.  My  father  has  smoked  with  the  chiefs  at 
many  councils,"  returned  Mahtoree,  who  now  thought  him- 
self sufficiently  sure  of  the  other's  favor  to  go  more  direct- 
ly to  his  object.  "  Mahtoree  will  speak  with  the  tongue  of 
his  very  dear  friend  and  father.  A  young  pale-face  will 
listen  when  an  old  man  of  that  nation  opens  his  mouth. 
Go  ;  my  father  will  make  what  a  poor  Indian  says  fit  fo: 
a  white  ear.''' 

11  Speak  aloud  ! "  said  the  trapper,  who  readily  under- 
stood the  metaphorical  manner  in  which  the  Teton  ex. 
pressed  a  desire  that  lie  should  become  an  interpreter  of 


THE  PRATK1E.  297 

his  words  into  the  English  language  ;  "  speak  ;  my  young 
men  listen. — Now,  captain,  and  you  too,  friend  bee-hunter, 
prepare  yourselves  to  meet  the  deviltries  of  this  savage 
with-the  stout  hearts  of  white  warriors.  If  you  find  your- 
selves giving  way  under  his  threats,  just  turn  your  eyes  on 
that  noble-looking  Pawnee,  whose  time  is  measured  with 
a  hand  as  niggardly  as  that  with  which  a  trader  in  the 
towns  gives  forth  the  fruits  of  the  Lord,  inch  by  inch,  in 
order  to  satisfy  his  covetousness.  A  single  look  at  the  boy 
will  set  you  both  up  in  resolution." 

"  My  brother  has  turned  his  eyes  on  the  wrong  path," 
interrupted  Mahtoree,  with  a  complacency  that  betrayed 
how  unwilling  he  was  to  offend  his  intended  interpreter. 

"The  Dahcotah  will  speak  to  my  young  men?" 

"After  he  has  sung  in  the  ear  of  the  flower  of  the  pale- 
faces." 

"The  Lord  forgive  the  desperate  villain !"  exclaimed  the 
old  man,  in  English.  "  There  are  none  so  tender,  or  so 
young,  or  so  innocent,  as  to  escape  his  ravenous  wishes. 
But  hard  words  and  cold  looks  will  profit  nothing  ;  there- 
fore it  will  be  wise  to  speak  him  fair. — Let  Mahtoree  open 
his  mouth." 

11  Would  my  father  cry  out  that  the  women  and  children 
should  hear  the  wisdom  of  chiefs  ?  We  will  go  into  the 
lodge  and  whisper." 

As  the  Teton  ended,  he  pointed  significantly  toward  a 
tent,  vividly  emblazoned  with  the  history  of  one  of  his  own 
boldest  and  most  commended  exploits,  and  which  stood  a 
little  apart  from  the  rest,  as  if  to  denote  it  was  the  resi- 
dence of  some  privileged  individual  of  the  band.  The 
shield  and  quiver  at  its  entrance  were  richer  than  common, 
and  the  high  distinction  of  a  fusee  attested  the  importance 
of  its  proprietor.  In  every  other  particular  it  was  rather 
distinguished  by  signs  of  poverty  than  of  wealth.  The  do- 
mestic utensils  were  fewer  in  number  and  simpler  in  their 
forms  than  those  to  be  seen  about  the  openings  of  the 
meanest  lodges,  nor  was  there  a  single  one  of  those  highly 
prized  articles  of  civilized  life,  which  were  occasionally 
bought  of  the  traders,  in  bargains  that  bore  so  hard  on  the 
ignorant  natives.  All  these  had  been  bestowed,  as  they  had 
been  acquired,  by  the  generous  chief,  on  his  subordinates, 
to  purchase  an  influence  that  might  render  him  the  master 
of  their  lives  and  persons  ;  a  species  of  wealth  that  was  cer- 
tainly more  noble  in  itself,  and  far  dearer  to  his  ambition, 


t^  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  old  man  well  knew  this  to  be  the  lodge  of  Mahtoree, 
and,  in  obedience  to  the  sign  of  the  chief,  he  held  his  wav 
toward  it  with  slow  and  reluctant  steps.  But  there  were 
others  present  who  were  equally  interested  in  the  ap- 
proaching conference,  whose  apprehensions  were  not  to 
be  so  easily  suppressed.  The  watchful  eyes  and  jealous 
ears  of  Middleto-n  had  taught  him  enough  to  fill  his  soul 
with  terrible  forebodings.  With  an  incredible  effort  he 
succeeded  in  gaining  his  feet,  and  called  aloud  to  the  re 
tiring  trapper : 

"  I  conjure  you,  old  man,  if  the  love  you  bore  my  parents 
was  more  than  words,  or  if  the  love  you  bear  your  God  is 
that  of  a  Christian  man,  utter  not  a  syllable  that  may  wound 
the  ear  of  that  innocent " 

Exhausted  in  spirit  and  fettered  in  limbs,  he  fell  like  an 
animated  log  to  the  earth,  where  he  lay  like  one  dead. 

Paul  had,  however,  caught  the  clew,  and  completed  the 
exhortation  in  his  peculiar  manner : 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  he  sholited,  vainly  endeavoring 
at  the  same  time  to  make  a  gesture  of  defiance  with  his 
hand  ;  "  if  you  ar'  about  to  play  the  interpreter,  speak  such 
words  to  the  ears  of  that  damnable  savage  as  becomes  a 
white  man  to  use  and  a  heathen  to  hear.  Tell  him,  from 
me,  that  if  he  does  or  says  the  thing  that  is  uncivil  to  the 
girl  called  Nelly  Wade,  that  I'll  curse  him  with  my  dying 
breath  ;  that  I'll  pray  for  all  good  Christians  in  Kentucky 
to  curse  him  ;  sitting  and  standing  ;  eating  and  drinking  ; 
fighting,  praying,  or  at  horse-races ;  in-doors  and  out- 
doors ;  in  summer  or  winter,  or  in  the  month  of  March  ; 
in  short,  I'll — ay,  it  ar'  a  fact  morally  true — I'll  haunt  him, 
if  the  ghost  of  a  pale-face  can  contrive  to  lift  itself  from 
the  grave  made  by  the  hands  of  a  red-skin !  " 

Having  thus  ventured  the  most  terrible  denunciations  he 
could  devise,  and  the  one  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  honest 
bee-hunter,  there  seemed  the  greatest  likelihood  of  his 
being  able  to  put  in  execution,  he  was  obliged  to  await  the 
fruits  of  his  threat  with  that  resignation  which  would  be 
apt  to  govern  a  Western  borderman  who,  in  addition  to 
the  prospects  just  named,  had  the  advantage  of  contem- 
plating them  in  fetters  and  bondage.  We  shall  not  detain 
the  narrative  to  relate  the  quaint  morals  with  which  he 
next  endeavored  to  cheer  the  drooping  spirits  of  his  more 
sensitive  companion,  or  the  occasional  pity  and  peculiai 
benedictions  that  he  pronounced  on  all  the  bands  of  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  299 

Dahcotahs,  commencing  with  those  that  he  accused  of 
stealing  or  murdering,  on  the  banks  of  the  distant  Missis- 
sippi, and  concluding,  in  terms  of  suitable  energy,  with 
the  Teton  tribe.  The  latter  more  than  once  received  from 
his  lips  curses  as  sententious  and  as  complicated  as  that 
celebrated  anathema  of  the  Church,  for  a  knowledge  of 
which  most  unlettered  Protestants  are  indebted  to  the 
pious  researches  of  the  worthy  Tristram  Shandy.  But  as 
Middleton  recovered  from  his  exhaustion,  he  was  fain  to 
appease  the  boisterous  temper  of  his  associate,  by  admon- 
ishing him  of  the  uselessness  of  such  denunciations,  and  of 
the  possibility  of  their  hastening  the  very  evil  he  deprecated, 
by  irritating  the  resentments  of  a  race  who  were  sufficiently 
fierce  and  lawless,  even  in  their  most  pacific  moods. 

In  the  meantime  the  trapper  and  the  Sioux  chief  pur- 
sued their  way  to  the  lodge.  The  former  had  watched 
with  painful  interest  the  expression  of  Mahtoree's  eye, 
while  the  words  of  Middleton  and  Paul  were  pursuing  their 
footsteps  ;  but  the  mieji  of  the  Indian  was  far  too  much 
restrained  and  self-guarded  to  permit  the  smallest  of  his 
emotions  to  escape  through  any  of  those  ordinary  outlets 
by  which  the  condition  of  the  human  volcano  is  commonly 
betrayed.  His  look  was  fastened  on  the  little  habitation 
they  approached  ;  and,  for  the  moment,  his  thoughts  ap- 
peared to  brood  alone  on  the  purposes  of  this  extraordi- 
nary visit. 

The  appearance  of  the  interior  of  the  lodge  corresponded 
with  its  exterior.  It  was  larger  than  most  of  the  others, 
more  finished  in  its  form,  and  finer  in  its  materials  ;  but 
there  its  superiority  ceased.  Nothing  could  be  more  sim- 
ple and  republican  than  the  form  of  living  that  the  am- 
bitious and  powerful  Teton  chose  to  exhibit  to  the  eyes 
of  his  people.  A  choice  collection  of  weapons  for  the 
chase,  and  three  or  four  medals,  bestowed  by  the  traders 
and  political  agents  of  the  Ganadas  as  a  homage  to,  or 
rather  an  acknowledgment  of,  his  rank,  with  a  few  of  the 
most  indispensable  articles  of  personal  accommodation, 
composed  its  furniture.  It  abounded  in  neither  venison 
nor  the  wild-beef  of  the  prairies  ;  its  crafty  owner  having 
well  understood  that  the  liberality  of  a  single  individual 
would  be  abundantly  rewarded  by  the  daily  contributions 
of  a  band.  Although  as  pre-eminent  in  the  chase  as  in 
war,  a  deer  or  a  buffalo  was  never  seen  to  enter  whole  into 
his  lodge.  In  return,  an  animal  was  rarely  brought  into 


3oo  THE  PRAIRIE. 

the  encampment,  that  did  not  contribute  to  support  tha 
family  of  Mahtoree.  But  the  policy  of  the  chief  seldom' 
permitted  more  to  remain  than  sufficed  for  the  wants  of 
the  day,  perfectly  sure  that  all  must  suffer  before  hunger, 
the  bane  of  savage  life,  could  lay  its  fell  fangs  on  so  im- 
portant a  victim. 

Immediately  beneath  the  favorite  bo  A'  of  the  chief,  and 
encircled  in  a  sort  of  magical  ring  of  spears,  shields,  lances, 
and  arrows,  all  of  which  had  in  their  time  done  good  ser- 
vice, was  suspended  the  mysterious  and  sacred  medicine 
bag.  It  was  highly  wrought  in  wampum,  and  profusely 
ornamented  with  beads  and  porcupines'  quills,  after  the 
most  cunning  devices  of  Indian  ingenuity.  The  particular 
freedom  of  Mahtoree's  religious  creed  has  been  more  than 
once  intimated,  and,  by  a  singular  species  of  contradiction, 
he  appeared  to  have  lavished  his  attentions  on  this  emblem 
of  a  supernatural  agency  in  a  degree  that  was  precisely  in- 
verse to  his  faith.  It  was  merely  the  manner  in  which  the 
Siouxes  imitated  the  well-known  expedient  of  the  Phari- 
sees, "  in  order  that  they  might  be  seen  of  men." 

The  tent  had  not,  however,  been  entered  by  its  owner 
since  his  return  from  the  recent  expedition.  As  the  reader 
has  already  anticipated,  it  had  been  made  the  prison  of 
Inez  and  Ellen.  The  bride  of  Middleton  was  seated  on  a 
simple  couch  of  sweet-scented  herbs  covered  with  skins. 
She  had  already  suffered  so  much,  and  witnessed  so  many 
wild  and  unlooked-for  events,  within  the  short  space  of  her 
captivity,  that  every  additional  misfortune  fell  with  a  dim- 
inished force  on  her  seemingly  devoted  head.  Her  cheeks 
were  bloodless,  her  dark  and  usually  animated  eye  was 
contracted  in  an  expression  of  settled  concegi,  and  her 
form  appeared  shrinking  and  sensitive,  nearly  to  extinction. 
But,  in  the  midst  of  these  evidences  of  natural  weakness, 
there  were  at  times  such  an  air  of  pious  resignation,  such 
gleams  of  meek  but  holy  hope  lighting  her  countenance, 
as  might  well  have  rendered  it  a  question  whether  the 
hapless  captive  was  most  a  subject  of  pity  or  of  admiration, 
All  the  precepts  of  Father  Ignatius  were  riveted  in  her 
faithful  memory,  and  not  a  few  of  his  pious  visions  were 
floating  before  her  imagination.  Sustained  by  no  sacred 
resolutions,  the  mild,  the  patient,  and  the  confiding  girl 
was  bowing  her  head  to  this  new  stroke  of  Providence, 
with  -the  same  sort  of  meekness  as  she  would  have  sub' 
mitted  to  any  other  prescribed  penitence  for  her  sins. 


THE  PRAJRIE.  301 

though  Nature,  at  moments,  warred  powerfully  with  so 
compelled  a  humility. 

On  the  other  hand,  Ellen  had  exhibited  far  more  of  the 
woman,  and  consequently  of  the  passions  of  the  world. 
She  had  wept  until  her  eyes  were  swollen  and  red.  Her 
cheeks  were  flushed  and  angry,  and  her  whole  mien  was 
distinguished  by  an  air  of  spirit  and  resentment  that  was 
not  a  little,  however,  qualified  by  apprehensions  for  thefu-' 
ture.  In  short,  there  was  that  about  the  eye  and  step  of 
the  betrothed  of  Paul,  which  gave  a  warranty  that,  should 
happier  times  arrive,  and  the  constancy  of  the  bee-hunter 
finally  meet  with  its  reward,  he  would  possess  a  partner 
every  way  worthy  to  cope  with  his  own  thoughtless  and 
buoyant  temperament. 

There  was  still  another  and  a  third  figure  in  that  little 
knot  of  females.  It  was  the  youngest,  the  most  highly 
gifted,  and,  until  now,  the  most  favored  of  the  wives  of  the 
Teton.  Her  charms  had  not  been  without  the  most  power- 
ful attraction  in  the  eyes  of  her  husband,  until  they  had 
so  unexpectedly  opened  on  the  surpassing  loveliness  of  a 
wTomari  of  the  pale-faces.  From  that  hapless  moment  the 

traces,  the  attachment,  the  fidelity  of  the  young  Indian, 
ad  lost  their  power  to  please.  Still  the  complexion  of 
Tachechana,  though  less  dazzling  than  that  of  her  rival, 
was,  for  her  race,  clear  and  healthy.  Her  hazel  eye  had 
the  sweetness  and  playfulness  of  the  antelope's  ;  her  voice 
was  soft  and  joyous  as  the  song  of  the  wren,  and  her  happy 
laugh  was  the  very  melody  of  the  forest.  Of  all  the  Sioux 
girls,  Tachechana  (or  the  fawn)  was  the  lightest-hearted 
and  the  most  envied.  Her  father  had  been  a  distinguished 
brave,  and  her  brothers  had  already  left  their  bones  in  a 
distant  and  dreary  war-path.  Numberless  were  the  war- 
riors who  had  sent  presents  to  the  lodge  of  her  parents, 
but  none  of  them  were  listened  to  until  a  messenger  from 
the  great  Mahtoree  had  come.  She  was  his  third  wife, 
it  is  true,  but  she  was  confessedly  the  most  favored  of 
them  all.  Their  union  had  existed  but  two  short  seasons, 
and  its  fruits  now  lay  sleeping  at  her  feet,  wrapped  in  the 
customary  ligatures  of  skin  and  bark,  which  form  the 
swaddlings  of  an  Indian  infant. 

At  the  moment  when  Mahtoree  and  the  trapper  arrived 
at  the  opening  of  the  lodge  the  young  Sioux  wife  was 
seated  on  a  simple  stool,  turning  her  soft  eyes  with  looks 
that  varied,  like  her  emotions,  with  love  and  wonder,  fron? 


302  TffK  PRAIRIE. 

the  unconscious  child  to  those  rare  beings  who  had  fillet! 
her  youthful  and  uninstructed  mind  with  such  admiration 
and  astonishment.  Though  Inez  and  Ellen  had  passed  an 
entire  day  in  her  sight,  it  seemed  as  if  the  longings  of  her 
curiosity  were  increasing  with  each  new  gaze.  She  re- 
garded them  as  beings  of  an  entirely  different  nature  and 
condition  from  the  females  of  the  prairie.  Even  the  mys- 
tery of  their  complicated  attire  had  its  secret  influence  on 
her  simple  mind,  though  it  was  the  grace  and  charms  of 
sex,  to  which  Nature  has  made  every  people  so  sensible, 
that  most  attracted  her  admiration.  But  while  her  in- 
genuous disposition  freely  admitted  the  superiority  of  the 
strangers  over  the  less  brilliant  attractions  of  the  Dahco- 
tah  maidens,  she  had  seen  no  reason  to  deprecate  their 
advantages.  The  visit  that  she  was  now  about  to  receive 
was  the  first  which  her  husband  had  made  to  the  tent  since 
his  return  from  the  recent  inroad,  and  he  was  ever  present 
to  her  thoughts  as  asuccessful  warrior,  who  was  not  ashamed 
in  the  moments  of  inaction  to  admit  the  softer  feelings  of 
a  father  and  a  husband. 

We  have  everywhere  endeavored  to  show  that,  while 
Mahtoree  was  in  all  essentials  a  warrior  of  the  prairies, 
he  was  much  in  advance  of  his  people  in  those  acquire- 
ments which  announce  the  dawnings  of  civilization.  He 
had  held  frequent  communion  with  the  traders  and  troops 
of  the  Canadas,  and  the  intercourse  had  unsettled  many 
of  those  wild  opinions  which  were  his  birthright,  without 
perhaps  substituting  any  others  of  a  nature  sufficiently 
definite  to  be  profitable.  His  reasoning  was  rather  subtle 
than  true,  and  his  philosophy  far  more  audacious  than 
profound.  Like  thousands  of  more  enlightened  beings 
who  fancy  they  are  able  to  go  through  the  trials  of  human 
existence  without  any  other  support  than  their  own  reso- 
lutions, his  morals  were  accommodating  and  his  motives 
selfish.  These  several  characteristics  will  be  understood 
always  with  reference  to  the  situation  of  the  Indian,  though 
little  apology  is  needed  for  finding  resemblances  between 
men  who  essentially  possess  the  same  nature,  however  it 
may  be  modified  by  circumstances. 

Notwithstanding  the  presence  of  Inez  and  Ellen,  the 
entrance  of  the  Teton  warrior  into  the  lodge  of  his  favorite 
wife  was  made  with  the  tread  and  mien  of  a  master.  The 
step  of  his  moccasin  was  noiseless,  but  the  rattling  of  his 
bracelets  and  of  the  silver  ornaments  of  his  leggings,  sufficed 


7 77 K  PRAIRIE.  303 

to  announce  his  approach  as  he  pushed  aside  the  skin  cov« 
eringof  the  opening  of  the  tent,  and  stood  in  the  presence 
of  its  inmates.  A  faint  cry  of  pleasure  burst  from  the  lips 
of  Tachechana  in  the  suddenness  of  her  surprise,  but  the 
emotion  was  instantly  suppressed  in  that  subdued  demeanor 
which  should  characterize  a  matron  of  her  tribe.  Instead 
of  returning  the  stolen  glance  of  his  youthful  and  secretly 
rejoicing  wife,  Mahtoree  moved  to  the  couch  occupied  by 
his  prisoners,  and  placed  himself  in  the  haughty,  upright 
attitude  of  an  Indian  chief  before  their  eyes.  The  old  man 
had  glided  past  him  and  already  taken  a  position  suited  to 
the  office  he  had  been  commanded  to  fill. 

Surprise  kept  the  females  silent  and  nearly  breathless. 
Though  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  savage  warriors  in  the 
horrid  panoply  of  their  terrible  profession,  there  was  some- 
thing so  startling  in  the  entrance,  and  so  audacious  in  the 
inexplicable  look  of  their  conqueror,  that  the  eyes  of  both 
sank  to  the  earth  under  a  feeling  of  terror  and  embarrass- 
ment. Then  Inez  recovered  herself,  and,  addressing  the 
trapper  she  demanded,  with  the  dignity  of  an  offended 
gentlewoman,  though  with  her  accustomed  grace,  to  what 
circumstance  they  owed  this  extraordinary  and  unexpected 
visit.  The  old  man  hesitated  ;  but,  clearing  his  throat  like 
one  who  was  about  to  make  an  effort  to  which  he  was  little 
used,  he  ventured  on  the  following  reply  : 

"  Lady,"  he  said,  "  a  savage  is  a  savage,  and  you  are  not 
to  look  for  the  uses  and  formalities  of  the  settlements  on 
a  bleak  and  windy  prairie.  As  these  Indians  would  say, 
fashions  and  courtesies  are  things  so  light  that  they  would 
blow  away.  As  for  myself,  though  a  man  of  the  forest,  I 
have  seen  the  ways  of  the  great  in  my  time,  and  I  am  not 
to  learn  that  they  differ  from  the  ways  of  the  lowly.  I 
was  long  a  serving-man  in  my  youth,  not  one  of  your  beck- 
and-nod  runners  about  a  household,  but  a  man  that  went 
through  the  servitude  of  the  forest  with  his  officer,  and 
well  do  I  know  in  what  manner  to  approach  the  wife 
of  a  captain.  Now,  had  I  the  ordering  of  this  visit,  I 
would  first  have  hemmed  aloud  at  the  door  in  order 
that  you  might  hear  that  strangers  were  coming,  and 
then  I " 

"  The  manner  is  indifferent,"  interrupted  Inez,  too  anx- 
ious to  await  the  prolix  explanations  of  the  old  man , 
"  why  is  this  visit  made  ?  " 

"  Therein    shall   the    savage   speak   for   himself.       The 


304  THE  PRAIRIE. 

daughters  of  the  pale-faces  wish  to  know  why  the  great 
Teton  has  come  into  his  lodge  ? " 

Mahtoree  regarded  his  interrogator  with  a  surprise  which 
showed  how  extraordinary  he  deemed  the  question.  Then 
placing  himself  in  a  posture  of  condescension,  after  a  mo- 
ment's delay,  he  answered  : 

"  Sing  in  the  ears  of  the  dark-eye.  Tell  her  the  lodge 
of  Mahtoree  is  very  large,  and  that  it  is  not  full.  She  shall 
find  room  in  it, 'and  none  shall  be  greater  than  she.  Tell 
the  light-hair  that  she  too  may  stop  in  the  lodge  of  a  brave, 
and  eat  of  his  venison.  Mahtoree  is  a  great  chief.  His 
hand  is  never  shut" 

"  Teton,"  returned  the  trapper,  shaking  his  head  in  evi- 
dence of  the  strong  disapprobation  with  which  he  heard 
this  language,  "the  tongue  of  a  red-skin  must  be  colored 
white,  before  it  can  make  music  in  the  ears  of  a  pale-face. 
Should  your  words  be  spoken,  my  daughters  would  shut 
their  ears,  and  Mahtoree  would  seem  a  trader  in  their  eyes. 
Now,  listen  to  what  comes  from  a  gray  head,  and  then 
speak  accordingly.  My  people  is  a  mighty  people.  The 
sun  rises  on  their  eastern  and  sets  on  their  western  border. 
The  land  is  filled  with  bright-eyed  and  laughing  girls,  like 
these  you  see — ay,  Teton,  I  tell  no  lie,"  observing  his  audi- 
tor to  start  with  an  air  of  distrust — "  bright-eyed  and  pleas- 
ant to  behold,  as  these  before  you." 

"  Has  my  father  a  hundred  wives  ? "  interrupted  the 
savage,  laying  his  finger  on  the  shoulder  of  the  trapper, 
with  a  look  of  curious  interest  in  the  reply. 

"  No,  Dahcotah.  The  Master  of  Life  has  said  to  me, 
Live  alone  ;  your  lodge  shall  be  the  forest  ;  the  roof  of 
your  wigwam,  the  clouds.  But  though  never  bound  in 
the  secret  faith  which  in  my  nation  ties  one  man  to  one 
woman,  often  have  I  seen  the  workings  of  that  kindness 
which  brings  the  two  together.  ,Go  into  the  regions  of 
my  people,  you  will  see  the  daughters  of  the  land  flutter- 
Ing  through  the  towns  like  many  colored  and  joyful  birds 
in  the  season  of  blossoms.  You  will  meet  them  singing 
and  rejoicing  along  the  great  paths  of  the  country,  and 
you  will  hear  the  woods  ringing  with  their  laughter.  They 
are  very  excellent  to  behold,  and  the  young  men  find 
pleasure  Jn  looking  at  them." 

"Hugh  !"  ejaculated  the  attentive  Mahtoree. 

"  Ay,  well  may  you  puj;  faith  in  whaj:  you  hear,  for  it  is 
no  lie.  Put  when  a  ypu|h  rias  found)  a  maiden  to  please 


77//i   PKAJRIK.  305 

h\my  he  speaks  to  her  in  a  voice  so  soft  that  none  else  can 
hear.  He  does  not  say,  My  lodge  is  empty  and  there  is 
room  for  another  ;  but,  Shall  I  build,  and  will  the  virgin 
show  me  near  what  spring  she  would  dwell  ?  His  voice  is 
sweeter  than  honey  from  the  locust,  and  goes  into  the  ear 
thrilling  like  the  song  of  the  wren.  Therefore,  if  my 
brother  wishes  his  words  to  be  heard,  he  must  speak  with 
a  white  tongue." 

Mahtoree  pondered  deeply,  and  in  a  manner  that  he  did 
not  attempt  to  conceal.  It  was  reversing  all  the  order  of 
society,  and,  according  to  his  established  opinions,  endan- 
gering the  dignity  of  a  chief  for  a  warrior  thus  to  humble 
himself  before  a  woman.  But  as  Inez  sat  before  him,  re- 
served and  imposing  in  air,  utterly  unconscious  of  his  ob- 
ject, and  least  of  all  suspecting  the  true  purport  of  so  ex- 
traordinary a  visit,  the  savage  felt  the  influence  of  a 
manner  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed.  Bowing  his 
head  in  acknowledgment  of  his  error,  he  stepped  a  little 
back,  and,  placing  himself  in  an  attitude  of  easy  dignity, 
he  began  to  speak  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  had 
been  no  less  distinguished  for  eloquence  than  for  deeds  in 
arms.  Keeping  his  eyes  riveted  on  the  unconscious  bride 
of  Middleton,  he  proceeded  in  the  following  words  : 

"  I  am  a  red-skin,  but  my  eyes  are  dark.  They  have 
been  open  since  many  snows.  They  have  seen  many 
things — they  know  a  brave  from  a  coward.  When  a  boy, 
.1  saw  nothing  but  the  bison  and  the  deer.  I  went  to  the 
hunts,  and  I  saw  the  cougar  and  the  bear.  This  made 
Mahtoree  a  man.  He  talked  with  his  mother  no  more. 
His  ears  were  open  to  the  wisdom  of  the  old  men.  They 
told  him  everything — they  told  him  of  the  Big-knives.  He 
went  on  the  war-path.  He  was  then  the  last — now  he  is 
the  first  What  Dahcotah  dare  say  he  will  go  before  Mah- 
toree into  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Pawnees  ?  The 
chiefs  met  him  at  their  doors,  and  they  said,  My  son  is 
without  a  home.  They  gave  him  their  lodges,  they  gave 
him  their  riches,  and  they  gave  him  their  daughters. 
Then  Mahtoree  became  a  chief,  as  his  fathers  had  been. 
He  struck  the  warriors  of  all  the  nations,  and  he  could 
have  chosen  wives  from  the  Pawnees,  the  Omahaws,  and 
the  Konzas  ;  but  he  looked  at  the  hunting-grounds,  and 
not  at  his  village.  He  thought  a  horse  was  pleasanter 
than  a  Dahcotah  girl.  But  he  found  a  flower  on  the 
prairies,  and  he  plucked  it  and  brought  it  into  his  lodge, 
20 


^06  .  TUX  PRAIRTE. 

He  forgets  that  he  is  the  master  of  n  single  horse.  Ha 
gives  them  all  to  the  stranger,  for  Mahtoree  is  not  a  thief ; 
he  will  only  keep  the  flower  he  found  on  the  prairie.  Her 
feet  are  very  tender.  She  cannot  walk  to  the  door  of  her 
father ;  she  will  stay  in  the  lodge  of  a  valiant  warrior 
forever." 

When  he  had  finished  this  extraordinary  address,  the 
Teton  awaited  to  have  it  translated,  with  the  air  of  a 
suitor  who  entertained  no  very  disheartening  doubts  of 
his  success.  The  trapper  had  not  lost  a  syllable  of  the 
speech,  and  he  now  prepared  himself  to  render  it  into 
English  in  such  a  manner  as  should  leave  its  principal  idea 
even  more  obscure  than  in  the  original.  But,  as  his  re- 
luctant lips  were  in  the  act  of  parting,  Ellen  lifted  a  finger, 
and,  with  a  keen  glance  from  her  quick  eye  at  the  still 
attentive  Inez,  she  interrupted  him  : 

"  Spare  your  breath,"  she  said  ;  "  all  that  a  savage  says 
is  not  to  be  repeated  before  a  Christian  lady." 

Inez  started,  blushed,  and  bowed  with  an  air  of  reserve, 
as  she  coldly  thanked  the  old  man  for  his  intentions,  and 
observed  that  she  could  now  wish  to  be  alone. 

"  My  daughters  have  no  need  of  ears  to  understand  what 
a  great  Dahcotah  says,"  returned  the  trapper,  addressing 
himself  to  the  expecting  Mahtoree.  "The  look  he  has 
given,  and  the  signs  he  has  made,  are  enough.  They  un- 
derstand him  ;  they  wish  to  think  of  his  words  ;  for  the 
children  of  great  braves,  such  as  their  fathers  are,  do  noth- 
ing without  much  thought" 

With  this  explanation,  so  flattering  to  the  energy  of  his 
eloquence,  and  so  promising  to  his  future  hopes,  trie  Teton 
was  every  way  content.  He  made  the  customary  ejacula- 
tion of  assent,  and  prepared  to  retire.  Saluting  the  females 
in  the  cold  but  dignified  manner  of  his  people,  he  drew  his 
robe  about  him,  and  moved  from  the  spot  where  he  had 
stood  with  an  air  of  ill-concealed  triumph. 

But  there  had  been  a  stricken  though  a  motionless  and 
unobserved  auditor  of  the  foregoing  scene.  Not  a  syllable 
had  fallen  from  the  lips  of  the  long  and  anxiously  expected 
husband  that  had  not  gone  directly  to  the  heart  of  his  un- 
offending wife.  In  this  manner  had  he  wooed  her  from 
the  lodge  of  her  father,  and  it  was  to  listen  to  similar  pict- 
ure* of  the  renown  and  deeds  of  the  greatest  brave  in  her 
tribe  that  she  had  shut  her  ears  to  the  tender  tales  of  so 
many  of  the  Sioux,  youths. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  307 

As  the  Teton  turned  to  leave  his  lodge  in  the  manner 
just  mentioned,  he  found  this  unexpected  and  hali-for- 
gotten  object  before  him.  She  stood  in  the  humble  guise 
and  with  the  shrinking  air  of  an  Indian  girl,  holding  the 
pledge  of  their  former  love  in  her  arms,  directly  in  his 
path.  Starting,  the  chief  regained  the  marble-like  indif-> 
ference  of  countenance  which  distinguished  in  so  remark^ 
able  a  degree  the  restrained  or  more  artificial  expression 
of  his  features,  and  signed  to  her  with  an  air  of  authority  to 
give  place. 

"Is  not  Tachechana  the  daughter  of  a  chief  ? "  demanded 
a  subdued  voice,  in  which  pride  struggled  with  anguish  ; 
"  were  not  her  brothers  braves  ?  " 

"  Go  ;  the  men  are  calling  their  partisan.  He  has  no 
ears  for  a  woman." 

"  No,"  replied  the  supplicant  :  "  it  is  not  the  voice  of 
Tachechana  that  you  hear,  but  this  boy,  speaking  with  the 
tongue  of  his  mother.  Fie  is  the  son  of  a  chief,  and  his 
words  will  go  up  to  his  father's  ears.  Listen  to  what  he 
says.  When  was  Mahtoree  hungry,  and  Tachechana  had 
not  food  for  him  ?  When  did  he  go  on  the  path  of  the 
Pawnees  and  find  it  empty,  that  my  mother  did  not  weep  ? 
When  did  he  come  back  with  the  marks  of  their  blows 
that  she  did  not  sing  ?  What  Sioux  girl  has  given  a  brave 
son  like  me?  Look  at  me  well,  that  you  may  know  me. 
My  eyes  are  the  eagle's.  I  look  at  the  sun  and  laugh.  In 
a  little  time  the  Dahcotahs  will  follow  me  to  the  hunts  and 
on  the  war-path.  Why  does  my  father  turn  his  eyes  from 
the  woman  that  gives  me  milk  ?  Why  has  he  so  soon  for- 
gotten the  daughter  of  a  mighty  Sioux  ? " 

There  was  a  single  instant,  as  the  exulting  father  suffered 
his  cold  eye  to  wander  to  the  face  of  the  laughing  boy  that 
the  stern  nature  of  the  Teton  seemed  touched.  But,  shak- 
ing off  the  grateful  sentiment,  like  one  who  would  gladly 
be  rid  of  any  painful  because  reproachful  emotion,  he  laid 
his  hand  calmly  on  the  arm  of  his  \vife,  and  led  her  di- 
rectly in  front  of  Inez.  Pointing  to  the  sweet  countenance 
that  was  beaming  on  her  own,  with  a  look  of  tenderness 
and  commiseration,  he  paused  ;  to  allow  his  wife  to  con- 
template a  loveliness  which  wras  quite  as  excellent  to  her 
ingenuous  mind  as  it  had  proved  dangerous  to  the  character 
of  her  faithless  husband.  When  he  thought  abundant 
time  had  passed  to  make  the  contrast  sufficiently  striking 
he  suddenly  raised  a  small  mirror  that  dangled  at  her 


308  THE  PRAIRIE. 

breast,  an  ornament  he  had  himself  bestowed,  in  an  hour 
of  fondness,  as  a  compliment  to  her  beauty,  and  placed 
her  own  dark  image  in  its  place.  Wrapping  his  robe  about 
him,  the  Teton  motioned  the  trapper  to  follow,  and  stalked 
haughtily  from  the  lodge,  muttering  as  he  went  : 

"  Mahtoree  is  very  wise  !  What  nation  has  so  great  a 
chief  as  the  Dahcotahs  ?  " 

Tachechana  stood  frozen  into  a  statue  of  humility.  Her 
mild  and  usually  joyous  countenance  worked,  as  if  the 
struggle  within  was  about  to  dissolve  the  connection  be- 
tween her  soul  and  the  more  material  part  whose  deform- 
ity was  becoming  so  loathsome.  Inez  and  Ellen  were 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  her  interview  with  her 
husband,  though  the  quick  and  sharpened  wits  of  the  lat- 
ter led  her  to  suspect  a  truth  to  which  the  entire  inno- 
cence of  the  former  furnished  no  clew.  They  were  both, 
however,  about  to  tender  those  sympathies  which  are  so 
natural  to  and  so  graceful  in  the  sex,  when  their  necessity 
seemed  suddenly  to  cease.  The  convulsions  in  the  fea- 
tures of  the  young  Sioux  disappeared,  and  her  counte- 
nance became  cold  and  rigid,  like  chiselled  stone.  A  sin- 
gle expression  of  subdued  anguish,  which  had  made  its 
impression  on  a  brow  that  had  before  contracted  with 
sorrow,  alone  remained.  It  was  never  removed,  in  all  the 
changes  of  seasons,  fortunes,  and  years,  which,  in  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  suffering,  female,  savage  life,  she  was  sub- 
sequently doomed  to  endure.  As  in  the  case  of  a  prema- 
ture blight,  let  the  plant  quicken  and  revive  as  it  may,  the 
effects  of  that  withering  touch  were  always  present. 

Tachechana  first  stripped  her  person  of  every  vestige 
of  those  rude  but  highly  prized  ornaments,  which  the 
liberality  of  her  husband  had  been  wont  to  lavish  on  her, 
and  she  tendered  them  meekly,  and  without  a  murmur,  us 
an  offering  to  the  superiority  of  Inez.  The  bracelets  were 
forced  from  her  wrrists,  the  complicated  mazes  of  beads 
from  her  leggings,  and  the  broad  silver  band  from  her 
brow.  Then  she  paused,  long  and  painfully.  But  it 
would  seem  that  the  resolution  she  had  once  adopted  was 
not  to  be  conquered  by  the  lingering  emotions  of  any  af- 
fection, however  natural.  The  boy  himself  was  next  laid  at 
the  feet  of  her  supposed  rival,  and  well  might  the  s^lf- 
abased  wife  of  the  Teton  believe  that  the  burden  of  her 
sacrifice  was  now  full. 

While    Inez  and  Ellen  stood   regarding   these    severa? 


Tin-:  PRAIRIE.  309 

strange  movements  with  eyes  of  wonder,  a  low,  soft,  musi- 
cal voice  was  hear-d,  saying,  in  a  language  that  to  them 
was  unintelligible  : 

"A  strange  tongue  will  tell  my  boy  the  manner  to  be- 
come a  man.  He  will  hear  sounds  that  are  new,  but  he 
will  learn  them,  and  forget  the  voice  of  his  mother.  It  is 
the  will  of  the  Wahcondah,  and  a  Sioux  girl  should  not 
complain.  Speak  to  him  softly  for  his  ears  are  very  little ; 
when  he  is  big,  your  words  may  be  louder.  Let  him  not 
be  a  girl,  for  very  sad  is  the  life  of  a  woman.  Teach  him 
to  keep  his  eyes  on  the  men.  Show  him  how  to  strike 
them  that  do  wrong,  and  let  him  never  forget  to  return 
blow  for  blow.  When  he  goes  to  hunt,  the  flower  of  the 
pale-faces,"  she  concluded,  using  in  bitterness  the  meta- 
phor which  had  been  supplied  by  the  imagination  of  her 
truant  husband,  "  will  whisper  softly  in  his  ear  that  the 
skin  of  his  mother  was  red,  and  that  she  was  once  the 
Fawn  of  the  Dahcotahs." 

Tachechana  pressed  a  kiss  on  the  lips  of  her  son,  and 
withdrew  to  the  farther  side  of  the  lodge.  Here  she  drew 
her  light  calico  robe  over  her  head,  and  took  her  seat,  in 
token  of  humility,  on  the  naked  earth.  All  efforts  to  at- 
tract her  attention  were  fruitless.  She  neither  heard  re- 
monstances  nor  felt  the  touch.  Once  or  twice  her  voice 
rose,  in  a  sort  of  wailing  song,  from  beneath  her  quiver- 
ing mantle,  but  it  never  mounted  into  the  wildness  of  sav- 
age music.  In  this  manner  she  remained  unseen  for  hours, 
while  events  were  occurring  without  the  lodge  which  not 
only  materially  cjianged  the  complexion  of  her  own  for- 
tunes, but  left  a  lasting  and  deep  impression  on  the  future 
movements  of  the  wandering  Sioux. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

"I'll  no  swaggerers  :  I  am  in  good  name  and  fame  with  the  very  best  :— 
shut  the  door  :  there  come  no  swaggerers  here.  I  have  not  lived  all  this 
while,  to  have  swaggering  now  :  shut  the  door,  I  pray  you." 

— SHAKESPEARE. 

MAHTOREE  encountered,  at  the  door  of  his  lodge,  Ish- 
mael,  Abiram,  and  Esther.  The  first  glance  of  his  eye  at 
the  countenance  of  the  heavy-molded  squatter  served  to 
tell  the  cunning  Teton  that  the  treacherous  truce  he  had 


jio  Tin-:  PRAIRIE. 

made  with  these  dupes  of  his  superior  sagacity  was  Iq 
some  danger  of  a  violent  termination. 

"  Look  you  here,  old  gray-beard,"  said  Ishmael,  seizing 
the  trapper  and  whirling  him  round  as  if  he  had  been  a 
top  ;  "that  I  am  tired  of  carrying  on  a  discourse  with  fin- 
gers and  thumbs,  instead  of  a  tongue,  ar'  a  natural  fact  ;  so 
you'll  play  linguister,  and  put  my  words  into  Indian,  with- 
out much  caring  whether  they  suit  the  stomach  of  a  red* 
skin  or  not." 

"  Say  on,  friend,"  calmly  returned  the  trapper;  "they 
shall  be  given  as  plainly  as  you  send  them." 

"  Friend  !"  repeated  the  squatter,  eyeing  the  other  for 
an  instant  with  an  expression  of  indefinable  meaning. 
"  But  it  is  no  more  than  a  word,  and  sounds  break  no  bones 
and  survey  no  farms.  Tell  this  thieving  Sioux,  then,  that  I 
come  to  claim  the  conditions  of  our  solemn  bargain,  made 
at  the  foot  of  the  rock." 

When  the  trapper  had  rendered  his  meaning  into  the 
Sioux  language,  Mahtoree  demanded,  with  an  air  of  sur- 
prise : 

"  Is  my  brother  cold  ?  Buffalo-skins  are  plenty.  Is  he 
hungry  ?  Let  my  young  men  carry  venison  into  his 
lodges." 

The  squatter  elevated  his  clinched  fist  in  a  menacing 
manner,  and  struck  it  with  violence  on. the  palm  of  his 
open  hand,  by  way  of  confirming  his  determination,  as  he 
answered  : 

"  Tell  the  deceitful  liar  I  have  not  come  like  a  beggar 
to  pick  his  bones,  but  like  a  freeman  asking  for  his  own  ; 
and  have  it  I  will.  And,  moreover,  tell  him  I  claim  that 
you,  too,  miserable  sinner  as  you  ar',  should  be  given  up 
to  justice.  There's  no  mistake.  My  prisoner,  my  niece, 
and  you — I  demand  the  three  at  his  hands,  according  to  a 
sworn  agreement." 

The  immovable  old  man  smiled  with  an  expression  of 
singular  intelligence,  as  he  answered  : 

"  Friend  squatter,  you  ask  what  few  men  would  be  will- 
ing to  grant.  You  would  first  cut  the  tongue  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Teton,  and  then  the  heart  from  his  bosom." 

"  It  is  little  that  Ishmael  Bush  regards  who  or  what  is 
damaged  in  claiming  his  own.  But  put  you  the  questions 
in  straight-going  Indian  ;  and,  when  you  speak  of  yourself, 
make  such  a  sign  as  a  white  man  will  understand,  in  ordei 
that  I  may  know  there  is  no  foul  play." 


THE  PRAIRIE.  311 

The  trapper  laughed  in  his  silent  fashion,  and, muttered 
a  few  words  to  himself  before  he  addressed  the  chief  : 

"  Let  the  Dahcotah  open  his  ears  very  wide,"  he  said, 
"that  big  words  may  have  room  to  enter.  His  friend,  the 
Big-knife,  comes  with  an  empty  hand,  and  he  says  that  the 
Teton  must  fill  it." 

"  Wagh  !  Mahtoree  is  a  rich  chief.  He  is  master  of  the 
prairies." 

"  He  must  give  the  dark-hair." 

The  brow  of  the  chief  contracted  in  an  ominous  frown, 
that  threatened  instant  destruction  to  the  audacious  squat- 
ter ;  but,  as  suddenly  recollecting  his  policy,  he  craftily 
replied  : 

"  A  girl  is  too  light  for  the  hand  of  such  a  brave.  I  will 
fill  it  with  buffaloes." 

"  He  says  he  has  need  of  the  light-hair,  too,  who  has  his 
blood  in  her  veins." 

"  She  shall  be  the  wife  of  Mahtoree  ;  then  the  Long-knife 
will  be  the  father  of  a  chief." 

"  And  me,"  continued  the  trapper,  making  one  of  those 
expressive  signs  by  which  the  natives  communicate  with 
nearly  the  same  facility  as  with  their  tongues,  and  turning 
to  the  squatter  at  the  same  time,  in  order  that  the  latter 
might  see  he  dealt  fairly  by  him  ;  "he  asks  for  a  miserable 
and  worn-out  trapper." 

The  Dahcotah  threw  his  arm  over  the  shoulder  of  the 
old  man  with  an  air  of  great  affection,  before  he  replied  to 
this  third  and  last  demand  : 

"My  friend  is  old,"  he  said,  "and  cannot  travel  far. 
He  will  stay  with  the  Tetons,  that  they  may  learn  wisdom 
from  his  words.  What  Sioux  has  a  tongue  like  my  father  ? 
No  ;  let  his  words  be  very  soft,  but  let  them  be  very  clear. 
Mahtoree  will  give  skins  and  buffaloes.  He  will  give  the 
young  men  of  the  pale-faces  wives,  but  he  cannot  give 
away  any  who  live  in  his  own  lodge." 

Perfectly  satisfied  himself  with  this  laconic  reply,  the 
chief  was  moving  toward  his  expecting  counsellors,  when, 
suddenly  returning,  he  interrupted  the  translation  of  the 
trapper,  by  adding  : 

"  Tell  the  Great  Buffalo  "  (a  name  by  which  the  Tetons 
had  already  christened  Ishmael)  "that  Mahtoree  has  a 
hand  that  is  always  open.  See,"  he  added,  pointing  to  the 
hard  and  wrinkled  visage  of  the  attentive  Esther,  "  his 
wife  is  too  old  for  so  great  a  chief.  Let  him  put  her  out 


3i2  THE  PRAIRIE. 

of  liis  lodge.  Mahtoree  loves  him  as  a  brother.  He  is  his 
brother.  He  shall  have  the  youngest  wife  of  the  Teton- 
Tachechana,  the  pride  of  the  Sioux  girls,  shall  cook  his 
venison,  and  many  braves  will  look  at  him  with  longing 
minds.  Go  ;  a  Dahcotah  is  generous/' 

The  singular  coolness  with  which  the  Teton  concluded 
this  audacious  proposal  confounded  even  the  practised 
trapper.  He  stared  after  the  retiring  form  of  the  Indian 
with  an  astonishment  he  did  not  care  to  conceal  ;  nor  did 
he  renew  his  attempt  at  interpretation  until  the  person  oi 
Mahtoree  was  blended  with  the  cluster  of  warriors  who  had 
so  long  and  with  so  characteristic  patience  awaited  his  re- 
turn. 

"  The  Teton  chief  has  spoken  very  plainly,"  the  old  man 
continued  ;  "  he  will  not  give  you  the  lady,  to  whom  the 
Lord  in  heaven  knows  you  have  no  claim,  unless  it  be 
such  as  the  wolf  has  to  the  lamb.  He  will  not  give  you 
the  child  you  call  your  niece  ;  and  therein  I  acknowledge 
that  I  am  far  from  certain  he  has  the  same  justice  on  his 
side.  Moreover,  neighbor  squatter,  he  flatly  denies  your 
demand  for  me,  miserable  and  worthless  as  I  am  ;  nor  do  I 
think  he  has  been  unwise  in  so  doing,  seeing  that  I  should 
have  many  reasons  against  journeying  far  in  your  com- 
pany. But  he  makes  you  an  offer,  which  it  is  right  and 
convenient  you  should  know.  The  Teton  says  through 
me,  who  am  no  more  than  a  mouth-piece,  and  therein  not 
answerable  for  the  sin  of  his  words,  but  he  says,  as  this 
good  woman  is  getting  past  the  comely  age,  it  is  reason- 
able for  you  to  tire  of  such  a  wife. ,  He  therefore  tells  you 
to  turn  her  out  of  your  lodge,  and  when  it  is  empty  he  will 
send  his  own  favorite,  or  rather  her  that  was  his  favorite, 
the  '  Skipping  Fawn,'  as  the  Siouxes  call  her,  to  fill  her 
place.  You  see,  neighbor,  though  the  red-skin  is  minded 
to  keep  your  property,  he  is  willing  to  give  you  where- 
withal to  make  yourself  some  return  !  " 

Ishmael  listened  to  these  replies  to  his  several  demands 
with  that  species  of  gathering  indignation  with  which  the 
dullest  tempers  mount  into  the  most  violent  paroxysms  of 
rage.  He  even  affected  to  laugh  at  the  conceit  of  ex. 
changing  his  long-tried  partner  for  the  more  flexible  sup- 
port  of  the  youthful  Techachana,  though  his  voice  was 
hollow  and  unnatural  in  the  effort.  But  Esther  was  far 
from  giving  the  proposal  so  facetious  a  reception.  Lifting 
her  voice  to  its  most  audible  key,  she  broke  forth,  after 


THE  PRAIRIE.  313 

catching  her  breath  like  one  who  had  been  in  some  immi- 
nent danger  of  strangulation,  as  follows  : 

"  Hoity-toity  !  Who  set  an  Indian  up  for  a  maker  and 
a  breaker  of  the  rights  of  wedded  wives  ?  Does  he  think 
a  woman  is  a  beast  of  the  prairie,  that  she  is  to  be  chased 
from  a  village  by  dog  and  gun  ?  Let  the  bravest  squaw  of 
them  all  come  forth  and  boast  of  her  d.oings  ;  can  she  show 
such  a  brood  as  mine  ?  A  wicked  tyrant  is  that  thieving 
red-skin,  and  a  bold  rogue  I  warrant  me.  He  would  be 
captain  in-doors  as  well  as  out  !  An  honest  woman  is  no 
better  in  his  eyes  than  one  of  your  broomstick-jumpers. 
And  you,  Ishrnael  Bush,  the  father  of  seven  sons  and  so 
many  comely  daughters,  toopenjw/r  sinful  mouth,  except 
to  curse  him  !  Would  ye  disgrace  color,  and  family,  and 
nation,  by  mixing  white  blood  with  red,  and  would  ye  be 
the  parent  of  a  race  of  mules  ?  The  devil  has  often 
tempted  you,  my  man,  but  never  before  has  he  set  so  cun 
ning  a  snare  as  this.  Go  back  among  your  children, 
friend  ;  go,  and  remember  that  you  are  not  a  prowling 
bear,  but  a  Christian  man,  and  thank  God  that  you  ar'  a 
lawful  husband  ! " 

The  clamor  of  Esther  was  anticipated  by  the  judicious 
trapper.  He  had  easily  foreseen  that  her  meek  temper 
Would  overflow  at  so  scandalous  a  proposal  as  repudiation, 
and  he  now  profited  by  the  tempest  to  retire  to  a  place 
Where  he  was  at  least  safe  from  any  immediate  violence  on 
the  part  of  her  less  excited  but  certainly  more  dangerous 
husband.  Ishmael,  who  had  made  his  demands  with  a 
stout  determination  to  enforce  them,  was  diverted  by  the 
windy  torrent,  like  many  a  more  obstinate  husband,  from 
his  purpose  ;  and,  in  order  to  appease  a  jealousy  that  re- 
sembled the  fury  with  which  the  bear  defends  her  cubs, 
Was  fain  to  retire  to  a  distance  from  the  lodge  that  was 
known  to  contain  the  unoffending  object  of  the  sudden 
uproar. 

"Let  your  copper-colored  minx  come  forth  and  show 
her  tawny  beauty  before  the  face  of  a  woman  who  has  heard 
more  than  one  church-bell,  and  seen  a  power  of  real  qual- 
ity !  "-cried  Esther,  flourishing  her  hand  in  triumph,  as  she 
drove  Ishmael  and  Abiram  before  her,  like  two  truant  boys, 
toward  their  own  encampment.  "  I  warrant  me,  I  warrant 
me,  here  is  one  who  would  shortly  talk  her  down  !  Never 
think  to  tarry  here,  my  men  ;  never  think  to  shut  an  eye 
in  a  camp,  through  which  the  devil  walks  as  openly  as  if 


314  THE  PRAIRIE. 

lie  were  a  gentleman,  and  sure  of  his  welcome.  Here,  you 
Abner,  Enoch,  Jesse,  where  ar'  ye  gotten  to  ?  Put  to,  put 
to  ;  if  that  weak-minded,  soft-feeling  man,  your  father,  eats 
or  drinks  again  in  this  neighborhood,  we  shall  see  him 
poisoned  with  the  craft  of  the  red-skins.  Not  that  I  care, 
I,  who  comes  into  my  place,  when  it  is  once  lawfully  empty 
• — but,  Ishmael,  I  never  thought  that  you,  who  have  had 
one  woman  with  a  white  skin,  would  find  pleasure  in  look- 
ing on  a  brazen — ay,  that  she  is  copper  ar'  a  fact  ;  you  can't 
deny  it,  and,  I  warrant  me,  brazen  enough  is  she  too  !  " 

Against  this  ebullition  of  wounded  female  pride,  the  ex- 
perienced husband  made  no  other  head  than  by  an  occa- 
sional exclamation,  which  he  intended  to  be  the  precursor 
of  a  simple  asseveration  of  his  own  innocence.  The  fury 
of  the  woman  would  not  be  appeased.  She  listened  to 
nothing  but  her  own  voice,  and  consequently  nothing  was 
heard  but  her  mandates  to  depart. 

The  squatter  had  collected  his  beasts  and  loaded  his 
wagons,  as  a  measure  of  precaution,  before  proceeding  to 
the  extremity  he  contemplated.  Esther  consequently 
found  everything  favorable  to  her  wishes.  The  young  men 
stared  at  each  other,  as  they  witnessed  the  extraordinary 
excitement  of  their  mother,  but  took  little  interest  in  an 
event  which,  in  the  course  of  their  experience,  had  found 
so  many  parallels.  By  command  of  their  father,  the  tents 
were  thrown  into  the  vehicles  as  a  sort  of  reprisal  for  the 
want  of  faith  in  their  late  ally,  and  then  the  train  left  the 
spot,  in  its  usual  listless  and  sluggish  order. 

As  a  formidable  division  of  well-armed  borderers  pro- 
tected the  rear  of  the  retiring  party,  the  Sioux  saw  it  de- 
part without  manifesting  the  smallest  evidence  of  surprise 
or  resentment.  The  savage,  like  the  tiger,  rarely  makes 
his  attack  on  an  enemy  wrho  expects  him  ;  and,  if  the  war- 
riors of  the  Tetons  meditated  any  hostility,  it  was  in  the 
still  and  patient  manner  with  which  tne  feline  beasts  watch 
for  the  incautious  moment,  in  order  to  insure  the  blow. 
The  counsels  of  Mahtoree,  however,  on  whom  so  much  of 
the  policy  of  his. people  depended,  lay  deep  in  the  deposi- 
tory of  his  own  thoughts.  Perhaps  he  rejoiced  at  so  easy 
a  manner  of  getting  rid  of  claims  so  troublesome  ;  perhaps 
he  awaited  a  fitting  time  to  exhibit  his  power  ;  or  it  even 
might  be  that  matters  of  so  much  greater  importance  were 
pressing  on  his  mind,  that  it  had  not  leisure  to  devote  an;y 
of  its  faculties  to  an  event  of  so  much  indifference. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  31$ 

But  it  would  seem  that,  while  Ishmael  made  such  a  con- 
cession to  the  awakened  feelings  of  Esther,  he  was  far  from 
abandoning  his  original  intentions.  His  train  followed  the 
course  of  the  river  for  a  mile,  and  then  it  came  to  a  halt  on 
the  brow  of  the  elevated  land,  and  in  a  place  which  afforded 
the  necessary  facilities.  Here  he  again  pitched  his  tents 
unharnessed  his  teams,  sent  his  cattle  on  the  bottom,  and, 
in  short,  made  all  the  customary  preparations  to  pass  thz 
night,  with  the  same  coolness  and  deliberation  as  if  he  had 
not  hurled  an  irritating  defiance  into  the  teeth  of  his  dan- 
gerous neighbors. 

In  the  meantime  the  Tetons  proceeded  to  the  more  reg- 
ular business  of  the  hour.  A  fierce  and  savage  joy  had 
existed  in  the  camp,  from  the  instant  when  it  had  been 
announced  that  their  own  chief  was  returning  with  the 
long-dreaded  and  hated  partisan  of  their  enemies.  Foi 
many  hours  the  crones  of  the  tribe  had  been  going  from 
lodge  to  lodge,  in  order  to  stimulate  the  tempers  of  the 
warriors  to  such  a  pass  as  might  leave  but  little  room  for 
mercy.  To  one  they  spoke  of  a  son,  whose  scalp  was  dry- 
ing in  the  smoke  of  a  Pawnee  lodge.  To  another,  they 
enumerated  his  own  scars,  his  disgraces,  and  defeats  ;  with 
a  third,  they  dwelt  on  his  losses  of  skins  and  horses  ;  and 
a  fourth  was  reminded  of  vengeance  by  a  significant  ques- 
tion concerning  some  flagrant  adventure  in  which  he  was 
known  to  have  been  a  sufferer. 

By  these  means  the  men  had  been  so  far  excited  as  to 
have  assembled,  in  the  manner  already  related,  though  it 
still  remained  a  matter  of  doubt  how  far  they  intended 
to  carry  their  revenge.  A  variety  of  opinions  prevailed 
on  the  policy  of  executing  their  prisoners  ;  and  Mahtoree 
had  suspended  the  discussions  in  order  to  ascertain  how 
far  the  measure  might  propitiate  or  retard  his  own  partic- 
ular views.  Hitherto  the  consultations  had  merely  been 
preliminary,  with  a  design  that  each  chief  might  discover 
the  number  ol  supporters  his  particular  views  would  be 
likely  to  obtain  when  the  important  subject  should  come 
before  a  more  solemn  council  of  the  tribe.  The  moment 
for  the  latter  had  now  arrived,  and  the  preparations  were 
made  with  a  dignity  and  solemnity  suited  to  the  moment- 
ous interests  of  the  occasion. 

With  a  refinement  in  cruelty  that  none  but  an  Indian 
would  have  imagined,  the  place  selected  for  the  grave 
deliberation  was  immediately  about  the  post  to  which  the 


316  THE  PRAIRIE. 

most  important  of  its  subjects  Was  attached.  Middleton 
and  Paul  were  brought  in  their  bonds,  and  laid  at  the  feet 
of  the  Pawnee  ;  then  the  men  began  to  take  their  places, 
according  to  their  several  claims  to  distinction.  As  war- 
rior after  warrior  approached,  he  seated  himself  in  the 
wide  circle  with  a  mien  as  composed  and  thoughtful  as  if 
his  mind  were  actually  in  a  condition  to  deal  out  justice, 
tempered,  as  it  should  be,  with  the  heavenly  quality  of 
mercy.  A  place  was  reserved  fur  three  or  four  of  the 
principal  chiefs  ;  and  a  few  of  the  oldest  of  the  womeii,  as 
withered  as  age,  exposure,  hardships,  and  lives  of  savage 
passions  could  make  them,  thrust  themselves  into  the  fore- 
most circle  with  a  temerity  to  which  they  were  impelled 
by  their  insatiable  desire  for  cruelty,  and  which  nothing 
but  their  years  and  their  long-tried  fidelity  to  the  nation 
could  have  excused. 

All,  but  the  chiefs  already  named,  were  now  in  their 
places.  These  had  delayed  their  appearance,  in  the  vain 
hope  that  their  own  unanimity  might  smooth  the  way  to 
that  of  their  respective  factions  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the 
superior  influence  of  Mahtoree,  his  power  was  to  be  main- 
tained only  by  constant  appeals  to  the  opinions  of  his  in- 
feriors. As  these  important  personages  at  length  entered 
the  circle  in  a  body,  their  sullen  looks  and  clouded  brows, 
notwithstanding  the  time  given  for  consultation,  suffi- 
ciently proclaimed  the  discontent  which  reigned  among 
them.  The  eye  of  Mahtoree  was  varying  in  its  expression, 
from  sudden  gleams,  that  seemed  to  kindle  with  the  burn- 
ing impulses  of  his  soul,  to  that  cold  and  guarded  steadi- 
ness which  was  thought  more  peculiarly  to  become  a  chief 
in  council.  He  took  his  seat  with  the  studied  simplicity 
of  a  demagogue  ;  though  the  keen  and  flashing  glance  that 
he  immediately  threw  around  the  silent  assembly  betrayed 
the  more  predominant  temper  of  a  tyrant. 

When  all  were  present,  an  aged  warrior  lighted  the  great 
pipe  of  his  people,  and  blew  the  smoke  toward  the  four 
quarters  of  the  heavens.  So  soon  as  this  propitiatory 
offering  was  made,  he  tendered  it  to  Mahtoree,  who,  in 
affected  humility,  passed  it  to  a  gray-headed  chief  by  his 
side.  After  the  influence  of  the  soothing  weed  had  been 
courted  by  all,  a  grave  silence  succeeded,  as  if  each  was 
not  only  qualified  to,  but  actually  did,  think  more  deeply 
on  the  matters  before  them.  Then  an  old  Indian  arose 
and  spoke  as  follows  : 


THE  PRAIRIE.  317 

"  The  eagle,  at  the  falls  of  the  endless  river,  was  in  its 
egg,  many  snows  after  my  hand  had  struck  a  Pawnee. 
What  my  tongue  says,  my  eyes  have  seen.  Bohrecheena 
is  veiy  old.  The  hills  have  stood  longer  in  their  places 
than  he  has  been  in  his  tribe,  and  the  rivers  were  full  and 
empty  before  he  was  born  ;  but  where  is  the  Sioux  that 
knows  it  besides  myself  ?  What  he  says,  they  will  hear. 
If  any  of  his  words  fall  to  the  groui.d,  they  will  pick  them 
up  and  hold  them  to  their  ears.  If  any  blow* away  in  the 
wind,  my  young  men,  who  are  very  nimble,  will  catch  them. 
Now  listen.  Since  water  Van  and  trees  grew,  the  Sioux 
has  found  the  Pawnee  on  his  war-path.  As  the  cougar 
loves  the  antelope,  the  Dahcotah  loves  his  enemy.  When 
the  wolf  finds  the  fawn,  does  he  lie  down  and  sleep  ?  When 
the  panther  sees  the  doe  at  the  spring,  does  he  shut  his 
eyes  ?  You  know  that  he  does  not.  He  drinks,  too;  but 
it  is  of  blood !.  A  Sioux  is  a  leaping  panther,  a  Pawnee  a 
trembling  deer.  Let  my  children  hear  me.  They  will 
find  my  words  good.  I  have  spoken." 

A  deep  guttural  exclamation  of  assent  broke  from  the 
lips  of  all  the  partisans  of  Mahtoree,  as  they  listened  to 
this  sanguinary  advice  from  one  who  was  certainly  among 
the  most  aged  men  of  the  nation.  That  deeply  seated 
love  of  vengeance,  which  formed  so  prominent  a  feature 
in  their  characters,  was  gratified  by  his  metaphorical  allu- 
sions ;  and  the  chief  himself  augured  favorably  of  the  suc- 
cess of  his  own  schemes,  by  the  number  of  supporters  who 
manifested  themselves  to  be  in  favor  of  the  counsels  of  his 
friend.  But  still  unanimity  was  far  from  prevailing.  A 
long  and  decorous  pause  was  suffered  to  succeed  the  words 
of  the  first  speaker,  in  order  that  all  might  duly  deliberate 
on  their  wisdom,  before  another  chief  took  on  himself  the 
office  of  refutation.  The  second  orator,  though  past  the 
prime  of  his  days,  was  far  less  aged  than  the  one  who  had 
preceded  him.  He  felt  the  disadvantage  of  this  circum- 
stance, and  endeavored  to  counteract  it,  as  far  as  possible, 
by  the  excess  of  his  humility. 

"  I  am  but  an  infant,"  he  commenced,  looking  furtively 
around  him, "in  order  to  detect  how  far  his  well-established 
character  for  prudence  and  courage  contradicted  his  as- 
sertion. "  I  have  lived  with  the  women  since  my  father 
has  been  a  man.  If  my  head  is  getting  gray,  it  is  not  be- 
cause I  am  old.  Some  of  the  snow  which  fell  on  it  while 
I  have  been  sleeping  on  the  war-paths  has  frozen  there, 


3iS  Tin-   PRAIRIE. 

and  the  hot  sun  near  the  Osage  villages  has  not  been 
strong  enough  to  melt  it."  A  low  murmur  was  heard, 
expressive  of  admiration  of  the  services  to  which  he  thus 
artfully  alluded.  The  orator  modestly  awaited  for  the 
feeling  to  subside  a  little,  and  then  he  continued,  with  in 
creasing  energy,  encouraged  by  their  commendations  : 
"  But  the  eyes  of  a  young  brave  are  good.  He  can  see 
very  far.  He  is  a  lynx.  Look  at  me  well.  I  will  now 
turn  my  back,  that  you  may  see  both  sides  of  me.  Now 
do  you  know  I  am  your  friend,  for  you  look  on  a  part  that 
a  Pawnee  never  yet  saw.  Now  look  at  my  face — not  in 
this  seam,  for  there  your  eyes  can  never  see  into  my  spirit. 
It  is  a  hole  cut  by  a  Konza.  But  here  is  an  opening,  made 
by  the  Wahcotah,  through  which  you  may  look  into  the 
soul.  What  am  I  ?  A  Dahcotah,  within  and  without. 
You  know  it.  Therefore  hear  me.  The  blood  of  every 
creature  on  the  prairie  is  red.  Who  can  tell  the  spot  where 
a  Pawnee  was  struck,  from  the  place  where  my  young  men 
took  a  bison  ?  It  is  of  the  same  color.  The  Master  of 
Life  made  them  for  each  other.  He  made  them  alike. 
But  will  the  grass  grow  green  where  a  pale-face  is  killed  ? 
My  young  men  must  not  think  that  nation  so  numerous 
that  it  will  not  miss  a  warrior.  They  call  them  over  often, 
and  say,  'Where  are  my  sons?'  If  they  miss  one,  they 
will  send  into  the  prairies  to  look  for  him.  If  they  cannot 
find  him,  they  will  tell  their  runners  to  ask  for  him  among 
the  Sioux.  My  brethren,  the  Big-knives  are  not  fools. 
There  is  a  mighty  medicine  of  their  nation  now  among 
us  ;  who  can  tell  how  loud  is  his  voice,  or  how  long  is  his 
arm  ? " 

The  speech  of  the  orator,  who  was  beginning  to  enter 
into  his  subject  with  warmth,  was  cut  rhort  by  the  impa- 
tient Mahtoree,  who  suddenly  arose,  and  exclaimed,  in  a 
voice  in  which  authority  was  mingled  with  contempt,  and 
at  the  close  with  a  keen  tone  of  irony  also  : 

"  Let  my  young  men  lead  the  evil  spirit  of  the  pale-faces 
to  the  council.  My  brother  shall  see  his  medicine  face  to 
face !  " 

A  death-like  and  solemn  stillness  succeeded  this  extra- 
ordinary interruption.  It  not  only  involved  a  deep  offence 
against  the  sacred  courtesy  of  debate,  but  the  mandate  was 
likely  to  brave  the  unknown  power  of  one  of  those  incom- 
prehensible beings  whom  few  Indians  were  enlightened 
enough  at  that  day  to  regard  without  reverence,  or  fe\V 


THE  PRAIRIE.  315 

hardy  enough  to  oppose.  The  subordinates,  however, 
obeyed,  and  Obed  was  led  forth  from  the  lodge  mounted 
on  Asinus,  with  a  ceremony  and  state  which  was  certainly 
intended  for  derision,  but  which  nevertheless  was  greatly 
enhanced  by  fear.  As  they  entered  the  ring,  Mahtoree, 
who  had  foreseen  and  had  endeavored  to  anticipate  the  in- 
fluence of  the  doctor  by  bringing  him  into  contempt,  cast 
an  eye  around  the  assembly  in  order  to  gather  his  success 
in  the  various  dark  visages  by  which  lie  was  encircled. 

Truly  Nature  and  art  had  combined  to  produce  such  an 
effect  from  the  air  and  appointments  of.  the  naturalist,  as 
might  have  made  him  the  subject  of  wonder  in  any  place. 
His  head  had  been  industriously  shaved,  after  the  most 
improved  fashion  of  Sioux  taste.  A  gallant  scalp-lock, 
which  would  probably  not  have  been  spared  had  the  doc- 
tor himself  been  consulted  in  the  matter,  was  all  that  re- 
mained of  an  exuberant,  and,  at  that  particular  season  of 
the  year,  far  from  uncomfortable  head  of  hair.  Thick 
coats  of  paint  had  been  laid  on  the  naked  poll,  and  certain 
fanciful  designs  in  the  same  material  had  even  been  ex- 
tended into  the  neighborhood  of  the  eyes  and  mouth,  lend- 
ing to  the  keen  expression  of  the  former  a  look  of  twink- 
ling cunning,  and  to  the  dogmatism  of  the  latter  not  a  little 
of  the  grimness  of  necromancy.  He  had  been  despoiled  of 
his  upper  garments,  and  in  their  stead  his  body  was  suffi- 
ciently protected  from  the  cold  by  a  fantastically  painted 
robe  of  dressed  deerskin.  As  if  in  mockery  of  his  pursuit, 
sundry  toads,  frogs,  lizards,  butterflies,  etc.,  all  duly  pre- 
pared to  take  their  places  at  some  future  day  in  his  own 
private  cabinet,  were  attached  to  the  solitary  lock  on  his 
head,  to  his  ears,  and  to  various  other  conspicuous  parts 
of  his  person.  If,  in  addition  to  the  effect  produced  by 
these  quaint  auxiliaries  to  his  costume,  we  add  the  porten- 
tous and  troubled  gl earnings  of  doubt  which  rendered  his 
visage  doubly  austere,  and  proclaimed  the  misgivings  of 
the  worthy  Obed's  mind  as  he  beheld  his  personal  dignity 
thus  prostrated,  and,  what  was  of  far  greater  moment  in 
his  eyes,  himself  led  forth,  as  he  firmly  believed,  to  be  the 
victim  of  some  heathenish  sacrifice,  the  reader  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  gwing  credit  to  the  sensation  of  awe  that  was 
already  excited  by  his  appearance  in  a  band  already  more 
than  half  prepared  to  worship  him  as  a  powerful  agent  of 
the  evil  spirit. 

Weucha  led  Asinus  directly  into  the  centre  of  the  circle, 


320  THE  PRAIRIE. 

and,  leaving  them  together  (for  the  legs  of  the  naturalist 
were  attached  to  the  beast  in  such  a  manner  that  the  two 
animals  might  be  said  to  be  incorporated,  and  to  form  a 
new  order),  he  withdrew  to  his  proper  place,  gazing  at  the 
conjurer,  as  he  retired,  with  a  wonder  and  admiration  that 
were  natural  to  the  grovelling  dulness  of  his  mind. 

The  astonishment  seemed  mutual  between  the  spectators 
and  the  subject  of  this  strange  exhibition.  If  the  Tetons 
contemplated  the  mysterious  attributes  of  the  medicine 
with  awe  and  fear,  the  doctor  gazed  on  every  side  of  him 
with  a  mixture  of  quite  as  many  extraordinary  emotions, 
in  which  the  latter  sensation,  however,  formed  no  incon- 
siderable ingredient.  Everywhere  his  eyes,  which  just 
at  that  moment  possessed  a  secret  magnifying  quality, 
seemed  to  rest  on  several  dark,  savage,  and  obdurate  coun- 
tenances at  once,  from  none  of  which  could  he  extract  a 
solitary  gleam  of  sympathy  or  commiseration.  At  length  his 
wandering  gaze  fell  on  the  grave  and  decent  features  of 
the  trapper  who,  with  Hector  at  his  feet,  s.tood  in  the  edge 
of  the  circle,  leaning  on  that  rifle  which  he  had  been  per- 
mitted, as  an  acknowledged  friend,  to  resume,  and  appar- 
ently musing  on  the  events  that  were  likely  to  succeed  a 
council  marked  by  so  many  and  such  striking  ceremonies. 

"Venerable  venator,  or  hunter,  or  trapper,"  said  the 
disconsolate  Obed,  "  I  rejoice  greatly  in  meeting  thee 
again.  I  fear  that  the  precious  time  which  had  been  al- 
lotted me,  in  order  to  complete  a  mighty  labor,  is  drawing 
to  a  premature  close,  and  I  would  gladly  unburden  my 
mind  to  one  who,  if  not  a  pupil  of  science,  has  at  lea^t 
some  of  the  knowledge  which  civilization  imparts  to  its 
meanest  subjects.  Doubtless  many  and  earnest  inquiries 
will  be  made  after  my  fate,  by  the  learned  societies  of  the. 
world,  and  perhaps  expeditions  will  be  sent  into  these  re- 
gions to  remove  any  doubt  which  may  arise  on  so  important 
a  subject.  I  esteem  myself  happy  that  a  man  who  speaks 
the  vernacular  is  present,  to  preserve  the  record  of  my 
end.  You  will  say  that  after  a  wrell-spent  and  glorious  life, 
I  died  a  martyr  to  science,  and  a  victim  to  mental  dark- 
ness. As  I  expect  to  be  particularly  calm  and  abstracted 
in  my  last  moments,  if  you  add  a  few  details  concerning 
the  fortitude  and  scholastic  dignity  with  which  I  met  my 
death,  it  may  serve  to  encourage  future  aspirants  for  simi- 
lar honors,  and  assuredly  give  oifence  to  no  one.  And 
now,  friend  trapper,  as  a  duty  I  owe  to  human  nature,  J 


\ 
THE  PRAIRIE.  32* 

will  conclude  by  demanding  if  all  hope  has  deserted  me, 
or  if  any  means  still  exist  by  which  so  much  valuable  in- 
formation may  be  rescued  from  the  grasp  of  ignorance,  and 
preserved  to  the  pages  of  natural  history." 

The  old  man  lent  an  attentive  ear  to  this  melancholy 
appeal,  and  apparently  he  reflected  on  every  side  of  the 
important  question,  before  he  would  presume  to  answer. 

"I  take  it,  friend  physicianer,"  he  at  length  gravely  re- 
plied, "  that  the  chances  of  life  and  death,  in  your  partic- 
ular case,  depend  altogether  on  the  will  of  Providence,  as 
it  may  be  pleased  to  manifest  it  through  the  accursed 
windings  of  Indian  cunning.  For  my  own  part,  I  see  no 
great  difference  in  the  main  end  to  be  gained,  inasmuch 
as  it  can  matter  no  one  greatly,  yourself  excepted,  whether 
you  live  or  die." 

"  Would  you  account  the  fall  of  a  corner-stone  from  the 
foundation  of  the  edifice  of  learning,  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence to  contemporaries  or  to  posterity  ?  "  interrupted  Obed. 
"  Besides,  my  aged  associate,"  he  reproachfully  added, 
"  the  interest  that  a  man  has  in  his  own  existence  is  by  no 
means  trifling,  however  it  may  be  eclipsed  by  his  devotion 
to  more  general  and  philanthropic  feelings." 

"What  I  would  say  is  this,"  resumed  the  trapper,  who 
was  far  from  understanding  all  the  subtle  distinctions  with 
which  his  more  learned  companion  so  often  saw  fit  to  em- 
bellish his  discourse  ;  "  there  is  but  one  birth  and  one 
death  to  all  things,  be  it  hound  or  be  it  deer  ;  be  it  red 
skin  or  be  it  white.  Both  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  it 
being  as  unlawful  for  man  to  strive  to  hasten  the  one,  as 
impossible  to  prevent  tTie  other.  But  I  will  not  say  that 
something  may  not  be  done  to  put  the  last  moment  aside, 
for  a  while  at  least,  and  therefore  it  is  a  question  that  any 
one  has  a  right  to  put  to  his  own  wisdom,  how  far  he  will 
go,  and  how  much  pain  he  will  suffer,  to  lengthen  out  a 
time  that  may  have  been  too  long  already.  Many  a  dreary 
winter  and  scorching  summer  has  gone  by  since  I  have 
turned  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  to  add  an  hour  to  a 
iife  that  already  stretched  beyond  fourscore  years.  I  keep 
myself  as  ready  to  answer  to  my  name  as  a  soldier  at  even- 
ing roll-call.  In  my  judgment,  if  your  cases  are  left  to 
Indian  tempers,  the  policy  of  the  Great  Sioux  will  lead  his 
people  to  sacrifice  you  all :  nor  do  I  put  much  dependence 
on  his  seeming  love  for  me  ;  therefore  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion whether  you  art  ready  for  such  a  journey  ;  and  if, 

21 


322  THE  PRAIRIE. 

being  ready,  whether  this  is  not  as  good  a  time  as  another. 
Should  my  opinion  be  asked,  thus  far  will  I  give  it  in  your 
favor  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  my  belief  your  life  has  been  in- 
nocent enough,  touching  any  great  offences  that  you  may 
have  committed,  though  honesty  compels  me  to  add,  that 
I  think  all  you  can  lay  claim  to,  on  the  score  of  activity  in 
deeds,  will  not  amount  to  anything  worth  naming  in  the 
great  account." 

Obed  turned  a  rueful  eye  on  the  calm,  philosophic  coun- 
tenance of  the  other,  as  he  answered  with  so  discouraging 
a  statement  of  his  case,  clearing  his  throat,  as  he  did  so,  in 
order  to  conceal  the  desperate  concern  which  began  to 
beset  his  faculties,  with  a  vestige  of  that  pride  which  rarely 
deserts  poor  human  nature,  even  in  the  greatest  emergen- 
cies. , 

"I  believe,  venerable  hunter,"  he  replied,  "considering 
the  question  in  all  its  bearings,  and  assuming  that  your 
theory  is  just,  it  will  be  the  safest  to  conclude  that  I  am 
not  prepared  to  make  so  hasty  a  departure,  and  that  meas- 
ures of  precaution  should  be  forthwith  resorted  to." 

"  Being  in  that  mind,"  returned  the  deliberate  trapper, 
"I  will  act  for  you  as  I  would  for  myself  ;  though  as  time 
has  begun  to  roll  down  the  hill  with  you,  I  will  just  advise 
that  you  will  look  to  your  case  speedily,  for  it  may  so  hap- 
pen that  your  name  will  be  heard  when  quite  as  little  pre- 
pared to  answer  to  it  as  now." 

With  this  amicable  understanding,  the  old  man  drew 
back  again  into  the  ring,  where  he  stood  musing  on  the 
course  he  should  now  adopt,  with  the  singular  mixture  of 
decision  and  resignation  that  proceeded  from  his  habits 
and  humility,  and  which  united  to  form  a  character  in 
which  excessive  energy,  and  the  most  meek  submission  to 
the  will  of  Providence,  were  oddly  enough  combined. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

"  The  witch,  in  Smithfield,  shall  be  burned  to  ashes, 
And  you  three  shall  be  strangled  on  the  gallows." — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  Sioux  had  awaited  the  issue  of  the  foregoing  dia- 
logue with  commendable  patience.  Most  of  the  band  were 
restrained  by  the  secret  awe  with  which  they  regarded  the 
mysterious  character  of  Obed ;  while  a  few  of  the  more 


THE  PRAIRIE.  323 

intelligent  chiefs  gladly  profited  by  the  opportunity  to  ar- 
range their  thoughts  for  the  struggle  that  was  plainly  fore- 
seen. Mahtoree,  influenced  by  neither  of  these  feelings, 
was  content  to  show  the  trapper  how  much  he  conceded 
to  his  pleasure  ;  and  when  the  old  man  discontinued  the 
discourse,  he  received  from  the  chief  a  glance  that  was  in- 
tended to  remind  him  of  the  patience  with  which  he  had 
awaited  his  movements.  A  profound  arid  motionless  si- 
lence succeeded  the  short  interruption.  Then  Mahtoree 
arose,  evidently  prepared  to  speak.  First  placing  himself 
in  an  attitude  of  dignity,  he  turned  a  steady  and  severe 
look  on  the  whole  assembly.  The  expression  of  his  eye, 
however,  changed  as  it  glanced  across  the  different  coun- 
tenances of  his  supporters  and  of  his  opponents.  To  the 
former  the  look,  though  stern,  was  not  threatening,  while 
it  seemed  to  tell  the  latter  all  the  hazards  they  incurred,  in 
daring  to  brave  the  resentment  of  one  so  powerful. 

Still,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  hauteur  and  confidence,  the 
sagacity  and  cunning  of  the  Teton  did  not  desert  him. 
When  he  had  thrown  the  gauntlet,  as  it  were,  to  the  whole 
tribe,  and  sufficiently  asserted  his  claim  to  superiority,  his 
mien  became  more  affable  and  his  eye  less  angry.  Then 
it  was  that  he  raised  his  voice,  in  the  midst  of  a  death-like 
stillness,  varying  its  tones  to  suit  the  changing  character 
of  his  images  and  of  his  eloquence. 

"What  is  a  Sioux  ?"  the  chief  sagaciously  began.  "  He 
is  the  ruler  of  the  prairies,  and  master  of  its  beasts.  The 
fishes  in  the  '  river  of  the  troubled  waters '  know  him,  and 
come  at  his  call.  He  is  a  fox  in  counsel,  an  eagle  in  sight, 
a  grizzly  bear  in  combat.  A  Dahcotah  is  a  man  !  "  After 
waiting  for  the  low  murmur  of  approbation  which  followed 
this  flattering  portrait  of  his  people  to  subside,  the  Teton 
continued  :  "What  is  a  Pawnee  ?  A  thief,  who  only  steals 
from  women  ;  a  red-skin  who  is  not  a  brave  ;  a  hunter  that 
begs  for  his  venison.  In  council  he  is  a  squirrel,  hopping 
from  place  to  place  ;  he  is  an  owl,  that  goes  on  the  prairies 
at  night ;  in  battle  he  is  an  elk,  whose  legs  are  long.  A 
Pawnee  is  a  woman."  Another  pause  succeeded,  during 
which  a  yell  of  delight  broke  from  several  mouths,  and  a 
demand  was  made  that  the  taunting  words  should  be  trans- 
lated to  the  unconscious  subject  of  their  biting  contempt. 
The  old  man  took  his  cue  from  the  eyes  of  Mahtoree,  and 
complied.  Hard-Heart  listened  gravely,  and  then,  as  if  ap- 
prised that  his  time  to  speak  had  not  arrived,  he  once  more 


324 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


bent  his  look  on  the  vacant  air.  The  orator  watched  his 
countenance  with  an  expression  that  manifested  how  in- 
extinguishable was  the  hatred  he  felt  for  the  only  chief, 
far  and  near,  whose  fame  might  advantageously  be  com- 
pared with  his  own.  Though  disappointed  in  not  having 
touched  the  pride  of  one  whom  he  regarded  as  a  boy,  he 
proceeded — what  he  considered  as  far  more  important  to 
quicken  the  tempers  of  the  men  of  his  own  tribe,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  prepared  to  work  his  savage  purposes. 
"  If  the  earth  was  covered  with  rats,  which  are  good  for 
nothing,"  he  said,  "there  would  be  no  room  for  buffaloes, 
which  give  food  and  clothes  to  an  Indian.  If  the  prairies 
were  covered  with  Pawnees,  there  would  be  no  room  for 
the  foot  of  a  Dahcotah.  A  Loup  is  a  rat,  a  Sioux  a  heavy 
buffalo  ;  let  the  buffaloes  tread  upon  the  rats,  and  make 
room  for  themselves. 

"  My  brothers,  a  little  child  has  spoken  to  you.  He  tells 
you  his  hair  is  not  gray,  but  frozen  ;  that  the  grass  will  not 
grow  where  a  pale-face  has  died  !  Does  he  know  the  color 
of  the  blood  of  a  Big-knife  ?  No  !  I  know  he  does  not  ; 
he  has  never  seen  it.  What  Dahcotah  besides  Mahtoree 
has  ever  struck  a  pale-face  ?  Not  one.  But  Mahtoree 
must  be  silent.  Every  Teton  will  shut  his  ears  when  he 
speaks.  The  scalps  over  his  lodge  were  taken  by  the  worn* 
en.  They  were  taken  by  Mahtoree,  and  he  is  a  woman. 
His  mou/h  is  shut ;  he  waits  for  the  feasts,  to  sing  among 
the  girls!" 

Notwithstanding  the  exclamations  of  regret  and  resent 
ment  which  followed  so  abasing  a  declaration,  the  chief 
took  his  seat,  as  if  determined  to  speak  no  more.  But  the 
murmurs  grew  louder  and  more  general,  and  there  were 
threatening  symptoms  that  the  council  would  dissolve  itself 
in  confusion  ;  and  he  arose  and  resumed  his  speech,  by 
changing  his  manner  to  the  fierce  and  hurried  enunciation 
of  a  warrior  bent  on  revenge. 

"  Let  my  young  men  go  to  look  for  Tetao  !  "  he  cried  : 
"  they  will  find  his  scalp  drying  in  Pawnee  smoke.  Where 
is  the  son  of  Bohrecheena  ?  His  bones  are  whiter  than  the 
faces  of  his  murderers.  Is  Mahhah  asleep  in  his  lodge  ? 
You  know  it  is  many  moons  since  he  started  for  the  bless- 
ed prairies  ;  would  he  were  here,  that  he  might  say  of  what 
color  was  the  hand  that  took  his  scalp  !  " 

In  this  strain  the  artful  chief  continued  for  many  minutes, 
calling  those  warriors  b'v  name  who  were  known  to  have 


THE  1'RAIRIE.  325 

met  their  deaths  in  battle  with  the  Pawnees,  or  in  some  of 
those  lawless  frays  which  so  often  occurred  between  the 
Sioux  bands  and  a  class  ol  white  men  who  were  but  little 
removed  from  them  in  the  qualities  of  civilization.  Time 
was  not  given  to  reflect  on  the  merits,  or  rather  the  de- 
merits of  most  of  the  different  individuals  to  whom  he  al- 
luded, in  consequence  of  the  rapid  manner  in  which  he  ran 
over  their  names  ;  but  so  cunningly  did  he  time  his  events, 
and  so  thrillingly  did  he  make  his  appeals,  aided  as  they 
were  by  the  power  of  his  deep-toned  and  stirring  voice, 
that  each  of  them  struck  an  answering  chord  in  the  breast 
of  some  one  of  his  auditors. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his  highest  flights  of  elo- 
quence, that  a  man,  so  aged  as  to  walk  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  entered  the  very  centre  of  the  circle,  and  took 
his  stand  directly  in  front  of  the  speaker.  An  ear  of  great 
acuteness  might  possibly  have  detected  that  the  tones  of 
the  orator  faltered  a  little,  as  his  flashing  look  first  fell  on 
this  unexpected  object  ;  though  the  change  was  so  trifling, 
that  none  but  such  as  thoroughly  knew  the  parties  would 
have  suspected  it.  The  stranger  had  once  been  as  distin- 
guished for  his  beauty  and  proportions,  as  had  been  his 
eagle  eye  for  its  irresistible  and  terrible  glance.  But  his 
skin  was  now  wrinkled,  and  his  features  furrowed  with  so 
many  scars,  as  to  have  obtained  for  him,  half  a  century  be- 
fore, from  the  French  of  the  Canadas,  a  title  which  has 
been  borne  by  so  many  of  the  heroes  of  France,  and  which 
had  now  been  adopted  into  the  language  of  the  wild  horde 
of  whom  we  are  writing,  as  the  one  most  expressive  of  the 
deeds  of  their  own  brave.  The  murmurs  of  "  Le  Balafre!" 
that  rang  through  the  assembly  when  he  appeared,  an- 
nounced not  only  his  name  and  the  high  estimation  of  his 
character,  but  how  extraordinary  his  visit  was  considered. 
As  he  neither  spoke  nor  moved,  however,  the  sensation 
created  by  his  appearance  soon  subsided,  and  then  every 
eye  was  again  turned  upon  the  speaker,  and  every  ear  once 
more  drank  in  the  intoxication  of  his  maddening  appeals. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  have  traced  the  triumph  of 
Mahtoree  in  the  reflecting  countenances  of  his  auditors. 
It  was  not  long  before  a  look  of  ferocity  and  of  revenge 
was  to  be  seen  seated  on  the  grim  visages  of  most  of  the 
warriors,  and  each  new  and  crafty  allusion  to  the  policy  of 
extinguishing  their  enemies,  was  followed  by  fresh  and  less 
restrained  bursts  oi  approbation.  In  the  height  of  this 


326  THE  PRAIRIE. 

success,  the  Teton  closed  his  speech  by  a  rapid  appeal  to 
the  pride  and  hardihood  of  his  native  band,  and  suddenly 
took  his  seat. 

In  the  midst  of  the  murmurs  of  applause  which  suc- 
ceeded so  remarkable  an  effort  of  eloquence,  a  low,  feeble, 
and  hollow  voice  was  heard  rising  on  the  ear,  as  if  it  rolled 
from  the  inmost  cavities  of  the  human  chest,  and  gathered 
strength  and  energy  as  it  issued  into  the  air.  A  solemn 
stillness  followed  the  sounds,  and  then  the  lips  of  the  aged 
man  were  first  seen  to  move. 

"  The  day  of  Le  Balafre  is  near  its  end,"  were  the  first 
words  that  were  distinctly  audible.  "  He  is  like  a  buffalo 
on  whom  the  hair  will  grow  no  longer.  He  will  soon  be 
ready  to  leave  his  lodge,  to  go  in  search  of  another  that  is 
far  from  the  villages  of  the  Sioux  ;  therefore,  what  he  has 
to  say  concerns  not  him,  but  those  he  leaves  behind  him. 
His  words  are  like  the  fruit  on  the  tree,  ripe,  and  fit  to  be 
given  to  chiefs. 

"  Many  snows  have  fallen  since  Le  Balafre  has  been 
found  on  the  war-path.  His  blood  has  been  very  hot,  but 
it  has  had  time  to  cool.  The  Wahcondah  gives  him  dreams 
of  war  no  longer  ;  he  sees  that  it  is  better  to  live  in  peace. 

"  My  brothers,  one  foot  is  turned  to  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds,  the  other  will  soon  follow,  and  then  an  old  chief 
will  be  seen  looking  for  the  prints  of  his  father's  moccasins, 
that  he  may  make  no  mistake,  but  be  sure  to  come  before 
the  Master  of  Life  by  the  same  path  as  so  many  good 
Indians  have  already  travelled.  But  who  will  follow  ? 
Le  Balafre  has  no  son.  His  oldest  has  ridden  too  many 
Pawnee  horses  ;  the  bones  of  the  youngest  have  been 
gnawed  by  Konza  dogs !  Le  Balafre  has  come  to  look  for 
a  young  arm  on  which  he  may  lean,  and  to  find  a  son,  that 
when  he  is  gone  his  lodge  may  not  be  empty.  Tachecana, 
the  skipping  fawn  of  the  Tetons,  is  too  weak  to  prop  a 
warrior  who  is  old.  She  looks  before  her,  and  not  back- 
ward. Her  mind  is  in  the  lodge  of  her  husband." 

The  enunciation  of  the  veteran  warrior  had  been  calm, 
but  distinct  and  decided.  His  declaration  was  received  in 
silence  ;  and  though  several  of  the  chiefs,  who  were  in  the 
counsels  of  Mahtoree,  turned  their  eyes  on  their  leader, 
none  presumed  to  oppose  so  aged  and  so  venerated  a  brave, 
in  a  resolution  that  was  strictly  in  conformity  to  the  usages 
of  the  nation.  The  Teton  himself  was  content  to  await 
the  result  with  seeming  composure,  though  the  gleams  of 


THE  PRAIRIE.  327 

ferocity  that  played  about  his  eye,  occasionally  betrayed 
the  nature  of  those  feelings  with  which  he  witnessed  a 
procedure  that  was  likely  to  rob  him  of  that  one  of  all  his 
intended  victims  whom  he  most  hated. 

In  the  meantime  Le  Balafre  moved  with  a  slow  and 
painful  step  toward  the  captives.  He  stopped  before  the 
person  of  Hard-Heart,  whose  faultless  form,  unchanging 
eye,  and  lofty  mien,  he  contemplated  long,  with  high  and 
evident  satisfaction.  Then  making  a  gesture  of  authority, 
he  awaited  until  his  order  had  been  obeyed,  and  the  youth 
was  released  from  the  post  and  his  bonds  by  the  same  blow 
of  the  knife.  When  the  young  warrior  was  led  nearer  to 
his  dimmed  and  failing  sight,  the  examination  was  renewed 
with  strictness  of  scrutiny,  and  that  admiration  which  phy- 
sical excellence  is  so  apt  to  excite  in  the  breast  of  a  savage. 

"  It  is  good,"  the  wary  veteran  murmured,  when  he 
found  that  all  the  skill  in  the  requisites  of  a  brave  could 
detect  no  blemish  ;  "  this  is  a  leaping  panther  ! — Does  my 
son  speak  with  the  tongue  of  a  Teton  ?  " 

The  intelligence  which  lighted  the  eyes  of  the  captive, 
betrayed  how  well  he  understood  the  question,  but  still  he 
was  far  too  haughty  to  communicate  his  ideas  through  the 
medium  of  a  language  that  belonged  to  a  hostile  people. 
Some  of  the  surrounding  warriors  explained  to  the  old 
chief  that  the  captive  was  a  Pawnee-Loup. 

"  My  son  opened  his  eyes  on  the  'waters  of  the  wolves, ' ' 
said  Le  Balafre,  in  the  language  of  that  nation,  "  but  he 
will  shut  them  in  the  bend  of  the  *  river  with  a  troubled 
stream.'  He  was  born  a  Pawnee,  but  he  will  die  a  Dah- 
cotah.  Look  at  me.  I  am  a  sycamore  that  once  covered 
many  with  my  shadow.  The  leaves  are  fallen  and  the 
branches  begin  to  drop.  But  a  single  sucker  is  springing 
from  my  roots  ;  it  is  a  little  vine,  and  it  winds  itself  about 
a  tree  that  is  green.  I  have  long  looked  for  one  fit  to 
grow  by  my  side.  Now  have  I  found  him.  Le  Balafre  is 
no  longer  without  a  son  ;  his  name  will  not  be  forgotten 
when  he  is  gone  ! — Men  of  the  Tetons,  I  take  this  youth 
into  my  lodge." 

No  one  was  bold  enough  to  dispute  a  right  that  had  so 
often  been  exercised  by  warriors  far  inferior  to  the  present 
speaker,  and  the  adoption  was  listened  to  in  grave  and  re- 
spectful silence.  Le  Balafre  took  his  intended  son  by  the 
arm,  and,  leading  him  into  the  very  centre  of  the  circle,  he 
stepped  aside  with  an  air  of  triumph,  in  order  that  the  spec- 


328  THE  PRAIRIE. 

tators  might  approve  of  his  choice.  Mahtoree  betrayed  na 
evidence  of  his  intentions,  but  rather  seemed  to  wait  a 
moment  better  suited  to  the  crafty  policy  of  his  charac- 
ter. The  more  experienced  and  sagacious  chiefs  distinctly 
foresaw  the  utter  impossibility  of  two  partisans  so  re- 
nowned, so  hostile,  and  who  had  so  long  been  rivals  in 
fame,  as  their  prisoner  and  their  native  leader,  existing 
amicably  in  the  same  tribe'.  Still  the  character  of  Le 
Balafre  was  so  imposing,  and  the  custom  to  which  he  had 
resorted  so  sacred,  that  none  dared  to  lift  a  voice  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  measure.  They  watched  the  result  with  in- 
creasing interest,  but  with  a  coldness  of  demeanor  that 
concealed  the  nature  of  their  inquietude.  From  this  state 
of  embarrassment,  and,  as  it  might  readily  have  proved,  of 
disorganization,  the  tribe  was  unexpectedly  relieved  by  the 
decision  of  the  one  most  interested  in  the  success  of  the 
aged  chief's  designs. 

During  the  whole  of  the  foregoing  scene  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  have  traced  a  single  distinct  emotion  in 
the  lineaments  of  the  captive.  He  had  heard  his  release 
proclaimed  with  the  same  indifference  as  the  order  to  bind 
him  to  the  stake.  But  now  that  the  moment  had  arrived 
when  it  became  necessary  to  make  his  election,  he  spoke 
in  a  way  to  prove  that  the  fortitude  which  had  brought 
him  so  distinguished  a  name,  had  in  no  degree  deserted  him. 

"  My  father  is  very  old,  but  he  has  not  yet  looked  upon 
everything,"  said  Hard-Heart,  in  a  voice  so  clear  as  to  be 
heard  by  all  in  presence.  "  He  has  never  seen  a  buffalo 
change  to  a  bat :  he  will  never  see  a  Pawnee  become  a 
Sioux." 

There  was  a  suddenness,  and  yet  a  calmness,  in  the  man- 
ner of  delivering  this  decision,  which  assured  most  of  the 
auditors  that  it  was  unalterable.  The  heart  of  Le  Balafre, 
however,  was  yearning  toward  the  youth,  and  the  fondness 
of  age  was  not  so  readily  repulsed.  Reproving  the  burst 
of  admiration  and  triumph  to  which  the  boldness  of  the 
declaration  and  the  freshened  hopes  of  revenge  had  given 
rise,  by  turning  his  gleaming  eye  around  the  band,  the 
veteran  again  addressed  his  adopted  child,  as  if  his  pur- 
pose was  not  to  be  denied. 

"  It  is  well,"  he  said  ;  "  such  are  the  words  a  brave 
should  use,  that  the  warriors  may  see  his  heart.  The  day 
has  been  when  the  voice  of  Le  Balafre  was  loudest  among 
the  lodges  of  the  Konzas.  But  the  root  of  a  white- hair  is 


THE  PRAIRIE.  329 

wisdom.  My  child  will  show  the  Tetons  that  he  is  a  brave 
by  striking  their  enemies.  Men  of  the  Dahcotahs,  this  is 
my  son  ! " 

The  Pawnee  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then,  stepping  in 
front  of  the  chief,  he  took  his  hard  and  wrinkled  hand,  and 
laid  it  with  reverence  on  his  head,  as  if  to  acknowledge  the 
extent  of  his  obligation.  Then,  recoiling  a  step,  he  raised 
his  person  to  its  greatest  elevation,  and  looked  upon  the 
hostile  band  by  whom  he  was  environed,  with  an  air  of  lofti- 
ness and  disdain,  as  he  spoke  aloud  in  the  language  of  the 
Sioux: 

"  Hard- Heart  has  looked  at  himself  within  and  without. 
He  has  thought  of  all  he  has  done  in  the  hunts  and  in  the 
wars.  Everywhere  he  is  the  same.  There  is  no  change. 
He  is  in  all  things  a  Pawnee.  He  has  struck  so  many 
Tetons  that  he  could  never  eat  in  their  lodges.  His  arrows 
would  fly  backward  ;  the  point  of  his  lance  would  be  on 
the  wrong  end  ;  their  friends  would  weep  at  every  whoop 
he  gave  ;  their  enemies  would  laugh.  Do  the  Tetons  know 
a  Loup  ?  Let  them  look  at  him  again.  His  head  is  painted  ; 
his  arm  is  flesh  ;  his  heart  is  rock.  When  the  Tetons  see 
the  sun  come  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  move  toward 
the  land  of  the  pale-faces,  the  mind  of  Hard-Heart  will 
soften,  and  his  spirit  will  become  Sioux.  Until  that  day 
he  will  live  and  die  a  Pawnee." 

A  yell  of  delight,  in  which  admiration  and  ferocity  were 
strangely  mingled,  interrupted  the  speaker,  and  but  too 
clearly  announced  the  character  of  his  fate.  The  captive 
awaited  a  moment  for  the  commotion  to  subside,  and  then, 
turning  again  to  Le  Balafre,  he  continued,  in  tones  concil- 
iating and  kind,  as  if  he  felt  the  propriety  of  softening  his 
refusal  in  a  manner  not  to  wound  the  pride  of  one  who 
would  so  gladly  be  his  benefactor  : 

"  Let  my  father  lean  heavier  on  the  fawn  of  the  Dahco- 
tahs," he  said;  "she  is  weak  now,  but  as  her  lodge  fills 
with  young  she  will  be  stronger.  See."  he  added,  direct- 
ing the  eyes  of  the  other  to  the  earnest  countenance  of  the 
attentive  trapper,  "  Hard-Heart  is  not  without  a  gray-head 
to  show  him  the  path  to  the  blessed  prairies.  If  he  ever 
has  another  father,  it  shall  be  that  just  warrior." 

Le  Balafre  turned  away  in  disappointment  from  the 
youth  and  approached  the  stranger  who  had  thus  antici- 
pated his  design.  The  examination  between  these  tww 
aged  men  was  long,  mutual,  and  curious.  It  was  not  easy 


330  THE  PRAIRIE. 

to  detect  the  real  character  of  the  trapper  through  the 
mask  which  the  hardships  of  so  many  years  had  laid  upon 
his  features,  especially  when  aided  by  his  wild  and  peculiar 
attire.  Some  moments  elapsed  before  the  Teton  spoke, 
and  then  it  was  in  doubt  whether  he  addressed  one  like 
himself  or  some  wanderer  of  that  race  who,  he  had  heard, 
were  spreading  themselves  like  hungry  locusts  throughout 
the  land. 

"The  head  of  my  brother  is  very  white,"  he  said,  "but 
the  eye  of  Le  Balafre  is  no  longer  like  the  eagle's.  Of 
what  color  is  his  skin  ?" 

"The  Wahcondah  made  me  like  these  you  see  waiting 
for  a  Dahcotah  judgment,  but  fair  and  foul  has  colored  me 
darker  than  the  skin  of  a  fox.  What  of  that  ?  though  the 
bark  is  ragged  and  riven,  the  heart  of  the  tree  is  sound." 

"  My  brother  is  a  Big-knife !  Let  him  turn  his  face 
toward  the  setting  sun  and  open  his  eyes.  Does  he  see 
the  salt  lake  beyond  the  mountains  ? " 

"  The  time  has  been,  Teton,  when  few  cou/d  see  the 
white  on  an  eagle's  head  farther  than  I  ;  but  the  glare  of 
four-score-and-seven  winters  has  dimmed  my  eyes,  and  but 
little  can  I  boast  of  sight  in  my  latter  days.  Does  the 
Sioux  think  a  pale-face  is  a  god,  that  he  can  look  through 
hills?" 

"Then  let  my  brother  look  at  me.  I  am  nigh  him  and 
he  can  see  that  I  am  a  foolish  red-man.  Why  cannot  his 
people  see  everything,  since  they  crave  all  ?" 

"I  understand  you,  chief,  nor  will  I  gainsay  the  justice 
of  your  words,  seeing  that  they  are  too  much  founded  in 
truth.  But,  though  born  of  the  race  you  love  so  little,  my 
worst  enemy,  not  even  a  lying  Mingo,  would  dare  to  say 
that  I  ever  laid  hands  on  the  goods  of  another,  except  such 
as  were  taken  in  manful  warfare  ;  or  that  I  ever  coveted 
more  ground  than  the  Lord  has  intended  each  man  to  fill." 

"And  yet  my  brother  has  come  among  the  red-skins  to 
find  a  son  ?" 

The  trapper  laid  a  finger  on  the  naked  shoulder  of  Le 
Balafre,  and  looked  into  his  scarred  countenance  with  a 
wistful  and  confidential  expression,  as  he  answered  : 

"  Ay  ;  but  it  was  only  that  I  might  do  good  to  the  boy. 
If  you  think,  Dahcotah,  that  I  adopted  the  youth  in  order 
to  prop  my  age,  you  do  me  as  much  injustice  to  my  good- 
will as  you  seem  to  know  little  of  the  merciless  intention? 
of  your  own  people.  I  have  made  him  my  son,  that  he 


THE  PRAIRIE.  331 

may  know  that  one  is  left  behind  him. — Peace,  Hector, 
peace  !  Is  this  decent,  pup,  when  grayheads  are  counsel- 
ling together,  to  break  in  upon  their  discourse  with  the 
whinings  of  a  hound  ? — The  dog  is  old,  Teton  ;  and,  though 
well  taught  in  respect  to  behavior,  he  is  getting,  like  our- 
selves, I  fancy,  something  forgetful  of  the  fashions  of  his 
youth." 

Further  discourse,  between  these  veterans,  was  inter- 
rupted by  a  discordant  yell,  which  burst  at  that  moment 
from  the  lips  of  the  dozen  withered  crones  who  have  al- 
ready been  mentioned  as  having  forced  themselves  into  a 
conspicuous  part  of  the  circle.  The  outcry  was  excited  by 
a  sudden  change  in  the  air  of  Hard-Heart.  When  the  old 
men  turned  toward  the  youth,  they  saw  him  standing  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  ring,  with  his  head  erect,  his  eyes 
fixed  on  vacancy,  one  leg  advanced  and  an  arm  a  little 
raised,  as  if  all  his  faculties  were  absorbed  in  the  act  of 
listening.  A  smile  lighted  his  countenance  for  a  single 
moment,  and  then  the  whole-man  sank  again  into  his  former 
look  of  dignity  and  coldness,  suddenly  recalled  to  self-pos- 
session. The  movement  had  been  construed  into  con- 
tempt, and  even  the  tempers  of  the  chiefs  began  to  be  ex- 
cited. Unable  to  restrain  their  fury,  the  women  broke  into 
the  circle  in  a  body,  and  commenced  their  attack  by  loading 
the  captive  with  the  most  bitter  revilings.  They  boasted 
of  the  various  exploits  which  their  sons  had  achieved  at 
the  expense  of  the  diiferent  tribes  of  the  Pawnees.  They 
undervalued  his  own  reputation,  and  told  him  to  look  at 
Mahtoree,  if  he  had  never  yet  seen  a  warrior.  They  ac- 
cused him  of  having  been  suckled  by  a  doe,  and  of  having 
drunk  in  cowardice  with  his  mother's  milk.  In  short,  they 
lavished  upon  their  unmoved  captive  a  torrent  of  that  vin- 
dictive abuse  in  which  the  women  of  the  savages  are  so 
well  known  to  excel,  but  which  has  been  too  often  de- 
scribed to  need  a  repetition  here. 

The  effect  of  this  outbreaking  was  inevitable.  Le  Bala- 
fre  turned  away  disappointed,  and  hid  himself  in  the  crowd  ; 
while  the  trapper,  whose  honest  features  were  working 
with  inward  emotion,  pressed  nigher  to  his  young  friend, 
as  those  who  are  linked  to  the  criminal  by  ties  so  strong 
as  to  brave  the  opinions  of  men,  are  often  seen  to  stand 
about  the  place  of  execution  to  support  his  dying  moments. 
The  excitement  soon  spread  among  the  inferior  warriors, 
though  the  chiefs  still  forebore  to  make  the  signal  which 


332  77/7?  PRAIRIE. 

committed  the  victim  to  their  mercy.  Mahtoree,  who  hafl 
awaited  such  a  movement  among  his  fellows,  with  the  wary 
design  of  concealing  his  own  jealous  hatred,  soon  grew 
weary  of  delay,  and,  by  a  glance  of  his  eye,  encouraged  the 
tormentors  to  proceed. 

Weucha,  who,  eager  for  this  sanction,  had  long  stood 
watching  the  countenance  of  the  chief,  bounded  forward 
at  the  signal  like  a  bloodhound  loosened  from  the  leash. 
Forcing  his  way  into  the  centre  of  the  hags,  who  were  al- 
ready proceeding  from  abuse  to  violence,  he  reproved  their 
impatience,  and  bade  them  wait  until  a  warrior  had  begun 
to  torment,  and  then  they  should  see  their  victim  shed  tears 
like  a  woman. 

The  heartless  savage  commenced  his  efforts  by  flourish- 
ing his  tomahawk  about  the  head  of  the  captive,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  give  reason  to  suppose  that  each  blow  would 
bury  the  weapon  in  the  flesh,  wrhile  it  was  so  governed  as 
not  to  touch  the  skin.  To  this  customary  expedient,  Hard- 
Heart  was  perfectly  insensible.  His  eye  kept  the  same 
steady,  riveted  look  on  the  air,  though  the  glittering  axe 
described  in  its  evolutions  a  bright  circle  of  light  before 
his  countenance.  Frustrated  in  this  attempt,  the  callous 
Sioux  laid  the  cold  edge  on  the  naked  head  of  the  victim, 
and  began  to  describe  the  different  manners  in  which  a 
prisoner  might  be  flayed.  The  women  kept  time  to  his 
cruelties  with  their  taunts,  and  endeavored  to  force  some 
expression  of  the  lingerings  of  nature  from  the  insensible 
features  of  the  Pawnee.  But  he  evidently  reserved  him- 
self for  the  chiefs,  and  for  those  moments  of  extreme  an- 
guish, when  the  loftiness  of  his  spirit  might  evince  itself 
in  a  manner  better  becoming  his  high  and  untarnished 
reputation. 

The  eyes  of  the  trapper  followed  every  movement  of 
the  tomahawk  with  the  interest  of  a  real  father,  until  at 
length,  unable  to  command  his  indignation,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  My  son  has  forgotten  his  cunning.  This  is  a  low- 
minded  Indian,  and  one  easily  hurried  into  folly.  I  can- 
not do  the  thing  myself,  for  my  traditions  forbid  a  dying 
warrior  to  revile  his  persecutors,  but  the  gifts  of  a  red-skin 
are  different.  Let  the  Pawnee  say  the  bitter  word,  and 
purchase  an  easy  death.  I  will  answer  for  his  success, 
provided  he  speaks  before  the  grave  men  set  their  wisdom 
to  back  the  folly  of  this  fool." 

The  savage  Sioux,  who  heard  his  words  without  com- 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


331 


prehending  their  meaning,  turned  to  the  speaker  and  men- 
need  him  with  death  for  his  temerity. 

"  Ay,  work  your  will,"  said  the  unflinching  old  man; 
*'  I  am  as  ready  now  as  I  shall  be  to-morrow.  Though  it 
would  be  a  death  that  an  honest  man  might  not  wish  to 
die.  Look  at  that  noble  Pawnee,  Teton,  and  Gee  what  a 
red-skin  may  become,  who  fears  the  Master  of  Life,  and 
follows  his  laws.  How  many  of  your  people  has  he  sent 
to  the  distant  prairies  ?"  he  continued,  in  a  sort  of  pious 
fraud,  thinking  that,  while  the  danger  menaced  himself, 
there  could  surely  be  no  sin  in  extolling  the  merits  of  an- 
other :  "how  many  howling  Siouxes  has  he  struck  like  a 
warrior  in  open  combat,  while  arrows  were  sailing  in  the 
air  plentier  than  flakes  of  falling  snow  ?  Go  !  will  Weucha 
speak  the  name  of  one  enemy  he  has  ever  struck  ? " 

"  Hard-Heart!"  shouted  the  Sioux,  turning  in  his  fury 
.and  aiming  a  deadly  blow  at  the  head  of  his  victim.  His 
arm  fell  into  the  hollow  of  the  captive's  hand.  For  a  sin- 
gle moment  the  two  stood,  as  if  entranced,  in  that  attitude, 
the  one  paralyzed  by  so  unexpected  a  resistance,  and  the 
other  bending  his  head,  not  to  meet  his  death,  but  in  the 
act  of  the  most  intense  attention.  The  women  screamed 
with  triumph,  for  they  thought  the  nerves  of  the  captive 
had  at  length  failed  him.  The  trapper  trembled  for  the 
honor  of  his  friend  ;  and  Hector,  as  if  conscious  of  what 
was  passing,  raised  his  nose  into  the  air,  and  uttered  a  pit- 
eous howl 

But  the  Pawnee  hesitated  only  for  that  moment  Rais- 
ing the  other  hand  like  lightning,  the  tomahawk  flashed  in 
the  air,  and  Weucha  sank  to  his  feet  brained  to  the  eye. 
Then  cutting  a  way  with  the  bloody  weapon,  he  darted 
through  the  opening  left  by  the  frightened  women,  and 
seemed  to  descend  the  declivity  at  a  single  bound. 

Had  a  bolt  from  Heaven  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the 
Teton  band,  it  would  not  have  occasioned  greater  conster- 
nation than  this  act  of  desperate  hardihood.  A  shrill, 
plaintive  cry  burst  from  the  lips  of  all  the  women,  and 
there  was  a  moment  that  even  the  oldest  warriors  ap- 
peared to  have  lost  their  faculties.  This  stupor  endured 
only  for  the  instant.  It  was  succeeded  by  a  yell  of  re- 
venge that  burst  from  a  hundred  throats,  while  as  many 
warriors  started  forward  at  the  cry,  bent  on  the  most 
bloody  retribution.  But  a  powerful  and  authoritative  call 
from  Mahtoree  arrested  every  foot.  The  chief,  in  whose 


334  THE  PRAIRIE. 

countenance  disappointment  and  rage  were  struggling 
with  the  affected  composure  of  his  station,  extended  an 
arm  toward  the  river,  and  the  whole  mystery  was  ex- 
plained. 

Hard-Heart  had  already  crossed  half  the  bottom  which 
lay  between  the  acclivity  and  the  water.  At  this  precise 
moment  a  band  of  armed  and  mounted  Pawnees  turned  a 
swell,  and  galloped  to  the  margin  of  the  stream,  into  which 
the  plunge  of  the  fugitive  was  distinctly  heard.  A  few 
minutes  sufficed  for  his  vigorous  arm  to  conquer  the  pas- 
sage, and  then  the  shout  from  the  opposite  shore  told  the 
humbled  Tetons  the  whole  extent  of  the  triumph  of  their 
adversaries. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

"If  that  shepherd  be  not  in  hand-fast,  let  him  fly  ;  the  curses  he  shall 
have,  the  tortures  he  shall  feel,  will  break  the  back  of  man,  the  heart  of 
monster." — SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  event  just  related  was 
attended  by  an  extraordinary  sensation  among  the  Sioux. 
In  leading  the  hunters  of  the  band  back  to  the  encamp- 
ment, their  chief  had  neglected  none  of  the  customary  pre- 
cautions of  Indian  prudence,  in  order  that  his  trail  might 
escape  the  eye  of  his  enemies.  It  would  seem,  however, 
that  the  Pawnees  had  not  only  made  the  dangerous  dis- 
covery, but  had  managed  with  great  art  to  draw  nigh  the 
place  by  the  only  side  on  which  it  was  thought  unneces- 
sary to  guard  the  approaches  with  the  usual  line  of  sen- 
tinels. The  latter,  who  were  scattered  along  the  different 
little  eminences  which  lay  in  the  rear  of  the  lodges,  were 
among  the  last  to  be  apprised  of  the  danger. 

In  such  a  crisis  there  was  little  time  for  deliberation, 
It  was  by  exhibiting  the  force  of  his  character  in  scenes 
of  similar  difficulty,  that  Mahtoree  had  obtained  and 
strengthened  his  ascendency  among  his  people,  nor  did 
he  seem  likely  to  lose  it  by  the  manifestation  of  any  inde- 
cision on  the  present  occasion.  In  the  midst  of  the 
screams  of  the  young,  the  shrieks  of  the  women,  and  the 
wild  bowlings  of  the  crones,  which  were  sufficient  of  them- 
selves to  have  created  a  chaos  in  the  thoughts  of  one  less 
accustomed  to  act  in  emergencies,  he  promptly  asserted 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


335 


his  authority,  issuing  his  orders  with  the  coolness  of   a 
veteran. 

While  the  warriors  were  arming,  the  boys  were  dis- 
patched to  the  bottom  for  the  horses.  The  tents  were 
hastily  struck  by  the  women,  and  disposed  of  on  such  oi 
the  beasts  as  were  not  fit  to  be  trusted  in  combat.  The 
infants  were  cast  upon  the  backs  of  their  mothers  ;  and 
those  children  who  were  of  a  size  to  march  were  driven  to 
the  rear,  like  a  herd  of  less  reasoning  animals.  Though 
these  several  movements  were  made  amid  outcries  and  a 
clamor  that  likened  the  place  to  another  Babel,  they  were 
executed  with  incredible  alacrity  and  intelligence. 

In  the  meantime,  Mahtoree  neglected  no  duty  that  be- 
longed to  his  responsible  station.  From  the  elevation  on 
which  he  stood,,  he  could  command  a  perfect  view  of  the 
force  and  evolutions  of  the  hostile  party.  A  grim  smile 
lighted  his  visage  when  he  found  that,  in  point  of  num- 
bers, his  own  band  was  greatly  superior.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  great  advantage,  however,  there  were  other  points 
of  inequality,  which  would  probably  have  a  tendency  to 
render  his  success  in  the  approaching  conflict  exceedingly 
doubtful.  His  people  were  the  inhabitants  of  a  more 
northern  and  less  hospitable  region  than  their  enemies, 
and  were  far  from  being  rich  in  that  species  of  property, 
horses  and  arms,  which  constitutes  the  most  highly  prized 
wealth  of  a  Western  Indian.  The  band  in  view  was  mounted 
to  a  man  ;  and,  as  it  had  come  so  far  to  rescue,  or  to  re- 
venge, their  greatest  partisan,  he  had  no  reason  to  doubt 
its  being  composed  entirely  of  braves.  On  the  other  hand, 
many  of  his  followers  were  far  better  in  a  hunt  than  in  a 
combat ;  men  who  might  serve  to  divert  the  attention  oi 
his  foes,  but  from  whom  he  could  expect  little  desperate 
service.  Still,  his  flashing  eye  glanced  over  a  body  of 
warriors  on  whom  he  had  often  relied,  and  who  had  never 
deceived  him  ;  and  though,  in  the  precise  position  in 
which  he  found  himself,  he  felt  no  disposition  to  precipi 
tate  the  conflict,  he  certainly  would  have  had  no  intention 
to  avoid  it,  had  not  the  presence  of  his  women  and  chil- 
dren placed  the  option  altogether  in  the  power  of  his 
adversaries. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Pawnees,  so  unexpectedly  suc- 
cessful in  their  first  and  greatest  object,  manifested  no  in- 
tention to  drive  matters  to  an  issue.  The  river  was  a  dan- 
gerous barrier  to  pass,  in  the  face  of  a  determined  foe,  and 


336  THE  PRAIRIE. 

it  would  now  have  been  in  perfect  accordance  with  then 
cautious  policy  to  have  retired  for  a  season,  in  order  that 
their  onset  might  be  made  in  the  hours  of  darkness  and  of 
seeming  security.  But  there  was  a  spirit  in  their  chief  that 
elevated  him,  for  the  moment,  above  the  ordinary  expe- 
dients of  savage  warfare.  His  bosom  burned  with  the 
desire  to  wipe  out  that  disgrace  of  which  he  had  been  the 
subject  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  he  believed  the  retiring 
camp  of  the  Sioux  contained  a  prize  that  began  to  have 
a  value  in  his  eyes  far  exceeding  any  that  could  be  found 
in  fifty  Teton  scalps.  Let  that  be  as  it  might,  Hard-Heart 
had  no  sooner  received  the  brief  congratulations  of  his 
band,  and  communicated  to  the  chiefs  such  facts  as  were 
important  to  be  known,  than  he  prepared  himself  to  act 
such  a  part  in  the  coming  conflict  as  would  at  once  main- 
tain his  well-earned  reputation  and  gratify  his  secret  wishes. 
A  led  horse,  one  that  had  been  long  trained  in  the  hunts, 
had  been  brought  to  receive  his  master,  with  but  little  hope 
that  his  services  would  ever  be  needed  again  in  this  life. 
With  a  delicacy  and  consideration  that  proved  how  much 
the  generous  qualities  of  the  youth  had  touched  the  feel- 
ings of  his  people,  a  bow,  a  lance,  and  a  quiver  were  thrown 
across  the  animal,  which  it  had  been  intended  to  immolate 
on  the  grave  of  the  young  brave  ;  a  species  of  care  that 
would  have  superseded  the  necessity  for  the  pious  duty 
that  the  trapper  had  pledged  himself  to  perform. 

Though  Hard-Heart  was  sensible  of  the  kindness  of  hi^ 
warriors,  and  believed  that  a  chief,  furnished  with  such 
appointments,  might  depart  with  credit  for  the  distant  hunt- 
ing-grounds of  the  Master  of  Life,  he  seemed  equally  dis- 
posed to  think  that  they  might  be  rendered  quite  as  useful 
in  the  actual  state  of  things.  His  countenance  lighted  with 
stern  pleasure,  as  he  tried  the  elasticity  of  the  bow,  and 
poised  the  well-balanced  spear.  The  glance  he  bestowed 
on  the  shield  was  more  cursory  and  indifferent  ;  but  the 
exultation  with  which  he  threw  himself  on  the  back  of  his 
favorite  war-horse  was  so  great  as  to  break  through  the 
forms  of  Indian  reserve.  He  rode  to  and  fro  among  his 
scarcely  less  delighted  warriors,  managing  the  animal  with 
a  grace  and  address  that  no  artificial  rules  can  ever  supply  ; 
at  times  flourishing  his  lance,  as  if  to  assure  himself  oi 
his  seat,  and  at  others  examining  critically  into  the  condi- 
tion of  the  fusee,  with  which  he  had  also  been  furnished, 
with  the  fondness  of  one  who  was  miraculously  restored 


THE  PRAIRIE.  337 

to  the  possession  of  treasures  that  constituted  his  pride  and 
his  happiness. 

At  this  particular  moment,  Mahtoree,  having  completed 
the  necessary  arrangements,  prepared  to  make  a  more  de- 
cisive movement.  The  Teton  had  found  no  little  embar- 
rassment in  disposing  of  his  captives.  The  tents  of  the 
squatter  were  still  in  sight,  and  his  wary  cunning  did  not 
fail  to  apprise  him  that  it  was  quite  as  necessary  to  guard 
against  an  attack  from  that  quarter  as  to  watch  the  motions 
of  his  more  open  and  more  active  foes.  His  first  impulse 
had  been  to  make  the  tomahawk  suffice  for  the  men,  and 
to  trust  the  females  under  the  same  protection  as  the 
women  of  his  band  ;  but  the  manner  in  which  many  of  his 
braves  continued  to  regard  the  imaginary  medicine  of  the 
Long-knives,  forewarned  him  of  the  danger  of  so  hazardous 
an  experiment  on  the  eve  of  a  battle.  It  might  be  deemed 
The  omen  of  defeat.  In  this  dilemma  he  motioned  to  a 
superannuated  warrior,  to  whom  he  had  confided  the 
charge  of  the  non-combatants,  and  leading  him  apart,  he 
placed  a  finger  significantly  on  his  shoulder,  as  he  said,  in 
a  tone  in  which  authority  was  tempered  by  confidence  : 

"When  my  young  men  are  striking  the  Pawnees,  give 
the  women  knives.  Enough  ;  my  father  is  very  old  ;  he 
does  not  want  to  hear  wisdom  from  a  boy." 

The  grim  old  savage  returned  a  look  of  ferocious  assent, 
and  then  the  mind  of  the  chief  appeared  to  be  at  rest  on 
this  important  subject.  From  that  moment  he  bestowed 
all  his  care  on  the  achievement  of  his  revenge,  and  the 
maintenance  of  his  martial  character.  Throwing  himself 
on  his  horse,  he  made  a  sign,  with  the  air  of  a  prince,  to 
his  followers  to  imitate  his  example,  interrupting,  without 
ceremony,  the  war-songs  and  solemn  rites  by  which  many 
among  them  were  stimulating  their  spirits  to  deeds  of  dar- 
ing. When  all  were  in  order,  the  whole  moved  with  great 
steadiness  and  silence  toward  the  margin  of  the  river. 

The  hostile  bands  were  now  separated  by  the  water.  The 
width  of  the  stream  was  too  great  to  admit  of  the  use  of  the 
ordinary  Indian  missiles,  but  a  few  useless  shots  were  ex- 
changed from  the  fusees  of  the  chiefs,  more  in  bravado 
than  with  any  expectation  of  doing  execution.  As  some 
time  was  suffered  to  elapse  in  demonstrations  and  abortive 
efforts,  we  shall  leave  them,  for  that  period,  to  return  to 
such  of  our  characters  as  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
savages. 

22 


53*  THE  PRAIRIE. 

We  have  shed  much  ink  in  vain,  and  wasted  quires,  that 
might  possibly  have  been  better  employed,  if  it  be  neces- 
sary now  to  tell  the  reader  that  few  of  the  foregoing  move- 
ments escaped  the  observation  of  the  experienced  trapper. 
He  had  been,  in  common  with  the  rest,  astonished  at  the 
sudden  act  of  Hard-Heart ;  and  there  was  a  single  moment 
when  a  feeling  of  regret  and  mortification  got  the  better 
of  his  longings  to  save  the  life  of  the  youth.  The  simple 
and  well-intentioned  old  man  would  have  felt  at  witness- 
ing any  failure  of  firmness  on  the  part  of  a  warrior  who 
had  so  strongly  excited  his  sympathies,  the  same  species 
of  sorrow  that  a  Christian  parent  would  suffer  in  hanging 
over  the  dying  moments  of  an  impious  child.  But  when, 
instead  of  an  impotent  and  unmanly  struggle  for  existence, 
he  found  that  his  friend  had  forborne,  with  the  customary 
and  dignified  submission  of  an  Indian  warrior,  until  an  op- 
portunity had  offered  to  escape,  and  that  he  had  then  mani- 
fested the  spirit  and  decision  of  the  most  gifted  brave,  his 
gratification  became  nearly  too  powerful  to  be  concealed. 
In  the  midst  of  the  wailing  and  commotion  which  suc- 
ceeded the  death  of  Weucha  and  the  escape  of  the  captive, 
he  placed  himself  nigh  the  persons  of  his  white  associates, 
with  a  determination  of  interfering,  at  every  hazard,  should 
the  fury  of  the  savages  take  that  direction.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  hostile  band  spared  him,  however,  so  desper- 
ate and  probably  so  fruitless  an  effort,  and  left  him  to 
pursue  his  observations  and  to  mature  his  plans  more  at 
leisure. 

He  particularly  remarked  that,  while  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  women,  and  all  the  children,  together  with  the 
effects  of  the  party,  were  hurried  to  the  rear,  probably 
with  an  order  to  secrete  themselves  in  some  of  the  adja- 
cent woods,  the  tent  of  Mahtoree  himself  was  left  stand- 
ing, and  its  contents  undisturbed.  Two  chosen  horses, 
however,  stood  near  by,  held  by  a  couple  of  youths,  who 
were  too  young  to  go  into  conflict,  and  yet  of  an  age  to 
understand  the  management  of  the  beasts.  The  trapper 
perceived  in  this  arrangement  the  reluctance  of  Mahtoree 
to  trust  his  newly  found  "  flowers  "  beyond  the  reach  of  his 
eye  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  his  forethought,  in  providing 
against  a  reverse  of  fortune.  Neither  had  the  manner  of 
the  Teton,  in  giving  his  commission  to  the  old  savage,  nor 
the  fierce  pleasure  with  which  the  latter  had  received  the 
bloody  charge,  escaped  his  observation.  From  all  these 


THE  PRAIRIE.  339 

mysterious  movements,  the  old  man  was  aware  that  a  cri- 
sis was  at  hand,  and  he  summoned  the  utmost  knowledge 
he  had  acquired,  in  so  long  a  life,  to  aid  him  in  the  des- 
perate conjuncture.  While  musing  on  the  means  to  be 
employed,  the  doctor  again  attracted  his  attention  to  him- 
self  by  a  piteous  appeal  for  assistance. 

"Venerable  trapper,  or,  as  I  may  now  say,  liberator," 
commenced  the  dolorous  Obed,  "  it  would  seem  that  a  fit- 
ting time  has  at  length  arrived  to  dissever  the  unnatural 
and  altogether  irregular  connection  which  exists  between 
my  inferior  members  and  the  body  of  Asinus.  Perhaps 
if  such  a  portion  of  my  limbs  were  released  as  might  leave 
me  master  of  the  remainder,  and  this  favorable  opportunity 
were  suitably  improved,  by  making  a  forced  march  toward 
the  settlements,  all  hopes  of  preserving  the  treasures  of 
knowledge,  of  which  I  am  the  unworthy  receptacle,  would 
not  be  lost.  The  importance  of  the  results  is  surely  worth 
the  hazard  of  the  experiment." 

"  I  know  not,  I  know  not,"  returned  the  deliberate  old 
man  ;  "  the  vermin  and  reptiles,  which  you  bear  about  you, 
were  intended  by  the  Lord  for  the  prairies,  and  I  see  no 
good  in  sending  them  into  regions  that  may  not  suit  their 
natur's.  And,  moreover,  you  may  be  of  great  and  partic- 
ular use  as  you  now  sit  on  the  ass,  though  it  creates  no 
wonder  in  my  mind  to  perceive  that  you  are  ignorant  of  it, 
seeing  that  usefulness  is  altogether  a  new  calling  to  so 
bookish  a  man." 

"  Of  what  service  can  I  be  in  this  painful  thraldom,  in 
which  the  animal  functions  are  in  a  manner  suspended,  and 
the  spiritual  or  intellectual  blinded  by  the  secret  sympathy 
that  unites  mind  to  matter  ?  There  is  likely  to  be  blood 
spilt  between  yonder  adverse  hosts  of  heathens  ;  and, 
though  but  little  desiring  the  office,  it  would  be  better  that 
I  should  employ  myself  in  surgical  experiments  than  in 
thus  wasting  the  precious  moments,  mortifying  both  soul 
and  body."  *" 

"  It  is  little  that  a  red-skin  would  care  to  have  a  physi- 
cian to  his  hurts,  while  the  whoop  is  ringing  in  his  ears. 
Patience  is  a  virtue  in  an  Indian,  and  can  be  no  shame  to 
a  Christian  white  man.  Look  at  these  hags  of  squaws, 
friend  doctor  ;  I  have  no  judgment  in  savage  tempers,  if 
they  are  not  bloody-minded,  and  ready  to  work  their  ac- 
cursed pleasures  on  us  all.  Now,  so  long  as  you  keep  upon 
the  ass,  and  maintain  the  fierce  look  which  is  far  from  being 


$40  THE  PRAIRIE. 

your  natural  gift,  fear  of  so  great  a  medicine  may  serve  to 
keep  down  their  courage.  I  am  placed  here,  like  a  general 
at  the  opening  of  the  battle,  and  it  has  become  my  duty  to 
make  such  use  of  all  my  force  as,  in  my  judgment,  each  is 
best  fitted  to  perform.  If  I  know  these  niceties,  you  will 
be  more  serviceable  for  your  countenance  just  now  than 
in  any  more  stirring  exploits. 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,  shouted  Paul,"  whose  patience 
could  no  longer  maintain  itself  under  the  calculating  and 
prolix  explanations  of  the  other,  "  suppose  you  cut  two 
things  I  can  name,  short  off  ?  That  is  to  say,  your  conver- 
sation, which  is  agreeable  enough  over  a  well-baked  buffa- 
lo's hump,  and  these  damnable  thongs  of  hide,  which,  ac- 
cording to  my  experience,  can  be  pleasant  nowhere.  A 
single  stroke  of  your  knife  would  be  of  more  service,  just 
now,  than  the  longest  speech  that  was  ever  made  in  a 
Kentucky  court-house." 

"Ay,  court-houses  are  the  'happy  hunting-grounds,'  as 
a  red-skin  would  say,  for  them  that  are  born  with  gifts  no 
better  than  such  as  lie  in  the  tongue.  I  was  carried  into 
one  of  the  lawless  holes  myself  once,  and  it  was  all  about 
a  thing  of  no  more  value  than  the  skin  of  a  deer.  The 
Lord  forgive  them! —  the  Lord  forgive  them  ! — they  knew 
no  better,  and  they  did  according  to  their  weak  judgments  ; 
and  therefore  the  more  are  they  to  be  pitied  ;  and  yet  it 
was  a  solemn  sight  to  see  an  aged  man,  who  had  always 
lived  in  the  air,  laid  neck  and  heels  by  the  law,  and  held 
up  as  a  spectacle  for  the  women  and  boys  of  a  wasteful 
settlement  to  point  their  fingers  at  !  " 

"  If  such  be  your  opinions  of  confinement,  honest  friend, 
you  had  better  manifest  the  same  by  putting  us  at  liberty 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible,"  said  Middleton,  who,  like 
his  companion,  began  to  find  the  tardiness  of  his  often-tried 
companion  quite  as  extraordinary  as  it  was  disagreeable. 

"  I  should  greatly  like  to  do  the  same  ;  especially  in 
your  behalf,  captain,  who,  being  a  soldier,  might  find  not 
only  pleasure  but  profit  in  examining,  more  at  your  ease, 
into  the  circumventions  and  cunning  of  an  Indian  fight. 
As  to  our  friend  here,  it  is  of  but  little  matter  how  much 
of  this  affair  he  examines,  or  how  little,  seeing  that  a  bee 
*.s  not  to  be  overcome  in  the  same  manner  as  an  Indian." 

"  Old  man,  this  trifling  with  our  misery  is  inconsiderate, 
fx>  give  it  a  name  no  harsher " 

"Ay,  your  gran'ther  was  of  a  hot  and  hurrying 


THE  PRAIRIE.  341 

and  one  must  "not  expect  that  the  young  of  the  panther 
will  crawl  the  arth  like  the  litter  of  a  porcupine.  Now, 
keep  you  both  silent,  and  what  I  say  shall  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  spoken  concerning  the  movements  that 
are  going  on  in  the  bottom  ;  all  of  which  will  serve  to  put 
jealousy  to  sleep,  and  to  shut  the  eyes  of  such  as  rarely 
close  them  on  wickedness  and  cruelty.  In  the  first  place, 
then,  you  must  know  that  I  have  reason  to  think  yonder 
treacherous  Teton  has  left  an  order  to  put  us  all  to  death, 
so  soon  as  he  thinks  the  deed  may  be  done  secretly,  and 
without  tumult." 

"  Great  Heaven  !  will  you  suffer  us  to  be  butchered  ]ike 
unresisting  sheep  ? " 

"  Hist,  captain,  hist !  a  hot  temper  is  none  of  the  best, 
when  cunning  is  more  needed  than  blows.  Ah,  the  Paw- 
nee is  a  noble  boy !  it  would  do  your  heart  good  to  see 
how  he  draws  off  from  the  river,  in  order  to  invite  his  ene- 
mies to  cross  ;  and  yet,  according  to  my  failing  sight,  they 
count  two  warriors  to  his  one  ! — But,  as  I  was  saying,  little 
good  comes  of  haste  and  thoughtlessness.  The  facts  are 
so  plain  that  any  child  may  see  their  wisdom.  The  sav- 
ages are  of  many  minds  as  to  the  manner  of  our  treatment. 
Some  fear  us  for  our  color,  and  would  gladly  let  us  go,  and 
other  some  would  show  us  the  mercy  that  the  doe  receives 
from  the  hungry  wolf.  When  opposition  gets  fairly  into 
the  councils  of  a  tribe,  it  is  rare  that  humanity  is  the 
gainer.  Now,  see  you  these  wrinkled  and  cruel-minded 
squaws — no,  you  cannot  see  them  as  you  lie,  but  neverthe- 
less they  are  here,  ready  and  willing,  like  so  many  raging 
she-bears,  to  work  their  will  upon  us  so  soon  as  the  proper 
time  shall  come." 

"  Harkee,  old  gentleman  trapper,"  interrupted  Paul, 
with  a  little  bitterness  in  his  manner,  "  do  you  tell  us  these 
matters  for  our  amusement  or  for  your  own  ?  If  for  ours, 
you  may  keep  your  breath  for  the  next  race  you  run,  as  I 
am  tickled  nearly  to  suffocation  already  with  my  part  of 
the  fun." 

"  Hist ! "  said  the  trapper,  cutting  with  great  dexterity 
and  rapidity  the  thong  which  bound  one  of  the  arms  of 
Paul  to  his  body,  and  dropping  his  knife  at  the  same  time 
within  reach  of  the  liberated  hand.  "  Hist,  boy,  hist !  that 
was  a  lucky  moment !  The  yell  from  the  bottom  drew  the 
eyes  of  these  blood-suckers  in  another  quarter,  and  so  far 
we  are  safe.  Now  make  a  proper  use  of  your  advantages 


342  THE  PRAIRIE. 

but  be  careful  that  what  you  do  is  done  without  being 
seen." 

"  Thank  you  for  this  small  favor,  old  deliberation,"  mut- 
tered the  bee-hunter,  "  though  it  comes  like  a  snow  in 
May,  somewhat  out  of  season." 

"  Foolish  boy  !  "  reproachfully  exclaimed  the  other,  who 
had  moved  to  a  little  distance  from  his  friends,  and  ap- 
peared to  be  attentively  regarding  the  movements  of  the 
hostile  parties,  "will  you  never  learn  to  know  the  wisdom 
of  patience  ?  And  you,  too,  captain  ;  though  a  man  my- 
self that  seldom  ruffles  his  temper  by  vain  feelings,  I  see 
that  you  are  silent  because  you  scorn  to  ask  favors  any 
longer  from  one  you  think  too  slow  to  grant  them.  No 
doubt  ye  are  both  young,  and  filled  with  pride  of  your 
strength  and  manhood,  and  I  dare  say  you  thought  it  only 
needful  to  cut  the  thongs  to  leave  you  masters  of  the 
ground.  But  he  that  has  seen  much  is  apt  to  think  much. 
Had  I  run  like  a  bustling  woman  to  have  given  you  free- 
dom, these  hags  of  the  Siouxes  would  have  seen  the  same, 
and  then  where  would  you  both  have  found  yourselves  ? 
Under  the  tomahawk  and  the  knife,  like  helpless  and  out- 
crying children,  though  gifted  with  the  size  and  beards  of 
men.  Ask  our  friend,  the  bee-hunter,  in  what  condition 
he  finds  himself  to  struggle  with  a  Teton  boy,  after  so 
many  hours  of  bondage  ;  much  less  with  a  dozen  merciless 
and  bloodthirsty  squaws  !  " 

"  Truly,  old  trapper,"  returned  Paul,  stretching  his  limbs, 
which  were  by  this  time  entirely  released,  and  endeavoring 
to  restore  the  suspended  circulation,  "you  have  some  judg- 
matical notions  in  these  matters.  Now  here  am  I,  Paul 
Hover,  a  man  who  will  give  in  to  few  at  wrestle  or  race, 
nearly  as  helpless  as  the  day  I  paid  my  first  visit  to  the 
house  of  old  Paul,  who  is  dead  and  gone — the  Lord  for- 
give him  any  little  blunders  he  may  have  made  while  he 
tarried  in  Kentucky  !  Now  there  is  my  foot  on  the  ground, 
so  far  as  eyesight  has  any  virtue,  and  yet  it  would  take  no 
great  temptation  to  make  me  swear  it  didn't  touch  the 
earth  by  six  inches.  I  say,  honest  friend,  since  you  have 
done  so  much,  have  the  goodness  to  keep  these  damnable 
squaws,  of  whom  you  say  so  many  interesting  things,  at  a 
little  distance  till  I  have  got  the  blood  of  this  arm  in  mo- 
tion and  am  ready  to  receive  them." 

The  trapper  made  a  sign  that  he  perfectly  understood 
the  case  ;  and  he  walked  toward  the  superannuated  sav- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  343 

•jge,  who  began  to  manifest  an  intention  of  commencing 
his  assigned  task,  leaving  the  bee-hunter  to  recover  the 
use  of  his  limbs  as  well  as  he  could,  and  to  put  Middleton 
in  a  similar  situation  to  defend  himself. 

Mahtoree  had  not  mistaken  his  man  in  selecting  the  one 
he  did  to  execute  his  bloody  purpose.  He  had  chosen  one 
of  those  ruthless  savages,  more  or  less  of  whom  are  to  be 
found  in  every  tribe,  who  had  purchased  a  certain  share 
of  military  reputation,  by  the  exhibition  of  hardihood  that 
found  its  impulses  in  an  innate  love  of  cruelty.  Contrary 
to  the  high  and  chivalrous  sentiment  which  among  the 
Indians  of  the  prairies  renders  it  a  deed  of  even  greater 
merit  to  bear  off  the  trophy  of  victory  from  a  fallen  foe 
than  to  slay  him,  he  had  been  remarkable  for  preferring 
the  pleasure  of  destroying  life  to  the  glory  of  striking  the 
dead.  While  the  more  self-devoted  and  ambitious  braves 
were  intent  on  personal  honor,  he  had  always  been  seen, 
established  behind  some  favorable  cover,  depriving  the 
wounded  of  hope,  by  finishing  that  which  a  more  gallant 
warrior  had  begun.  In  all  the  cruelties  of  the  tribe  he 
had  ever  been  foremost  :  and  no  Sioux  was  so  uniformly 
found  on  the  side  of  merciless  counsels. 

He  h?d  awaited  with  an  impatience  which  his  long-prac- 
tised restraint  could  with  difficulty  subdue  for  the  moment 
to  arrive  when  he  might  proceed  to  execute  the  wishes  of 
the  great  chief,  without  whose  approbation  and  powerful 
protection  he  would  not  have  dared  to  undertake  a  step 
that  had  so  many  opposers  in  the  nation.  But  events  had 
been  hastening  to  an  issue  between  the  hostile  parties  ; 
and  the  time  had  now  arrived,  greatly  to  his  secret  and 
malignant  joy,  when  he  was  free  to  act  his  will. 

The  trapper  found  him  distributing  knives  to  the  fero- 
cious hags,  who  received  the  presents,  chanting  a  low,  mo- 
notonous song,  that  recalled  the  losses  of  their  people  in 
various  conflicts  with  the  whites,  and  which  extolled  the 
pleasures  and  glory  of  revenge.  The  appearance  of  such 
a  group  was  enough  of  itself  to  have  deterred  one  less  ac- 
customed to  such  sights  than  the  old  man  from  trusting 
himself  within  the  circle  of  their  wild  and  repulsive  rites. 

Each  of  the   crones,  as  she  received  the  weapon,  com 
menced   a  slow  and   measured,  but  ungainly  step,  around 
the  savage,  until  the  whole  were  circling  him  in  a  sort  of 
magic  dance.      The  movements  were  timed  in  some  degree 
by  the  words  of  their  songs,  as  were  their  gestures  by  the 


344  THR  PRAIRIE. 

ideas.  When  they  spoke  of  their  own  losses  they  tossed 
their  long,  straight  locks  of  gray  into  the  air,  or  suffered 
them  to  fall  in  confusion  upon  their  withered  necks  ;  but, 
as  the  sweetness  of  returning  blow  for  blow  was  touched 
upon  by  any  among  them,  it  was  answered  by  a  common 
howl  as  well  as  by  gestures  that  were  sufficiently  expres- 
sive of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  exciting  themselves 
to  the  necessary  state  of  fury. 

Into  the  very  centre  of  this  ring  of  seeming  demons  the 
trapper  now  stalked,  with  the  same  calmness  and  obser- 
vation as  he  would  have  walked  into  a  village  church. 
No  other  change  was  made  by  his  appearance  than  a  re- 
newal of  the  threatening  gestures,  with,  if  possible,  a  still 
less  equivocal  display  of  their  remorseless  intentions, 
Making  a  sign  for  them  to  cease,  the  old  man  demanded  : 

"  Why  do  the  mothers  of  the  Tetons  sing  with  bitter 
tongues  ?  The  Pawnee  prisoners  are  not  yet  in  their  vil- 
lage ;  their  young  men  have  not  come  back  loaded  with 
scalps ! " 

He  was  answered  by  a  general  howl,  and  a  few  of  the 
boldest  of  the  furies  even  ventured  to  approach  him,  flour- 
ishing their  knives  within  a  dangerous  proximity  of  hi? 
own  steady  eye-balls. 

"  It  is  a  warrior  you  see,  and  no  runner  of  the  Long- 
knives,  whose  face  grows  pale  at  the  sight  of  a  tomahawk/' 
returned  the  trapper,  without  moving  a  muscle.  "  Let  the 
Sioux  women  think  ;  if  one  white-skin  dies,  a  hundred 
spring  up  where  he  falls." 

Still  the  hags  made  no  other  answer  than  by  increasing 
their  speed  in  the  circle,  and  occasionally  raising  the  threat- 
ening expressions  of  their  chant  into  louder  and  more  in- 
telligible strains.  Suddenly  one  of  the  oldest  and  the  most 
ferocious  of  them  all  broke  out  of  the  ring,  and  skirred 
away  in  the  direction  of  her  victims,  like  a  rapacious  bird 
that,  having  wheeled  on  poised  wings  for  the  time  neces- 
sary to  insure  its  object,  makes  the  final  dart  upon  its 
prey.  The  others  followed,  a  disorderly  and  screaming 
flock,  fearful  of  being  too  late  to  reap  their  portion  of  thf 
sanguinary  pleasure. 

"Mighty  medicine  of  my  people  !  "  shouted  the  old  man, 
in  the  Teton  tongue  ;  "  lift  your  voice  and  speak,  that  the 
Sioux  nation  may  hear." 

Whether  Asinus  had  acquired  so  much  knowledge  by 
his  recent  experience  as  to  know  the  value  of  his  sonorou* 


THE  PRAIRIE.  345 

properties,  or  the  strange  spectacle  of  a  dozen  hags  flit- 
ting past  him,  filling  the  air  with  such  sounds  as  were  even 
grating  to  the  ears  of  an  ass,  most  moved  his  temper,  it  is 
certain  that  the  animal  did  that  which  Obed  was  requested 
to  do,  and  probably  with  far  greater  effect  than  if  the  nat- 
uralist had  striven  with  his  mightiest  effort  to  be  heard. 
It  was  the  first  time  the  strange  beast  had  spoken,  since 
his  arrival  in  the  encampment.  Admonished  by  so  terrible 
a  warning,  the  hags  scattered  themselves  like  vultures 
frightened  from  their  prey,  still  screaming,  and  but  half 
diverted  from  their  purpose. 

In  the  mean  time  the  sudden  appearance,  and  the  im- 
minency  of  the  danger,  quickened  the  blood  in  the  veins 
of  Paul  and  Middleton,  more  than  all  their  laborious  fric- 
tions and  physical  expedients.  The  former  had  actually 
risen  to  his  feet,  and  assumed  an  attitude  which  perhaps 
threatened  more  than  the  worthy  bee-hunter  was  able  to 
perform,  and  even  the  latter  had  mounted  to  his  knees, 
and  shown  a  disposition  to  do  good  service 'for  his  life. 
The  unaccountable  release  of  the  captives  from  their  bonds 
was  attributed  by  the  hags  to  the  incantations  of  the  medi- 
cine ;  and  the  mistake  was  probably  of  as  much  service  as 
the  miraculous  and  timely  interposition  of  Asinus  in  their 
favor. 

"  Now  is  the  time  to  come  out  of  our  ambushment," 
exclaimed  the  old  man,  hastening  to  join  his  friends,  "  and 
to  make  open  and  manful  war.  It  would  have  been  policy 
to  have  kept  back  the  struggle  until  the  captain  was  in 
better  condition  to  join,  but  as  we  have  unmasked  our  bat- 
tery, why,  we  must  maintain  the  ground " 

He  was  interrupted  by  feeling  a  gigantic  hand  on  his 
shoulder.  Turning,  under  a  sort  of  confused  impression 
that  necromancy  was  actually  abroad  in  the  place,  he  found 
that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  a  sorcerer  no  less  dangerous 
and  powerful  than  Ishmael  Bush.  The  file  of  the  squatter's 
well-armed  sons,  that  was  seen  issuing  from  behind  the 
still  standing  tent  of  Mahtoree,  explained  at  once  not  only 
the  manner  in  which  their  rear  had  been  turned,  while  their 
attention  had  been  so  earnestly  bestowed  on  matters  in 
front,  but  the  utter  impossibility  of  resistance. 

Neither  Ishmael  nor  his  sons  deemed  it  necessary  to 
enter  into  prolix  explanations.  Middleton  and  Paul  were 
bound  again,  with  extraordinary  silence  and  despatch,  and 
this  time  not  even  the  aged  trapper  was  exempt  from  a 


346  THE  PRAIRIE. 

similar  fortune.  The  tent  was  struck,  the  females  placed 
upon  the  horses,  and  the  whole  were  on  the  way  toward 
the  squatter's  encampment  with  a  celerity  that  might  well 
have  served  to  keep  alive  the  idea  of  magic. 

During  this  summary  and  brief  disposition  of  things, 
the  disappointed  agent  of  Mahtoree  and  his  callous  asso- 
ciates were  seen  flying  across  the  plain,  in  the  direction  of 
the  retiring  families  ;  and,  when  Ishmael  left  the  spot  with 
his  prisoners  and  his  booty,  the  ground  which  had  so 
lately  been  alive  with  the  bustle  and  life  of  an  extensive 
Indian  encampment  was  as  still  and  empty  as  any  other 
spot  in  those  extensive  wastes. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"Is  this  proceeding  just  and  honorable?  " — SHAKESPEARE. 

DURING  the  occurrence  of  these  events  on  the  upland 
plain,  the  warriors  on  the  bottom  had  not  been  idle.  We 
left  the  adverse  bands  watching  one  another  on  the  oppo- 
site banks  of  the  stream,  each  endeavoring  to  excite  its 
enemy  to  some  act  of  indiscretion,  by  the  most  reproach- 
ful taunts  and  revilings.  But  the  Pawnee  chief  was  not 
slow  to  discover  that  his  crafty  antagonist  had  no  objection 
to  waste  the  time  so  idly,  and,  as  they  mutually  proved,  in 
expedients  that  were  so  entirely  useless.  He  changed  his 
plans,  accordingly,  and  withdrew  from  the  bank,  as  has 
been  already  explained  through  the  mouth  of  the  trapper, 
in  order  to  invite  the  more  numerous  host  of  the  Sioux  to 
cross.  The  challenge  was  not  accepted,  and  the  Loups 
were  compelled  to  frame  some  other  method  to  attain 
their  end. 

Instead  of  any  longer  throwing  away  the  precious  mo- 
ments in  fruitless  endeavors  to  induce  his  foe  to  cross  the 
stream,  the  young  partisan  of  the  Pawnees  led  his  troops, 
at  a  swift  gallop,  along  its  margin,  in  quest  of  some  favor- 
able spot  where  by  a  sudden  push  he  might  throw  his  own 
band,  without  loss,  to  the  opposite  shore.  The  instant  his 
object  was  discovered,  each  mounted  Teton  received  a  foot- 
man behind  him,  and  Mahtoree  was  still  enabled  to  con- 
centrate his  whole  force  against  the  effort.  Perceiving 
that  his  design  was  anticipated,  and  unwilling  to  blow  his 


THE  PRAIRIE.  347 

horses  by  a  race  that  would  disqualify  them  for  service, 
even  after  they  had  succeeded  in  outstripping  the  more 
heavily  burdened  cattle  of  the  Sioux,  Hard-Heart  drew  up, 
and  came  to  a  dead  halt  on  the  very  margin  of  the  water' 
course. 

As  the  country  was  too  open  for  any  of  the  usual  de* 
vices  of  savage  warfare,  and  time  was  so  pressing,  the 
chivalrous  Pawnee  resolved  to  bring  on  the  result  by  one 
of  those  acts  of  personal  daring  for  which  the  Indian 
braves  are  so  remarkable,  and  by  which  they  often  pup 
chase  their  highest  and  dearest  renown.  The  spot  he  had 
selected  was  favorable  to  such  a  project.  The  river,  which 
throughout  most  of  its  course  was  deep  and  rapid,  had  ex- 
panded there  to  more  than  twice  its  customary  width,  and 
the  rippling  of  its  waters  proved  that  it  flowed  over  a 
shallow  bottom.  In  the  centre  of  the  current  there  was  an 
extensive  and  naked  bed  of  sand,  but  a  little  raised  above 
the  level  of  the  stream,  and  of  a  color  and  consistency 
which  warranted,  to  a  practised  eye,  that  it  aiforded  a  firm 
and  safe  foundation  for  the  foot.  To  this  spot  the  partisan 
now  turned  his  wistful  gaze,  nor  wTas  he  long  in  making 
his  decision.  First  speaking  to  his  warriors  and  apprising 
them  of  his  intentions,  he  dashed  into  the  current,  and 
partly  by  swimming,  and  more  by  the  use  of  his  horse's 
feet,  he  reached  the  island  in  safety. 

The  experience  of  Hard-Heart  had  not  deceived  him. 
When  his  snorting  steed  issued  from  the  water,  he  found 
himself  on  a  tremendous  but  damp  and  compact  bed  of 
sand,  that  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  exhibition  of  the 
finest  powers  of  the  animal.  The  horse  seemed  conscious 
of  the  advantage,  and  bore  his  warlike  rider  with  an  elas- 
ticity of  step  and  a  loftiness  of  air  that  would  have  done  no 
discredit  to  the  highest-trained  and  most  generous  charger. 
The  blood  of  the  chief  himself  quickened  with  the  excite- 
ment of  his  situation.  He  sat  the  beast  as  if  conscious 
that  the  eyes  of  two  tribes  were  on  his  movements  ;  and  as 
nothing  could  be  more  acceptable  and  grateful  to  his  own 
band  than  this  display  of  native  grace  and  courage,  so 
nothing  could  be  more  taunting  and  humiliating  to  their 
enemies. 

The  sudden  appearance  of  the  Pawnee  on  the  sands  was 
announced  among  the  Tetons  by  a  general  yell  of  savage 
anger.  A  rush  was  made  to  the  shore,  followed  by  a  dis- 
charge of  fifty  arrows  and  a  few  fusees,  and,  on  the  part 


348  THE  PRAIRIE. 

of  several  braves  there  was  a  plain  manifestation  of  a  de* 
sire  to  plunge  into  the  water  in  order  to  punish  the  temerity 
of  their  insolent  foe.  But  a  call  and  a  mandate  from  Mah- 
toree  checked  the  rising  and  nearly  ungovernable  temper 
of  his  band.  So  far  from  allowing  a  single  foot  to  be  wet, 
or  a  repetition  of  the  fruitless  efforts  of  his  people  to  drive 
away  their  foe  with  missiles,  the  whole  of  the  party  was 
commanded  to  retire  from  the  shore,  while  he  himself  com- 
municated his  intentidns  to  one  or  two  of  his  most  favored 
followers. 

When  the  Pawnees  observed  the  rush  of  their  enemies, 
twenty  warriors  rode  into  the  stream  ;  but  so  soon  as  they 
perceived  that  the  Tetons  had  withdrawn,  they  fell  back 
to  a  man,  leaving  the  young  chief  to  the  support  of  his 
own  often-tried  skill  and  well-established  courage.  The 
instructions  of  Hard-Heart  on  quitting  his  band  had  been 
worthy  of  the  self-devotion  and  daring  of  his  character. 
So  long  as  single  warriors  came  against  him  he  was  to  be 
left  to  the  keeping  of  the  Wahcondah  and  his  own  arm  ;  but, 
should  the  Sioux  attack  him  in  numbers,  he  was  to  be  sus- 
tained man  for  man,  even  to  the  extent  of  his  whole  force. 
These  generous  orders  were  strictly  obeyed  ;  and,  though 
so  many  hearts  in  the  troop  panted  to  share  in  the  glory 
and  danger  of  their  partisan,  not  a  warrior  was  found 
among  them  all  who  did  not  know  how  to  conceal  his  im- 
patience under  the  usual  mask  of  Indian  self-restraint. 
They  watched  the  issue  with  quick  and  jealous  eyes,  nor 
did  a  single  exclamation  of  surprise  escape  them  when 
they  saw,  as  will  soon  be  apparent,  that  the  experiment  of 
their  chief  was  as  likely  to  conduce  to  peace  as  to  war. 

Mahtoree  was  not  long  in  communicating  his  plans  to 
his  confidants,  whom  he  as  quickly  dismissed  to  join  their 
fellows  in  the  rear.  The  Teton  entered  a  short  distance 
into  the  stream  and  halted.  Here  he  raised  his  hands  sev- 
eral times,  with  the  palms  outward,  and  made  several  of 
those  other  signs  which  are  construed  into  a  pledge  of 
amicable  intentions  among  the  inhabitants  of  those  regions. 
Then,  as  if  to  confirm  the  sincerity  of  his  faith,  he  cast  his 
fusee  to  the  shore  and  waded  deeper  into  the  water,  where 
he  again  came  to  a  stand  in  order  to  see  in  what  manner 
the  Pawnee  would  receive  his  pledge  of  peace. 

The  crafty  Sioux  had  not  made  his  calculations  on  the 
noble  and  honest  nature  of  his  more  youthful  rival  in  vain, 
Hard-Heart  had  continued  galloping'  across  the  sands  dur- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  349 

ing  the  discharge  of  missiles  and  the  appearance  of  gen- 
eral onset,  with  the  same  proud  and  confident  mien  as  that 
with  which  he  had  first  braved  the  danger.  When  he  saw 
the  well-known  person  of  the  Teton  partisan  enter  the 
river,  he  waved  his  hand  in  triumph,  and  flourishing  his 
lance  he  raised  the  thrilling  war-cry  of  his  people  as  a  chal- 
lenge for  him  to  come  on.  But  when  he  saw  the  signs  of 
a  truce,  though  deeply  practised  in  the  treachery  of  savage 
combat,  he  disdained  to  show  a  less  manly  reliance  on  him- 
self than  that  which  his  enemy  had  seen  fit  to  exhibit. 
Riding  to  the  farthest  extremity  of  the  sands  he  cast  his 
own  fusee  from  him,  and  returned  to  the  point  whence  he 
had  started. 

The  two  chiefs  were  now  armed  alike.  Each  had  his 
spear,  his  bow,  his  quiver,  his  little  battle-axe,  and  his 
knife  ;  and  each  had  also  a  shield  of  hides,  which  might 
even  serve  as  a  means  of  defence  against  a  surprise  from 
any  of  these  weapons.  The  Sioux  no  longer  hesitated,  but 
advanced  deeper  into  the  stream,  and  soon  landed  on  a 
point  of  the  island  which  his  courteous  adversary  had  left 
free  for  that  purpose.  Had  one  been  there  to  watch  the 
countenance  of  Mahtoree  as  he  crossed  the  water  that  sep- 
arated him  from  the  most  formidable  and  the  most  hated 
of  all  his  rivals,  he  might  have  fancied  that  he  could  trace 
the  gleamings  of  a  secret  joy  breaking  through  the  cloud 
which  deep  cunning  and  heartless  treachery  had  drawn 
before  his  swarthy  visage  ;  and  yet  there  would  have  been 
moments  when  he  might  have  believed  that  the  flashings 
of  the  Teton's  eye  and  the  expansion  of  his  nostrils  had 
their  origin  in  a  nobler  sentiment  and  one  more  worthy  of 
an  Indian  chief. 

The  Pawnee  awaited  the  time  of  his  enemy  with  calm- 
ness and  dignity.  The  Teton  made  a  short  turn  or  two  to 
curb  the  impatience  of  his  steed  and  to  recover  his  seat 
after  the  effort  of  crossing,  and  then  he  rode  into  the  cen- 
tre of  the  place  and  invited  the  other,  by  a  courteous  ges- 
ture, to  approach.  Hard-Heart  drew  nigh  until  he  found 
himself  at  a  distance  equally  suited  to  advance  or  to  retreat, 
and,  in  his  turn,  he  came  to  a  stand,  keeping  his  glowing 
eye  riveted  on  that  of  his  enemy.  A  long  aryj}  grave  pause 
succeeded  this  movement,  during  which  these  two  distin- 
guished braves,  who  were  now  for  the  first  time  confronted 
with  arms  in  their  hands,  sat  regarding  each  other  like 
warriors  who  knew  how  to  value  the  merits  of  a  gallant 


350  THE  PRAIRIE. 

foe,  however  hated.  But  the  mien  of  Mahtoree  was  far  less 
stern  and  warlike  than  that  of  the  partisan  of  the  Loups. 
Throwing  his  shield  over  his  shoulder,  as  if  to  invite  the 
confidence  of  the  other,  he  made  a  gesture  of  salutation, 
and  was  the  first  to  speak. 

c<  Let  the  Pawnees  go  upon  the  hills,"  he  said,"  and  look 
from  the  morning  to  the  evening  sun,  from  the  country  of 
snows  to  the  land  of  many  flowers,  and  they  will  see  that 
the  earth  is  very  large.  Why  cannot  the  red-men  find 
room  on  it  for  all  their  villages  ?" 

"  Has  the  Teton  ever  known  a  warrior  of  the  Loups 
come  to  his  towns  to  beg  a  place  for  his  lodge  ?"  returned 
the  young  brave,  with  a  look  in  which  pride  and  contempt 
were  not  attempted  to  be  concealed  ;  "  when  the  Pawnees 
hunt  do  they  send  runners  to  ask  Mahtoree  if  there  are 
no  Sioux  on  the  prairies  ?" 

"  When  there  is  hunger  in  the  lodge  of  a  warrior,  he 
looks  for  the  buffalo,  which  is  given  him  for  food,"  the 
Teton  continued,  struggling  to  keep  down  the  ire  excited 
by  the  other's  scorn.  "  The  Wahcondah  has  made  more  of 
them  than  he  has  made  Indians.  He  has  not  said,  '  This 
buffalo  shall  be  for  a  Pawnee,  and  that  for  a  Dahcotah  ; 
this  beaver  for  a  Konza,  and  that  for  an  Omahaw.'  No  ; 
he  said,  *  There  are  enough.  I  love  my  red  children,  and 
I  have  given  them  great  riches.  The  swiftest  horse  shall 
not  go  from  the  villages  of  the  Tetons  to  the  villages  of  the 
Loups  in  many  suns.  It  is  far  from  the  rowns  of  the  Paw- 
nees to  the  river  of  the  Osages.  There  is  room  for  all  that 
I  love.  Why,  then,  should  a  red-man  strike  his  brother  ?'  " 

Hard-Heart  dropped  one  end  of  his  lance  to  the  earth, 
and,  having  also  cast  his  shield  across  his  shoulder,  he  sat 
leaning  lightly  on  the  weapon,  as  he  answered  with  a  smile 
of  no  doubtful  expression  : 

"  Are  the  Tetons  weary  of  the  hunts  and  of  the  war-path  ? 
Do  they  wish  to  cook  the  venison,  and  not  to  kill  it  ?  Do 
they  intend  to  let  the  hair  cover  their  heads,  that  their 
enemies  shall  not  know  where  to  find  their  scalps  ?  Go  ; 
a  Pawnee  warrior  will  never  come  among  Sioux  squaws 
for  a  wife  !  " 

A  frightful  gleam  of  ferocity  broke  out  of  the  restraint 
of  the  Dahcotah's  countenance,  as  he  listened  to  this  biting 
insult ;  but  he  was  quick  in  subduing  the  tell-tale  feeling, 
in  an  expression  much  better  suited  to  his  present  purpose. 

"This  is  the  way  a  young  chief  should  talk  of  war," -ha 


THE  PRA1RI&.  351 

answered,  with  singular  composure;  "but  Mahtoree  has 
seen  the  misery  of  more  winters  than  his  brother.  When 
the  nights  have  been  long,  and  darkness  has  been  in  his 
lodge,  while  the  young  men  slept,  he  has  thought  of  the 
hardships  of  his  people.  He  has  said  to  himself,  'Teton, 
count  the  scalps  in  your  smoke.  They  are  all  red  but  two  ! 
Does  the  wolf  destroy  the  wolf,  or  the  rattler  strike  his 
brother  ?  You  know  they  do  not ;  therefore,  Teton,  are 
you  wrong  to  go  on  a  path  that  leads  to  the  village  of  a 
red-skin,  with  a  tomahawk  in  your  hand.' " 

"  The  Sioux  would  rob  the  warrior  of  his  fame  !  He 
would  say  to  his  young  men,  '  Go,  dig  roots  in  the  prairies, 
and  find  holes  to  bury  your  tomahawks  in  ;  you  are  no 
longer  braves  ! ' ' 

"  If  the  tongue  of  Mahtoree  ever  says  thus,"  returned 
the  crafty  chief,  with  an  appearance  of  strong  indignation, 
"let  his  women  cut  it  out,  and  burn  it  with  the  offals  of 
the  buffalo.  No,"  he  added,  advancing  a  few  feet  nigher 
to  the  immovable  Hard-Heart,  as  if  in  the  sincerity  of  con- 
fidence ;  "the  red-man  can  never  want  an  enemy:  they 
are  plentier  than  the  leaves  on  the  trees,  the  birds  in  the  - 
heavens,  or  the  buffaloes  on  the  prairies.  Let  my  brother 
open  his  eyes  wide  :  does  he  nowhere  see  an  enemy  he 
would  strike  ? " 

"  How  long  is  it  since  the  Teton  counted  the  scalps  of 
his  warriors,  that  were  drying  in  the  smoke  of  a  Pawnee 
lodge  ?  the  hand  that  took  them  is  here,  and  ready  to  make 
eighteen,  twenty." 

"  Now,  let  not  the  mind  of  my  brother  go  on  a  crooked 
path.  If  a  red-skin  strikes  a  red-skin  forever,  who  will  be 
masters  of  the  prairies,  when  no  warriors  are  left  to  say, 
'  They  are  mine  ? '  Hear  the  voices  of  the  old  men.  They 
tell  us  that  in  their  days  many  Indians  have  come  out  of 
the  woods  under  the  rising  sun,  and  they  have  filled  the 
prairies  with  their  complaints  of  the  robberies  of  the  Long- 
knives.  Where  a  pale-face  comes,  a  red-man  cannot  stay. 
The  land  is  too  small.  They  are  always  hungry.  See, 
here  they  are  already  !  " 

As  the  Teton  spoke,  he  pointed  toward  the  tents  of  Isl> 
mael,  which  were  in  plain  sight,  and  then  he  paused,  to 
await  the  effect  of  his  words  on  the  mind  of  his  ingenuous 
foe.  Hard-Heart  listened  like  one  in  whom  a  train  of  novel 
ideas  had  been  excited  by  the  reasoning  of  the  other.  He 
mused  for  a  minute  before  he  demanded  ; 


352 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


"What  docs  the  wise  chief  of  the  Sioux  say  must  be 
done?" 

"  They  think  that  the  moccasin  of  every  pale-face  should 
be  followed,  like  the  track  of  a  bear.  That  the  Long- 
knife,  who  comes  upon  the  prairie,  should  never  go  back. 
That  the  path  shall  be  open  to  those  who  come,  and  shut 
to  those  who  go.  Yonder  are  many.  They  have"  horses 
and  guns.  They  are  rich,  but  we  are  poor.  Will  the  Paw- 
nees meet  the  Tetons  in  council?  and  when  the  sun  is 
gone  behind  the  Rocky  Mountains,  they  will  say,  'This  is 
for  a  Loup  and  this  for  a  Sioux.' " 

"  Teton — no  !  Hard-Heart  has  never  struck  the  stranger. 
They  come  into  his  lodge  and  eat,  and  they  go  out  in  safety. 
A  mighty  chief  is  their  friend  !  When  my  people  call  the 
young  men  to  go  on  the  war-path,  the  moccasin  of  Hard- 
Heart  is  the  last.  But  his  village  is  no  sooner  hid  by  the 
trees,  than  it  is  the  first.  No,  Teton  ;  his  arm  will  never 
be  lifted  against  the  stranger.  " 

"  Fool ;  die,  with  empty  hands  !  "  Mahtoree  exclaimed, 
setting  an  arrow  to  his  bow,  and  sending  it,  with  a  sudden 
and  deadly  aim,  full  at  the  naked  bosom  of  his  generous 
and  confiding  enemy. 

The  action  of  the  treacherous  Teton  was  too  quick  and 
too  well-matured  to  admit  of  any  of  the  ordinary  means  of 
defence  on  the  part  of  the  Pawnee.  His  shield  was  hang- 
ing at  his  shoulder,  and  even  the  arrow  had  been  suffered  to 
fall  from  its  place,  and  lay  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand  which 
grasped  the  bow.  But  the  quick  eye  of  the  brave  had  time 
to  see  the  movement,  and  his  ready  thoughts  did  not  desert 
him.  Pulling  hard  and  with  a  jerk  upon  the  rein,  his  steed 
reared  his  forward  legs  into  the  air,  and,  as  the  rider  bent 
his  body  low,  the  horse  served  for  a  shield  against  the  dan- 
ger. So  true,  however,  was  the  aim,  and  so  powerful  the 
force  by  which  it  was  sent,  that  the  arrow  entered  the  neck 
of  the  animal,  and  broke  the  skin  on  the  opposite  side. 

Quicker  than  thought  Hard-Heart  sent  back  an  answer- 
ing arrow.  The  shield  of  the  Teton  was  transfixed,  but 
his  person  was  untouched.  For  a  few  moments  the  twang 
of  the  bow  and  the  glancing  of  arrows  were  incessant,  not- 
withstanding the  combatants  were  compelled  to  give  so 
large  a  portion  of  their  care  to  the  means  of  defence.  The 
quivers  were  soon  exhausted  ;  and,  though  blood  had 
been  drawn,  it  was  not  in  sufficient  quantities  to  impair 
the  energy  of  the  combat. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  353 

A  series  of  masterly  and  rapid  evolutions  with  the  horses 
now  commenced.  The  wheelings,  the  charges,  the  ad- 
vances, and  the  circuitous  retreats,  were  like  the  flights  of 
circling  swallows.  Blows  were  struck  with  the  lance,  the 
sand  was  scattered  in  the  air,  and  the  shocks  often  seemed 
to  bo  unavoidably  fatal  ;  but  still  each  party  kept  his  seat, 
and  still  each  rein  was  managed  with  a  steady  hand.  At 
length  the  Teton  was  driven  to  the  necessity  of  throwing 
himself  from  his  horse,  to  escape  a  thrust  that  would  other- 
wise have  proved  fatal.  The  Pawnee  passed  his  lance 
through  the  beast,  uttering  a  shout  of  triumph  as  he 
galloped  by.  Turning  in  his  tracks,  he  was  about  to  push 
the  advantage,  when  his  own  mettled  steed  staggered  and 
fell,  under  a  burden  that  he  could  no  longer  sustain. 
Mahtoree  answered  his  premature  cry  of  victory,  and 
rushed  upon  the  entangled  youth  with  knife  and  toma- 
hawk. The  utmost  agility  of  Hard-Heart  had  not  sufficed 
to  extricate  himself  in  season  from  the  fallen  beast.  He 
saw  that  his  case  was  desperate.  Feeling  for  his  knife,  he 
took  the  blade  between  a  finger  and  thumb,  and  cast  it 
with  admirable  coolness  at  his  advancing  foe.  The  keen 
weapon  whirled  a  few  times  in  the  air,  and  its  point  meet- 
ing the  naked  breast  of  the  impetuous  Sioux,  the  blade 
was  buried  to  the  buckhorn  haft. 

Mahtoree  laid  his  hand  on  the  weapon,  and  seemed  to 
hesitate  whether  to  withdraw  it  or  not.  For  a  moment 
his  countenance  darkened  with  the  most  inextinguishable 
hatred  and  ferocity,  and  then,  as  if  inwardly  admonished 
how  little  time  he  had  to  lose,  he  staggered  to  the  edge  of 
the  sands,  and  halted  with  his  feet  in  the  water.  The 
cunning  and  duplicity  which  had  so  long  obscured  the 
brighter  and  nobler  traits  of  his  character  were  lost  in  the 
never-dying  sentiment  of  pride,  which  he  had  imbibed  in 
youth. 

"  Boy  of  the  Loups  !  "  he  said  with  a  smile  of  grim  satis- 
faction, "  the  scalp  of  a  mighty  Dahcotah  shall  never  dry 
in  Pawnee  smoke  ! " 

Drawing  the  knife  from  the  wound,  he  hurled  it  toward 
the  enemy  in  disdain.  Then  shaking  his  arm  at  his  suc- 
cessful foe,  his  swarthy  countenance  appearing  to  struggle 
with  volumes  of  scorn  and  hatred,  that  he  could  not  utter 
with  the  tongue,  he  cast  himself  headlong  into  one  of  the 
most  rapid  veins  of  the  current,  his  hand  still  waving  in 
triumph  above  the  fluid,  even  after  his  body  had  sunk 

23 


354 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


into  the  tide  forever.  Hard-Heart  was  by  this  time  free. 
The  silence,  which  had  hitherto  reigned  in  the  bands,  was 
suddenly  broken  by  general  and  tumultuous  shouts.  Fifty 
of  the  adverse  warriors  were  already  in  the  river,  hasten- 
ing to  destroy  or  to  defend  the  conqueror,  and  the  combat 
\vas  rather  on  the  eve  of  its  commencement  than  near  its 
termination.  But  to  all  these  signs  of  danger  and  need, 
the  young  victor  was  insensible.  He  sprang  for  the-  knife 
and  bounded  with  the  foot  of  an  antelope  along  the  sands, 
looking  for  the  receding  fluid  which  concealed  his  prize. 
A  dark,  bloody  spot  indicated  the  place,  and,  armed  wi£h 
the  knife,  he  plunged  into  the  stream,  resolute  to  die  in 
the  flood,  or  to  return  with  his  trophy. 

In  the  meantime  the  sands  became  a  scene  of  bloodshed 
and  violence.  Better  mounted  and  perhaps  more  ardent, 
the  Pawnees  had,  however,  reached  the  spot  in  sufficient 
numbers  to  force  their  enemies  to  retire.  The  victors 
pushed  their  success  to  the  opposite  shore,  and  gained  the 
solid  ground  in  the  mcU'e  of  the  fight.  Here  they  were 
met  by  all  the  unmounted  Tetons,  and  in  their  turn,  they 
were  forced  to  give  way. 

The  combat  now  became  more  characteristic  and  cir- 
cumspect. As  the  hot  impulses  which  had  driven  both 
parties  to  mingle  in  so  deadly  a  struggle  began  to  cool, 
the  chiefs  were  enabled  to  exercise  their  influence  and  to 
temper  the  assaults  with  prudence.  In  consequence  of 
the  admonitions  of  their  leaders,  the  Sioux  sought  such 
covers  as  the  grass  afforded,  or  here  and  there  some  bush 
or  slight  inequality  of  the  ground,  and  the  charges  of  the 
Pawnee  warriors  necessarily  became  more  wary,  and  of 
course  less  fatal. 

In  this  manner  the  contest  continued  with  a  varied  suc- 
cess, and  without  much  loss.  The  Sioux  had  succeeded 
in  forcing  themselves  into  a  thick  growth  of  rank  grass, 
where  the  horses  of  their  enemies  could  not  enter,  or 
where,  when  entered,  they  were  worse  than  useless.  It 
became  necessary  to  dislodge  the  Tetons  from  this  cover, 
or  the  object  of  the  combat  must  be  abandoned.  Several 
desperate  efforts  had  been  repulsed,  and  the  disheartened 
Pawnees  were  beginning  to  think  of  retreat,  when  the  well- 
known  war-cry  of  Hard-Heart  was  heard  at  hand,  and  at 
the  next  instant  the  chief  appeared  in  their  centre,  flour- 
ishing the  scalp  of  the  great  Sioux,  as  a  banner  that  would 
lead  to  victory. 


THE  PRA1R2E.  355 

He  was  greeted  by  a  shout  of  delight,  and  followed  into 
the  cover  with  an  impetuosity  that,  for  the  moment,  drove 
all  before  it.  But  the  bloody  trophy  in  the  hand  of  the 
partisan  served  as  an  incentive  to  the  attacked,  as  well  as 
to  the  assailants.  Mahtoree  had  left  many  a  daring  brave 
behind  him  in  his  band,  and  the  orator  who  in  the  debates 
of  that  day  had  manifested  such  pacific  thoughts,  now  ex- 
hibited the  most  generous  self-devotion,  in  order  to  wrest 
the  memorial  of  a  man  he  had  never  loved  from  the  hands 
of  the  avowed  enemies  of  his  people. 

The  result  was  in  favor  of  numbers.  After  a  severe 
struggle,  in  which  the  finest  displays  of  personal  intrepid- 
ity were  exhibited  by  all  the  chiefs,  the  Pawnees  were 
compelled  to  retire  upon  the  open  bottom,  closely  pressed 
by  the  Sioux,  who  failed  not  to  seize  each  foot  of  ground 
ceded  by  their  enemies.  Had  the  Tetbns  stayed  their 
efforts  on  the  margin  of  the  grass,  it  is  probable  that  the 
honor  of  the  day  would  have  been  theirs,  notwithstanding 
the  irretrievable  loss  they  had  sustained  in  the  death  of 
Mahtoree.  But  the  more  reckless  braves  of  the  band  were 
guilty  of  an  indiscretion  that  entirely  changed  the  fortunes 
of  the  fight,  and  suddenly  stripped  them  of  their  hard- 
earned  advantages. 

A  Pawnee  chief  had  sunk  under  the  numerous  wounds 
he  had  received,  and  he  fell,  a  target  for  a  dozen  arrows, 
in  the  very  last  group  of  his  retiring  party.  Regardless 
alike  of  inflicting  further  injury  on  their  foes,  and  of  the 
temerity  of  the  act,  the  Sioux  braves  bounded  forward 
with  a  whoop,  each  man  burning  with  the  wish  to  reap  thje 
high  renown  of  striking  the  body  of  the  dead.  They 
were  met  by  Hard-Heart  and  a  chosen  knot  of  warriors, 
all  of  whom  were  just  as  stoutly  bent  on  saving  the  honor 
of  their  nation  from  so  foul  a  stain.  The  struggle  was 
hand  to  hand,  and  blood  began  to  flow  more  freely.  As 
the  Pawnees  retired  with  the  body,  the  Sioux  pressed  upon 
their  footsteps,  and  at  length  the  whole  of  the  latter  broke 
out  of  the  cover  with  a  common  yell,  and  threatened  to 
bear  down  all  opposition  by  sheer  physical  superiority. 

The  fate  of  Hard-Heart  and  his  companions,  all  of  whom 
would  have  died  rather  than  relinquish  their  object,  would 
have  been  quickly  sealed  but  for  a  powerful  and  unlocked 
for  interposition  in  their  favor.  A  shout  was  heard  from 
a  little  brake  on  the  left,  and  a  volley  from  the  fatal  Wes- 
tern rifle  immediately  succeeded.  Some  five  or  six  Siouy 


3$6  THE  PRAIRIK. 

leaped  forward  in  the  death  agony,  and  every  arm  among 
them  was  as  suddenly  suspended  as  if  the  lightning  had 
flashed  from  the  clouds  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  Loups. 
Then  came  Ishmael  and  his  stout  sons  in  open  view,  bear- 
ing down  upon  their  late  treacherous  allies,  with  looks 
and  voices  that  proclaimed  the  character  of  the  succor. 

The  shock  was  too  much  for  the  fortitude  of  the  Tetons. 
Several  of  their  bravest  chiefs  had  already  fallen,  and 
those  that  remained  were  instantly  abandoned  by  the 
tvhole  of  the  inferior  herd.  A  few  of  the  most  desper- 
ate braves  still  lingered  nigh  the  fatal  symbol  of  their 
honor,  and  there  nobly  met  their  deaths,  under  the  blows 
of  the  re-encouraged  Pawnees.  A  second  discharge  from 
the  rifles  of  the  squatter  and  his  party  completed  the  vic- 
tory. 

The  Sioux  were  now  to  be  seen  flying  to  more  distant 
covers,  with  the  same  eagerness  and  desperation  as,  a  few 
moments  before,  they  had  been  plunging  into  the  fight. 
The  triumphant  Pawnees  bounded  forward  in  chase,  like 
so  many  high-blooded  and  well-trained  hounds.  On  every 
side  were  heard  the  cries  of  victory,  or  the  yell  of  revenge. 
A  few  of  the  fugitives  endeavored  to  bear  away  the  bodies 
of  their  fallen  warriors,  but  the  hot  pursuit  quickly  com- 
pelled them  to  abandon  the  slain,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
living.  Among  all  the  struggles  which  were  made  on  that 
occasion,  to  guard  the  honor  of  the  Sioux  from  the  stain 
which  their  peculiar  opinions  attached  to  the  possession  of 
the  scalp  of  a  fallen  brave,  but  one  solitary  instance  of  sue 
cess  occurred. 

The  opposition  of  a  particular  chief  to  the  hostile  pro- 
ceedings in  the  councils  of  that  morning  has  been  already 
seen.  But  after  having  raised  his  voice  in  vain  in  support 
of  peace,  his  arm  was  not  backward  in  doing  its  duty 
in  war.  His  prowess  has  been  mentioned  ;  and  it  was 
chiefly  by  his  courage  and  example  that  the  Tetons  sus- 
tained themselves  in  the  heroic  manner  they  did,  when  the 
death  of  Mahtoree  was  known.  This  warrior,  who,  in  the 
figurative  language  of  his  people,  was  called,  "  the  Swoop- 
ing Eagle,"  had  been  the  last  to  abandon  the  hopes  of  vic- 
tory. When  he  found  that  the  support  of  the  dreaded  rifle 
had  robbed  his  band  of  the  hard-earned  advantages,  he 
sullenly  retired,  amid  a  shower  of  missiles  to  the  secret  spot 
where  he  had  hid  his  horse,  in  the  mazes  of  the  highest 
grass.  Here  he  found  a  new  and  entirely  unexpected  com« 


THE  PRAIRIE.  357 

petitor,  ready  to  dispuie  with  him  for  the  possession  of  the 
beast.  It  was  Bohrecheena,  the  aged  friend  of  Mahtoree  ; 
he  whose  voice  had  been  given  in  opposition  to  his  own 
wiser  opinions,  transfixed  with  an  arrow,  and  evidently 
suffering  under  the  pangs  of  approaching  death. 

"I  have  been  on  my  last  war-path,"  said  the  grim  old 
warrior,  when  he  found  that  the  real  owner  of  the  animal 
had  come  to  claim  his  property  ;  "shall  a  Pawnee  carry 
the  white  hairs  of  a  Sioux  into  his  village,  to  be  a  scorn  to 
his  women  and  children  ?  " 

The  other  grasped  his  hand,  answering  to  the  appeal 
with  a  stern  look  of  inflexible  resolution.  With  this  silent 
pledge,  he  assisted  the  wounded  man  to  mount.  So  soon 
as  he  had  led  the  horse  to  the  margin  of  the  cover,  he  threw 
himself  also  on  its  back,  and,  securing  his  companion  to 
his  belt,  he  issued  on  the  open  plain,  trusting  entirely  to 
the  well-known  speed  of  the  beast  for  their  mutual  safety. 
The  Pawnees  were  not  long  in  catching  a  view  of  these 
new  objects,  and  several  turned  their  steeds  to  pursue.  The 
race  continued  for  a  mile  without  a  murmur  from  the  suffer, 
cr, -though,  in  addition  to  the  agony  of  his  body,  he  had  the 
pain  of  seeing  his  enemies  approach  at  every  leap  of  their 
horses.  • 

"  Stop,"  he  said,  raising  a  feeble  arm  to  check  the  speed 
of  his  companion  ;  "the  Eagle  of  my  tribe  must  spread  his 
wings  wider.  Let  him  carry  the  white  hairs  of  an  old  war- 
rior into  the  burnt-wood  village  !  " 

Few  words  were  necessary  between  men  who  were  gov- 
erned by  the  same  feelings  of  glory,  and  who  were  so  well 
trained  in  the  principles  of  their  romantic  honor.  The 
Swooping  Eagle  threw  himself  from  the  back  of  the  horse, 
and  assisted  the  other  to  alight.  The  old  man  raised  his 
tottering  frame  to  its  knees,  and  first  casting  a  glance  up- 
ward at  the  countenance  of  his  countryman,  as  if  to  bid 
him  adieu,  he  stretched  out  his  neck  to  the  blow  he  him- 
self invited.  A  few  strokes  of  the  tomahawk,  with  a  cir- 
cling gash  of  the  knife,  sufficed  to  sever  the  head  from  the 
less-valued  trunk.  The  Teton  mounted  again,  just  in  sea- 
son to  escape  a  flight  of  arrows  which  came  from  his  eager 
and  disappointed  pursuers.  Flourishing  the  grim  and 
bloody  visage,  he  darted  away  from  the  spot  with  a  shout 
of  triumph,  and  was  seen  scouring  the  plains,  as  if  he  were 
actually  borne  along  on  the  wings  of  the  powerful  bird  from 
whose  qualities  he  had  received  his  flattering  name.  The 


358  THE  PRAIR/E 

Swooping  Eagle  reached  his  village  in  safety.  He  was  one 
of  the  few  Sioux  who  escaped  from  the  massacre  of  that 
fatal  day  ;  and  for  a  long  time  he  alone  of  the  saved  was 
able  to  lift  his  voice  in  the  councils  of  his  nation,  with  un- 
diminished  confidence. 

The  knife  and  the  lance  cut  short  the  retreat  of  the  larger 
portion  of  the  vanquished.  Even  the  retiring  party  of  the 
women  and  children  were  scattered  bv  the  conquerors  ; 
and  the  sun  had  long  sunk  behind  the  rolling  outline  of 
the  western  horizon  before  the  fell  business  of  that  disas- 
trous defeat  was  entirely  ended. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

"  Which  is  the  merchant  here,  and  which  the  Jew?" — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  day  dawned,  the  following  morning,  on  a  more 
tranquil  scene.  The  work  of  blood  had  entirely  ceased  ; 
and,  as  the  sun  arose,  its  light  was  shed  on  a  broad  ex- 
panse of  quiet  and  solitude.  The  tents  of  Ishmael  were 
still  standing  where  they  had  been  last  seen,  but  not  an- 
other vestige  of  human  existence  could  be  traced  in  any 
other  part  of  the  waste.  Here  and  there  little  flocks  of 
ravenous  birds  were  sailing  and  screaming  above  those 
spots  where  some  heavy-footed  Teton  had  met  his  death, 
but  every  other  sign  of  the  recent  combat  had  passed  away. 
The  river  was  to  be  traced  far  through  the  endless  mead- 
ows by  its  serpentine  and  smoking  bed  ;  and  the  little  sil- 
very clouds  of  vapor,  which  hung  above  the  pools  and 
springs,  were  Beginning  to  melt  in  air,  as  they  felt  the 
quickening  warmth,  which,  pouring  from  the  glowing  sky, 
shed  its  bland  and  subtle  influence  on  every  object  of  the 
vast  and  unshadowed  region.  The  prairie  was  like  the 
heavens  after  the  passage  of  the  gust — soft,  calm,  and 
soothing. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a  scene  that  the  family  of  the 
squatter  assembled  to  make  their  final  decision  concerning 
the  several  individuals  who  had  been  thrown  into  their 
power  by  the  fluctuating  chances  of  the  incidents  related. 
Every  being  possessing  life  and  liberty  had  been  afoot, 
since  the  first  streak  of  gray  had  lighted  the  east  ;  and 
even  the  youngest  of  the  erratic  brood  seemed  conscious 


THE  PRAIRIE.  35,, 

that  the  moment  had  arrived  when  circumstances  were 
about  to  occur  that  might  leave  a  lasting  impression  on  the 
wild  fortunes  of  their  semi-barbarous  condition. 

Ishmael  moved  through  his  little  encampment,  with  the 
seriousness  of  one  who  had  been  unexpectedly  charged 
with  matters  of  a  gravity  exceeding  any  of  the  ordinary 
occurrences  of  his  irregular  existence.  His  sons,  however, 
who  had  so  often  found  occasions  to  prove  the  inexorable 
severity  of  their  father's  character,  saw,  in  his  sullen  rr>ien 
and  cold  eye,  rather  a  determination  to  adhere  to  his  rest, 
lutions,  which  usually  were  as 'obstinately  enforced  as  they 
were  harshly  conceived,  than  any  evidences  of  wavering  or 
doubt.  Even  Esther  was  sensibly  affected  by  the  impor- 
tant matters  that  pressed  so  heavily  on  the  interests  of  her 
family.  While  she  neglected  none  of  those  domestic  offices 
which  would  probably  have  proceeded  under  any  conceiv- 
able circumstances,  just  as  the  world  turns  round  with 
earthquakes  rending  its  crust  and  volcanoes  consuming  its 
vitals,  yet  her  voice  was  pitched  to  a  lower  and  more  fore- 
boding key  than  common,  and  the  still  frequent  chidings 
of  her  children  were  tempered  by  something  like  the 
milder  dignity  of  parental  authority. 

Abiram,  as  usual,  seemed  the  one  most  given  to  solici- 
tude and  doubt.  There  were  certain  misgivings  in  the 
frequent  glances  that  he  turned  on  the  unyielding  counte- 
nance of  Ishmael.  which  might  have  betrayed  how  little  of 
their  former  confidence  and  good  understanding  existed 
between  them.  His  looks  appeared  to  be  vacillating  be- 
tween hope  and  fear.  At  times,  his  countenance  lighted 
with  the  gleamings  of  a  sordid  joy,  as  he  bent  his  look  on 
the  tent  which  contained  his  recovered  prisoner,  and  then, 
again,  the  impression  seemed  unaccountably  chased  away 
by  the  shadows  of  intense  apprehension.  When  under  the 
influence  of  the  latter  feeling,  his  eye  never  fails  to  seek 
the  visage  of  his  dull  and  impenetrable  kinsman.  But 
there  he  rather  found  reason  for  alarm  than  grounds  of  en- 
couragement, for  the  whole  character  of  the  squatter's 
countenance  expressed  the  fearful  truth  that  he  had  re- 
deemed his  dull  faculties  from  the  influence  of  the  kid- 
napper, and  that  his  thoughts  were  now  brooding  only  on 
the  achievement  of  his  own  stubborn  intentions. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  things  that  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  in 
obedience  to  an  order  from  their  father,  conducted  the 
several  subjects  of  his  contemplated  decisions  from  theii 


36o  THE  PRAIRIE. 

places  of  confinement  into  the  open  air.  No  one  was  ex. 
empted  from  this  arrangement.  Middleton  and  Inez,  Paul 
and  Ellen,  Obed  and  the  trapper,  were  all  brought  forth 
and  placed  in  situations  that  were  deemed  suitable  to  re- 
ceive the  sentence  of  their  arbitrary  ]udge.  The  younger 
children  gathered  around  the  spot  in  momentary  but  en- 
grossing curiosity,  and  even  Esther  quitted  her  culinary 
labor  and  drew  nigh  to  listen. 

Hard-Heart  alone,  of  all  his  band,  was  present  to  wit- 
ness the  novel  and  far  from  unimposing  spectacle.  He 
stood  leaning  gravely  on  his  lance,  while  the  smoking 
steed  that  grazed  nigh  showed  that  he  had  ridden  far  and 
hard  to  be  a  spectator  on  the  occasion. 

Ishmael  had  received  his  new  ally  with  a  coldness  that 
showed  his  entire  insensibility  to  that  delicacy  which  had 
induced  the  young  chief  to  come  alone,  in  order  that  the 
presence  of  his  warriors  might  not  create  uneasiness  or 
distrust.  He  neither  courted  their  assistance  nor  dreaded 
their  enmity,  and  he  now  proceeded  to  the  business  of  the 
hour  with  as  much  composure  as  if  the  species  of  patri- 
archal power  he  wielded  was  universally  recognized. 

There  is  something  elevated  in  the  possession  of  author- 
ity, however  it  may  be  abused.  The  mind  is  apt  to  make 
some  efforts  to  prove  the  fitness  between  its  qualities  and 
the  condition  of  its  owner,  though  it  may  often  fail,  and 
render  that  ridiculous  which  was  only  hated  before.  But 
the  effect  on  Ishmael  Bush  was  not  so  disheartening.  Grave 
in  exterior,  saturnine  by  temperament,  formidable  by  his 
physical  means,  and  dangerous  from  his  lawless  obstinacy, 
his  self-constituted  tribunal  excited  a  degree  of  awe  to 
which  even  the  intelligent  Middleton  could  not  bring  him- 
self to  be  entirely  insensible.  Little  time,  however  was 
given  to  arrange  his  thoughts  ;  for  the  squatter,  though 
unaccustomed  to  haste,  having  previously  made  up  his 
mind,  was  not  disposed  to  waste  the  moments  in  delay 
When  he  saw  that  all  were  in  their  places,  he  cast  a  dull 
look  over  his  prisoners,  and  addressed  himself  to  the  cap- 
tain, as  the  principal  man  among  the  imaginary  delin- 
quents : 

"  I  am  called  upon  this  day  to  fill  the  office  which  in  the 
settlements  you  give  unto  judges,  who  are  set  apart  to  de- 
cide on  matters  that  arise  between  man  and  man.  I  have 
but  little  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  the  courts,  though  there 
Js  a  rule  that  is  known  unto  all,  and  which  teaches  that 


THE  PRAIRIE.  361 

•an  eye  must  be  returned  for  an  eye,'  and  '  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth.'  I  am  no  troubler  of  county-houses,  and  least  of 
all  do  I  like  living  on  a  plantation  that  the  sheriff  has 
surveyed  ;  yet  there  is  a  reason  in  such  a  law  that  makes 
it  a  safe  rule  to  journey  by,  and  therefore  it  ar'  a  solemn 
fact  that  this  day  shall  I  abide  by  it,  and  give  unto  all  and 
each  that  which  is  his  due  and  no  more." 

When  Ishmael  had  delivered  his  mind  thus  far,  he 
paused  and  looked  about  him  as  he  would  trace  the  effects 
in  the  countenances  of  his  hearers.  When  his  eye  met 
that  of  Middleton,  he  was  answered  by  the  latter  : 

"  If  the  evil-doer  is  to  be  punished,  and  he  that  has  of- 
fended none  to  be  left  to  go  at  large,  you  must  change 
situations  with  me,  and  become  a  prisoner  instead  of  a 
judge." 

"  You  mean  to  say  that  I  have  done  you  wrong  in  tak- 
ing the  lady  from  her  father's  house,  and  leading  her  so 
far  against  her  will  into  these  wild  districts,"  returned  the 
unmoved  squatter,  who  manifested  as  little  resentment  as 
he  betrayed  compunction  at  the  charge.  u  I  shall  not  put 
the  lie  on  the  back  of  an  evil  deed  and  deny  your  words. 
Since  things  have  come  to  this  pass  between  us  I  have 
found  time  to  think  the  matter  over  at  my  leisure,  and 
though  none  of  your  swift  thinkers,  who  can  see  or  pre- 
tend to  see  into  the  nature  of  all  things  by  a  turn  of  the 
eye,  yet  am  I  a  man  open  to  reason,  and,  give  me  my 
time,  one  who  is  not  given  to  deny  the  truth.  There- 
fore have  I  mainly  concluded  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  take 
a  child  from  its  parent,  and  the  lady  shall  be  returned 
whence  she  has  been  brought,  as  tenderly  and  as  safely  as 
man  can  do  it." 

4<Ay,  ay,"  added  Esther,  "the  man  is  right.  Poverty 
and  labor  bore  hard  upon  him,  especially  as  county  officers 
were  getting  troublesome,  and  in  a  weak  moment  he  did 
the  wicked  act ;  but  he  has  listened  to  my  words,  and  his 
mind  has  got  round  again  into  its  honest  corner.  An  awful 
and  a  dangerous  thing  it  is  to  be  bringing  the  daughters  of 
other  people  into  a  peaceable  and  well-governed  family !  " 

"  And  who  will  thank  you  for  the  same  after  what  has 
been  already  done  ?"  muttered  Abiram,  with  a  grin  of  dis- 
appointed cupidity,  in  which  malignity  and  terror  were 
disgustingly  united  ;  "  when  the  devil  has  once  made  out 
his  account,  you  may  look  for  your  receipt  in  full  only  at 
his  hands," 


362  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"  Peace  ! "  said  Ishmael,  stretching  his  heavy  hand  to- 
ward his  kinsman  in  a  manner  that  instantly  silenced  the 
speaker.  "  Your  voice  is  like  a  raven's  in  my  ears.  If 
you  had  never  spoken,  I  should  have  been  spared  this 
shame." 

"  Since,  then,  you  are  beginning  to  lose  sight  of  your 
errors  and  to  see  the  truth,"  saidMiddleton,  u  do  not  things 
by  halves,  but  by  the  generosity  of  your  conduct  purchase 
friends  who  may  be  of  use  in  warding  off  any  future  danger 
from  the  law " 

"Young  man,"  interrupted  the  squatter,  with  a  dark 
frown,  "you,  too,  have  said  enough.  If  fear  of  the  law  had 
come  over  me,  you  would  not  be  here  to  witness  the  man- 
ner in  which  Ishmael  Bush 'deals  out  justice." 

" Smother  not  your  good  intentions;  and  remember, 
if  you  contemplate  violence  to  any  among  us,  that  the  arm 
of  that  law  you  affect  to  despise  reaches  far,  and  that, 
though  its  movements  are  sometimes  slow,  they  are  not 
the  less  certain  !  " 

''Yes,  there  is  too  much  truth  in  his  words,  squatter," 
said  the  trapper,  whose  attentive  ears  rarely  suffered  a 
syllable  to  be  uttered  unheeded  in  his  presence.  "  A  busy 
and  a  troublesome  arm  it  often  proves  to  be  here  in  this 
land  of  America  ;  where,  as  they  say,  man  is  left  greatly 
to  the  following  of  his  own  wishes,  compared  to  other 
countries  ;  and  happier,  ay,  and  more  manly  and  more 
honest  too,  is  he  for  the  privilege  !  Why,  do  you  know, 
my  men,  that  there  are  regions  where  the  law  is  so  busy 
as  to  say,  *  In  this  fashion  shall  you  live,  in  that  fashion 
shall  you  die,  and  in  such  another  fashion  shall  you  take 
leave  of  the  world,  to  be  sent  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
the  Lord  ! '  A  wicked  and  a  troublesome  meddling  is  that, 
with  the  business  of  One  who  has  not  made  his  creatures 
to  be  herded  like  oxen,  and  driven  from  field  to  field  as 
their  stupid  and  selfish  keepers  may  judge  of  their  need 
and  wants.  A  miserable  land  must  that  be  where  they 
fetter  the  mind  as  well  as  the  body  and  where  the  crea- 
tures of  God,  being  born  children,  are  kept  so  by  the  wicked 
inventions  of  men  who  would  take  upon  themselves  the 
office  of  the  great  Governor  of  all !  " 

During  the  delivery  of  this  pertinent  opinion,  Ishmael 
was  content  to  be  silent,  though  the  look  with  which  he 
regarded  the  speaker  manifested  any  other  feeling  than 
that  of  amity.  When  the  old  man  had  done,  he  turned  to 


THE  PRAIRIE.  363 

Middleton,  and  continued  the  subject  which  the  other  had 
interrupted. 

"  As  to  ourselves,  young  captain,  there  has  been  wrong 
on  both  sides.  If  I  have  borne  hard  upon  your  feelings 
in  taking  away  your  wife  with  an  honest  intention  of  giv- 
ing her  back  to  you  when  the  plans  of  that  devil  incarnate 
were  answered,  so  have  you  broken  into  my  encampment, 
aiding  and  abetting,  as  they  have  called  many  an  honester 
bargain,  in  destroying  my  property." 

"  But  what  I  did  was  to  liberate " 

"  The  matter  is  settled  between  us,"  interrupted  IshmaeL, 
with  the  air  of  one  who,  having  made  up  his  own  opinion 
on  the  merits  of  the  question,  cared  very  little  for  those  of 
other  people  ;  "  you  and  your  wife  are  free  to  go  and  come 
when  and  how  you  please.  Abner,  set  the  captain  at  lib- 
erty ;  and  now,  if  you  will  tarry  until  I  am  ready  to  draw 
nigher  to  the  settlements,  you  shall  both  have  the  benefit 
of  carriage  ;  if  not,  never  say  that  you  did  not  get  a  friend- 
ly offer." 

"  Now,  may  the  strong  oppress  me,  and  my  sins  be  vis- 
ited harshly  on  my  own  head,  if  I  forget  your  honesty, 
however  slow  it  has  been  in  showing  itself  ! "  cried  Mid' 
dleton,  hastening  to  the  side  of  the  weeping  Inez  the  in- 
stant he  was  released  ;  "  and,  friend,  I  pledge  you  the 
Lonor  of  a  soldier  that  your  own  part  of  this  transaction 
shall  be  forgotten,  whatever  I  may  deem  fit  to  have  done 
when  I  reach  a  place  where  the  arm  of  government  can 
make  itself  felt." 

The  dull  smile  with  which  the  squatter  answered  to  this 
assurance  proved  how  little  he  valued  the  pledge  that  the 
youth,  in  the  first  revulsion  of  his  feelings,  was  so  free  to 
make. 

"Neither  fear  nor  favor,  but  what  I  call  justice,  has 
brought  me  to  this  judgment,"  he  said;  "do  you  that 
which  may  seem  right  in  your  eyes,  and  believe  that  the 
world  is  wide  enough  to  hold  us  both  without  our  crossing 
each  other's  path  again.  If  you  ar'  content,  well  ;  if  you 
ar'  not  content,  seek  to  ease  your  feelings  in  your  own 
fashion.  I  shall  not  ask  to  be  let  up,  when  you  once  put 
me  fairly  down.  And  now,  doctor,  have  I  come  to  your 
leaf  in  my  accounts.  It  is  time  to  foot  up  the  small 
reckoning  that  has  been  running  on  for  some  time  atwixt 
us.  With  you  I  entered  into  open  and  manly  faith ;  iu 
what  manner  have  you  kept  it  ?  " 


364  THE  PRAIRIE. 

The  singular  felicity  with  which  Ishmael  had  contrived 
to  shift  the  responsibility  of  all  that  had  passed  from  his 
own  shoulders  to  those  of  his  prisoners,  backed  as  it  was 
by  circumstances  that  hardly  admitted  of  a  very  philo- 
sophical examination  of  any  mooted  point  in  ethics,  was 
sufficiently  embarrassing  to  the  several  individuals  who 
were  so  unexpectedly  required  to  answer  for  a  conduct 
which,  in  their  simplicity,  they  had  deemed  so  meritorious. 
The  life  of  Obed  had  been  so  purely  theoretic,  that  his 
amazement  was  not  the  least  embarrassing  at  a  state  of 
things  which  might  not  have  proved  so  very  remarkable, 
had  he  been  a  little  more  practised  in  the  ways  of  the 
world.  The  worthy  naturalist  was  not  the  first,  by  many, 
who  found  himself,  at  the  precise  moment  when  he  was 
expecting  praise,  suddenly  arraigned,  to  answer  for  the 
very  conduct  on  which  he  rested  all  his  claims  to  com- 
mendation. Though  not  a  little  scandalized  at  the  unex- 
pected turn  of  the  transaction,  he  was  fain  to  make  the  best 
of  circumstances,  and  to  bring  forth  such  matter  in  justifi 
cation  as  first  presented  itself  to  his  disordered  faculties. 

"  That  there  did  exist  a  certain  compactum,  or  agree- 
ment, between  Obed  Batt,  M.D.,  and  Ishmael  Bush,  via- 
tor, or  erratic  husbandman,"  he  said,  endeavoring  to  avoid 
all  offence  in  the  use  of  terms,  "  I  am  not  disposed  to  deny. 
I  will  admit  that  it  was  therein  conditioned,  or  stipulated, 
that  a  certain  journey  should  be  performed  conjointly,  or 
in  company,  until  so  many  days  had  been  numbered.  But, 
as  the  said  time  was  fully  expired,  I  presume  it  fair  to  in- 
fer that  the  bargain  may  now  be  said  to  be  obsolete." 

"  Ishmael  !  "  interrupted  the  impatient  Esther,  "  make  no 
words  with  a  man  who  can  break  your  bones  as  easily  as 
set  them,  and  let  the  poisoning  devil  go  !  He's  a  cheat, 
from  box  to  phial.  Give  him  half  the  prairie,  and  take 
the  other  half  yourself.  He  an  acclimator  !  I  will  engage 
to  get  the  brats  acclimated  to  a  fever-and-ague  bottom  in 
a  week,  and  not  a  word  shall  be  uttered  harder  to  pro< 
nounce  than  the  bark  of  a  cherry-tree,  with  perhaps  a  drop 
or  two  of  Western  comfort.  One  thing  ar'  a  fact,  Ishmael ; 
I  like  no  fellow-travellers  who  can  give  a  heavy  feel  to  an 
honest  woman's  tongue,  I — and  that  without  caring 
whether  her  household  is  in  order  or  out  of  order." 

The  air  of  settled  gloom  which  had  taken  possession  of 
the  squatter's  countenance  lighted  ,for  an  instant  with  9 
look  of  dull  drollery,  as  he  answered  : 


THE  PRAIRIE.  36$ 

•'  Different  people  might  judge  differently,  Esther,  of  the 
virtue  of  the  man's  art.  But  sin'  it  is  your  wish  to  let  him 
Depart,  I  will  not  plough  the  prairie  to  make  the  walking 
lough.  Friend,  you  are  at  liberty  to  go  into  the  settle- 
ments, and  there  I  would  advise  you  to  tarry,  as  men  like 
me,  who  make  but  few  contracts,  do  not  relish  the  custom 
of  breaking  them  so  easily." 

"  And  now,  Ishmael,"  resumed  his  conquering  wife,  "  in 
order  to  keep  a  quiet  family  and  to  smother  all  heart-burn- 
i/igs  between  us,  show  yonder  red-skin  and  his  daughter," 
pointing  to  the  aged  La  Balafre  and  the  widowed  Tache- 
chana,  "  the  way  to  their  village,  and  let  us  say  to  them, 
'  God  bless  you,  and  farewell,'  in  the  same  breath  ! " 

"  They  are  captives  of  the  Pawnee,  according  to  the  rules 
of  Indian  warfare,  and  I  cannot  meddle  with  his  rights." 

"  Beware  the  devil,  my  man  !  He's  a  cheat  and  a  tempter 
and  none  can  say  they  ar'  safe  with  his  awful  delusions  be- 
fore their  eyes  !  Take  the  advice  of  one  who  has  the  honor 
of  your  name  at  heart,  and  send  the  tawny  Jezebel  away.' 

The  squatter  laid  his  broad  hand  on  her  shoulder,  and, 
looking  her  steadily  in  the  eye,  he  answered  in  tones  thac 
were  both  stern  and  solemn  : 

"  Woman,  we  have  that  before  us  which  calls  out 
thoughts  to  other  matters  than  the  follies  you  mean.  Re- 
member what  is  to  come,  and  put  your  silly  jealousy  to 
sleep." 

"  It  is  true,  it  is  true,"  murmured  his  wife,  moving  back 
among  her  daughters  ;  "  God  forgive  me  that  I  should  for- 
get it !  " 

"  And  now,  young  man — you  have  so  often  come  into 
my  clearing  under  the  pretence  of  lining  the  bee  into  his 
hole,"  resumed  Ishmael,  after  a  momentary  pause,  as  if  to 
recover  the  equilibrium  of  his  mind — "with  you  there  is  a 
heavier  account  to  settle.  Not  satisfied  with  rummaging 
my  camp,  you  have  stolen  a  girl  who  is  akin  to  my  wife, 
and  whom  I  had  calculated  to  make  one  day  a  daughter  of 
my  own." 

A  stronger  sensation  was  produced  by  this  than  by  any 
of  the  preceding  interrogations.  All  the  young  men  bent 
their  curious  eyes  on  Paul  and  Ellen,  the  former  of  whom 
seemed  in  no  small  mental  confusion,  while  the  latter  bent 
her  face  on  her  bosom  in  shame. 

"  Harkee,  friend  Ishmael  Bush,"  returned  the  bee-hun« 
ter.  who  found  that  he  was  expected  to  answer  to  the 


$66  THE  PRAIRIE. 

charge  of  burglary  as  well  as  to  that  of  abduction  ;  "  that 
I  did  not  give  the  most  civil  treatment  to  your  pots  and 
pails  I  am  not  going  to  gainsay.  If  you  will  name  the 
price  you  put  upon  the  articles,  it  is  possible  the  damage 
may  be  quietly  settled  between  us  and  all  hard  feelings 
forgotten.  I  was  not  in  a  church-going  humor  when  we 
got  upon  your  rock,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  there 
was.  quite  as  much  kicking  as  preaching  among  your  wares ; 
but  a  hole  in  the  best  man's  coat  can  be  mended  by  money. 
As  to  the  matter  of  Ellen  Wade,  here,  it  may  not  be  got 
over  so  easily.  Different  people  have  different  opinions 
on  the  subject  of  matrimony.  Some  think  it  is  enough  to 
say  yes  and  no  to  the  questions  of  the  magistrate  or  of  the 
parson,  if  one  happens  to  be  handy,  in  order  to  make  a 
quiet  house ;  but  I  think  that,  where  a  young  woman's 
mind  is  fairly  bent  on  going  in  a  certain  direction,  it  will 
be  quite  as  prudent  to  let  her  body  follow.  Not  that  I 
mean  to  say  Ellen  was  not  altogether  forced  to  what  she 
did,  and  therefore  she  is  just  as  innocent  in  this  matter  as 
yonder  jackass,  who  was  made  to  carry  her,  and  greatly 
against  his  will,  too,  as  I  am  ready  to  swear  he  would  say 
himself  if  he  could  speak  as  loud  as  he  can  bray." 

"Nelly,"  resumed  the  squatter,  who  paid  very  little  at- 
tention to  what  Paul  considered  a  highly  creditable  and 
ingenious  vindication,  "  Nelly,  this  is  a  wide  and  a  wicked 
world  on  which  you  have  been  in  such  a  hurry  to  cast  your- 
self. You  have  fed  and  you  have  slept  in  my  camp  for  a 
year,  and  I  did  hope  that  you  had  found  the  free  air  of  the 
borders  enough  to  your  mind  to  wish  to  remain  among 
us." 

"Let  the  girl  have  her  will,"  muttered  Esther,  from  the 
rear ;  "he  who  might  have  persuaded  her  to  stay  is  sleep- 
ing in  the  cold  and  naked  prairie,  and  little  hope  is  left  of 
changing  her  humor  ;  besides,  a  woman's  mind  is  a  wilful 
thing,  and  not  easily  turned  from  its  waywardness,  as  you 
know  yourself,  my  man,  or  I  should  not  be  here  the  mother 
of  your  sons  and  daughters." 

The  squatter  seemed  reluctant  to  abandon  his  views  on 
the  abashed  girl  so  easily  :  and,  before  he  answered  to  the 
suggestion  of  his  wife,  he  turned  his  usual  dull  look  along 
the  line  of  the  curious  countenances  of  his  boys,  as  if  to 
see  whether  there  was  not  one  among  them  fit  to  fill  the 
place  of  the  deceased.  Paul  was  not  slow  to  observe  the 
expression,  and,  hitting  nigher  than  usual  on  the  secrel 


THE  PRAIRIE.  367 

thoughts  of  the  other,  he  believed  he  had  fallen  on  an  ex- 
pedient which  might  remove  every  difficulty. 

"  It  is  quite  plain,  friend  Bush,"  he  said,  "  that  there  are 
two  opinions  in  this  matter  ;  yours  for  your  sons,  and  mine 
for  myself.  I  see  but  one  amicable  way  of  settling  this 
dispute,  which  is  as  follows  :  do  you  make  a  choice  among 
your  boys  of  any  you  will,  and  let  us  walk  off  together  for 
the  matter  of  a  few  miles  into  the  prairies  ;  the  one  who 
stays  behind  can  never  trouble  any  man's  house  or  his 
fixin',  and  the  one  who  comes  back  may  make  the  best  of 
his  way  he  can,  in  the  good  wishes  of  the  young  woman." 

"  Paul,"  exclaimed  the  reproachful,  but  smothered  voice 
of  Ellen. 

"  Never  fear,  Nelly,"  whispered  the  literal  bee-hunter, 
whose  straightgoing  mind  suggested  no  other  motive  of 
uneasiness  on  the  part  of  his  mistress  than  concern  foi 
himself  ;  "  I  have  taken  the  measure  of  them  all,  and  you 
may  trust  an  eye  that  has  seen  to  line  many  a  bee  into  his 
hole  !  " 

"  I  am  not  about  to  set  myself  up  as  a  ruler  of  inclina- 
tions," observed  the  squatter.  "  If  the  heart  of  the  child 
is  truly  in  the  settlements,  let  her  declare  it  ;  she  shall 
have  no  let  or  hinderance  from  me. — Speak  Nelly,  and  let 
what  you  say  come  from  your  wishes,  without  fear  or  favor. 
Would  you  leave  us  to  go  with  this  young  man  into  the 
settled  countries,  or  will  you  tarry  and  share  the  little  we 
have  to  give,  but  which  to  you  we  give  so  freely  ?  " 

Thus  called  upon  to  decide,  Ellen  could  no  longer  hesi- 
tate. The  glance  of  her  eye  was  at  first  timid  and  furtive. 
But,  as  the  color  flushed  her  features,  and  her  breathing 
became  quick  and  excited,  it  was  apparent  that  the  native 
spirit  of  the  girl  was  gain  ing  the  ascendency  over  the  bash- 
fulness  of  sex. 

"  You  took  me  a  fatherless,  impoverished,  and  friendless 
orphan,"  she  said,  struggling  to  command  her  voice,  "  when 
others,  who  live  in  what  maybe  called  affluence  compared 
to  your  state,  chose  to  forget  me  ;  and  may  Heaven  in  its 
goodness  bless  you  for  it !  The  little  I  have  done  will 
never  pay  you  for  that  one  act  of  kindness.  I  like  not 
your  manner  of  life ;  it  is  different  from  the  ways  of  my 
childhood,  and  it  is  different  from  my  wishes  ;  still,  had 
you  not  led  this  sweet  and  unoffending  lacty  from  her 
Mends,  I  should  never  have  quitted  you  until  you,  your- 
self had  said,  'Go,  and  the  Blessing  of  God  go  with  you  I  ' 


368  THE  PRAIRIE. 

"The  act  was  not  wise,  but  it  is  repented  of  ;  and,  sn 
far  as  it  can  be  done  in  safety,  it  shall  be  repaired.  Now, 
speak  freely,  will  you  tarry,  or  will  you  go  ? " 

"  I  have  promised  the  lady,"  said  Ellen,  dropping  hei 
eyes  again  to  the  earth,  "  not  to  leave  her  ;  and,  after  she 
has  received  so  much  wrong  from  all  hands,  she  may  have 
a  right  to  claim  that  I  keep  my  word." 

"  Take  the  cords  from  the  young  man,"  said  Ishmael. 
When  the  order  was  obeyed  he  motioned  for  all  his  sons 
to  advance,  and  he  placed  them  in  a  row  before  the  eyes 
of  Ellen.  "  Now  let  there  be  no  trifling,  but  open  your 
heart.  Here  ar'  all  I  have  to  offer,  besides  a  hearty  wel- 
come." 

The  distressed  girl  turned  her  abashed  look  from  th, 
countenance  of  one  of  the  young  men  to  that  of  another, 
until  her  eyes  met  the  troubled  and  working  features 
of  Paul.  Then  Nature  got  the  better  of  forms.  She 
threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  the  bee-hunter,  and  suffi- 
ciently proclaimed  her  choice  by  sobbing  aloud.  Ishmael 
signed  to  his  sons  to  fall  back,  and,  evidently  mortified, 
though  perhaps  not  disappointed  by  the  result,  he  no 
longer  hesitated. 

"  Take  her,"  he  said,  "  and  deal  honestly  and  kindly  by 
her.  The  girl  has  that  in  her  which  should  make  her 
welcome  in  any  man's  house,  and  I  should  be  loath  to  learn 
that  she  ever  came  to  harm.  And  now  I  have  settled  with 
you  all,  on  terms  that  I  hope  you  will  not  find  hard,  but, 
on  the  contrary  just  and  manly.  I  have  only  another 
question  to  ask,  and  that  is  of  the  captain.  Do  you  choose 
to  profit  by  my  teams  in  going  into  the  settlements,  or  not  ? " 

11 1  hear  that  some  soldiers  of  my  party  are  looking  for 
me  near  the  villages  of  the  Pawnees,"  said  Middleton, 
"  and  I  intend  to  accompany  this  chief,  in  order  to  joitt 
my  men." 

"  Then  the  sooner  we  part  the  better.  Horses  are  plenty 
on  the  bottom.  Go  ;  make  your  choice,  and  leave  us  in 
peace." 

"  That  is  impossible,  while  the  old  man,  who  has  been 
a  friend  of  my  family  near  half  a  century,  is  left  a  prisoner. 
What  has  he  done  that  he  too  is  not  released  ? " 

"  Ask  no  questions  that  may  lead  to  deceitful  answers," 
suddenly  returned  the  squatter ;  "  I  have  dealings  of  my 
own  with  that  trapper,  that  it  may  not  befit  an  officer  oi 
the  States  to  meddle  with.  Go,  wnile  your  road  i$  open/ 


THE  PRAIRIE.  369 

"  The  man  may  be  giving  you  honest  counsel,  and  that 
which  it  concerns  you  all  to  hearken  to,"  observed  the  old 
captive,  who  seemed  in  no  uneasiness  at  the  extraordinary 
condition  in  which  he  found  himself.  "The  Siouxes  are 
a  numberless  and  bloody-minded  race,  and  no  one  can  say 
how  long  it  may  be  afore  they  will  be  out  again  on  the 
scent  of  revenge.  Therefore,  I  say  to  you,  go  also  ;  and 
take  especial  heed,  in  crossing  the  bottoms,  that  you  get 
not  entangled  again  in  the  fires,  for  the  honest  hunters 
often  burn  the  grass  at  this  season,  in  order  that  the  buffa- 
loes may  find  a  sweeter  and  a  greener  pasturage  in  the 
spring." 

"  I  should  forget  not  only  my  gratitude,  but  my  duty  to 
the  laws,  were  I  to  leave  this  prisoner  in  your  hands,  even 
by  his  own  consent,  without  knowing  the  nature  of  his 
crime,  in  which  we  may  have  all  been  his  innocent  acces- 
saries." 

"  Will  it  satisfy  you  to  know  that  he  merits  all  he  will 
leceive  ? " 

"  It  will  at  least  change  my  opinion  of  his  character." 

"Look,  then,  at  this,"  said  Ishmael,  placing  before  the 
ayes  of  the  captain  the  bullet  that  had  been  found  about 
the  person  of  the  dead  Asa  ;  "  with  this  morsel  of  lead  did 
he  lay  low  as  fine  a  boy  as  ever  gave  joy  to  a  parent's  eyes  !  " 

"  I  cannot  believe  that  he  has  done  this  deed,  unless  in 
self-defence,  or  on  some  justifiable  provocation.  That  he 
knew  of  the  death  of  your  son,  I  confess,  for  he  pointed 
out  the  brake  in  which  the  body  lay,  but  that  he  has 
wrongfully  taken  his  life,  nothing  but  his  own  acknowledg- 
ment shall  persuade  me  to  believe." 

"  I  have  lived  long,"  commenced  the  trapper,  who  found 
by  the  general  pause  that  he  was  expected  to  vindicate 
himself  from  the  heavy  imputation,  "  and  much  evil  have 
I  seen  in  my  day.  Many  are  the  prowling  bears  and  leap- 
ing panthers  that  I  have  met  ;  fighting  for  the  morsel 
which  has  been  thrown  in  their  way ;  and  many  are  the 
reasoning  men  that  I  have  looked  on  striving  against  each 
other  unto  death,  in  order  that  human  madness  might  also 
have  its  hour.  For  myself,  I  hope  there  is  no  boasting  in 
saying  that,  though  my  hand  has  been  needed  in  putting 
down  wickedness  and  oppression  it  has  never  struck  a 
blow  of  which  its  owner  will  be  ashamed  to  hear,  at  a 
reckoning  that  shall  be  far  mightier  than  this." 

"  If  my  father  has  taken  life  from  one  of  his  tribe,"  sale? 


570  THE  PKAIRIE. 

the  young  Pawnee,  whose  quick  eye  had  read  the  meaning 
of  what  was  passing,  in  the  bullet  and  in  the  countenances 
of  the  others,  "  let  him  give  himself  up  to  the  friends  of 
the  dead,  like  a  warrior.  He  is  too  just  to  need  thongs 
to  lead  him  to  judgment." 

"  Boy,  I  hope  you  do  me  justice.  If  I  had  done  the 
foul  deed  with  which  they  charge  me,  I  should  have  man- 
hood enough  to  come  and  offer  my  head  to  the  blow  of 
punishment,  as  all  good  and  honest  red-men  do  the  same." 
Then  giving  his  anxious  Indian  friend  a  look  to  reassure 
him  of  his  innocence,  he  turned  to  the  rest  of  his  attentive 
and  interested  listeners,  as  he  continued  in  English,  "  I 
have  a  short  story  to  tell,  and  he  that  believes  it  will  be- 
lieve the  truth,  and  he  that  disbelieves  it  will  only  lead 
himself  astray,  and  perhaps  his  neighbor  too.  We  were 
all  out-lying  about  your  camp,  friend  squatter,  as  by  this 
time  you  may  begin  to  suspect  when  we  found  that  it  con- 
tained a  wronged  and  imprisoned  lady,  with  intentions 
neither  more  honest  nor  dishonest  than  to  set  her  free,  as 
in  nature  and  justice  she  had  a  right  to  be.  Seeing  that  I 
was  more  skilled  in  scouting  than  the  others,  while  they 
lay  back  in  the  cover,  I  was  sent  upon  the  plain,  on  the 
business  of  reconnoitrings.  You  little  thought  that  one 
was  so  nigh  who  saw  into  all  the  circumventions  of  your 
hunt ;  but  there  was  I,  sometimes  flat  behind  a  bush  or  a 
tuft  of  grass,  sometimes  rolling  down  a  hill  into  a  bottom, 
and  little  did  you  dream  that  your  motions  were  watched 
as  the  panther  watches  the  drinking  deer.  Lord,  squatter, 
when  I  was  a  man  in  the  pride  and  strength  of  my  days,  I 
have  looked  in  at  the  tent-door  of  the  enemy,  and  they 
sleeping,  ay,  and  dreaming,  too,  of  being  at  home  and  in 
peace.  I  wish  there  was  time  to  give  you  the  partic " 

"  Proceed  with  your  explanation,"  interrupted  Mid- 
dleton. 

"Ah  !  and  a  bloody  and  wicked  sight  it  was!  There  I 
lay  in  a  low  bed  of  grass,  as  two  of  the  hunters  came  nigh 
each  other.  Their  meeting  was  not  cordial,  nor  such  as 
men  who  meet  in  a  desert  should  give  each  other  ;  but  I 
thought  they  would  have  parted  in  peace,  until  I  saw  one 
put  his  rifle  to  the  other's  back,  and  do  what  I  call  a 
treacherous  and  sinful  murder.  It  was  a  noble  and  a 
manly  youth,  that  boy  !  Though  the  powder  burnt  his  coat, 
he  stood  the  shock  for  more  than  a  minute  before  he  fell 
Then  was  he  brought  to  his  knees,  and  a  desperate  and 


THE  PRAIRIE.  371 

manful  fight  he  made  to  the  brake,  like  a  wounded  bear 
seeking  a  cover  ! " 

"  And  why,  in  the  name  of  heavenly  justice,  did  you 
conceal  this  ?"  cried  Middleton. 

"  What  !  think  you,  captain,  that  a  man  who  has  spent 
more  than  threescore  years  in  the  wilderness  has  not 
learned  the  virtue  of  discretion  ?  What  red  warrior  runs 
to  tell  the  sights  he  has  seen,  until  a  fitting  time  ?  I  took 
the  doctor  to  the  place,  in  order  to  see  whether  his  skill 
might  not  come  in  use  ;  and  our  friend,  the  bee-hunter, 
being  in  company,  was  knowing  to  the  fact  that  the  bushes 
held  the  body." 

"Ay,  it  ar' true,"  said  Paul;  "but  not  knowing  what 
private  reasons  might  make  the  old  trapper  wish  to  hush 
the  matter  up,  I  said  as  little  about  the  thing  as  possible  ; 
which  was  just  nothing  at  all." 

"And  who  was  the  perpetrator  of  this  deed?"  de- 
manded Middleton. 

"  If  by  perpetrator  you  mean  him  who  did  the  act,  yon- 
der stands  the  man,  and  a  shame  and  a  disgrace  is  it  to  our 
race,  that  he  is  of  the  blood  and  family  of  the  dead." 

"He  lies!  he  lies  !"  shrieked  Abiram.  "I  did  no  mur- 
der ;  I  gave  but  blow  for  blow." 

The  voice  of  Ishmael  was  deep,  and  even  awful,  as  he 
answered  : 

"  It  is  enough.  Let  the  old  man  go.  Boys,  put  the 
brother  of  your  mother  in  his  place." 

"Touch  me  not !"  cried  Abiram.  "I'll  call  on  God  to 
curse  ye  if  you  touch  me  ! " 

The  wild  and  disordered  gleam  of  his  eye  at  first  induced 
the  young  men  to  arrest  their  steps  ;  but  when  Abner,  older 
and  more  resolute  than  the  rest,  advanced  full  upon  him, 
with  a  countenance  that  bespoke  the  hostile  state  of  his 
mind,  the  affrighted  criminal  turned,  and,  making  an  abor* 
tive  effort  to  fly,  fell  with  his  face  to  the  earth,  to  all  ap«. 
pearance  perfectly  dead.  Amid  the  low  exclamations  of 
horror  which  succeeded,  Ishmael  made  a  gesture  which 
commanded  his  sons  to  bear  the  body  into  a  tent. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  turning  to  those  who  were  strangers  in 
his  camp,  "  nothing  is  left  to  be  done  but  for  each  to  go 
his  own  road.  I  wish  you  all  well — and  to  you,  Ellen^ 
though  you  may  not  prize  the  gift,  I  say,  God  bless  you  ! " 

Middleton,  awe-struck  by  what  he  believed  a  manifest 
judgment  of  Heaven,  made  no  further  resistance,  but  pre- 


372  THE  PRAIRIE. 

pared  to  depart.  The  arrangements  were  brief,  and  soon 
completed.  When  they  were  all  ready,  they  took  a  short 
and  silent  leave  of  the  squatter  and  his  family  ;  and  then 
the  whole  of  the  singularly  constituted  party  were  seen 
slowly  and  silently  following  the  victorious  Pawnee  toward 
his  distant  villages. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

"  And  I  beseech  you, 
Wrest  once  the  law  to  your  authority  : 
To  do  a  great  right,  do  a  little  wrong." — SHAKESPEARE. 

ISHMAEL  awaited  long  and  patiently  for  the  motley  train 
©f  Hard-Heart  to  disappear.  When  his  scout  reported 
that  the  last  straggler  of  the  Indians,  who  had  joined  their 
chief  so  soon  as  he  was  at  such  a  distance  from  the  encamp- 
ment as  to  excite  no  jealousy  by  their  numbers,  had  gone  be- 
hind the  most  distant  swell  of  the  prairie,  he  gave  forth  the 
order  to  strike  his  tents.  The  cattle  were  already  in  the 
gears,  and  the  movables  were  soon  transferred  to  their  usual 
place  in  the  different  vehicles.  When  all  these  arrangements 
were  completed,  the  little  wagon,  which  had  so  long  been 
the  tenement  of  Inez,  was  drawn  before  the  tent  into  which 
the  insensible  body  of  the  kidnapper  had  been  borne,  and 
preparations  were  evidently  made  for  the  reception  of  an- 
other prisoner.  Then  it  was,  as  Abiram  appeared,  pale, 
terrified,  and  tottering  beneath  a  load  of  detected  guilt,  that 
the  younger  members  of  the  family  were  first  apprised  that 
he  still  belonged  to  the  class  of  the  living.  A  general  and 
superstitious  impression  had  spread  among  them  that  his 
crime  had  been  visited  by  a  terrible  retribution  from 
Heaven  ;  and  they  now  gazed  at  him,  as  at  a  being  who 
belonged  rather  to  another  world,  than  as  a  mortal,  who, 
like  themselves,  had  still  to  endure  the  last  agony  before 
ihe  great  link  of  human  existence  could  be  broken.  The 
criminal  himself  appeared  to  be  in  a  state  ia  which  the 
most  sensitive  and  startling  terror  was  singularly  combined 
with  total  physical  apathy.  The  truth  was  that,  while  his 
person  had  be-en  numbed  by  the  shock,  his  susceptibility  to 
apprehension  kept  his  agitated  mind  in  unrelieved  distress. 
When  he  found  himself  in  the  open  air  he  looked  about 
him  in  order  to  gather,  if  possible,  some  evidences  of  hi* 


THE  PRAIRIE.  .     373 

future  fate  from  the  countenances  of  those  gathered  round 
Seeing  everywhere  grave  but  composed  features,  and  meet- 
ing in  no  eye  any  expression  that  threatened  immediate 
violence,  the  miserable  man  began  to  revive  ;  and,  by  the 
time  he  was  seated  in  the  wagon,  his  artful  faculties  were 
beginning  to  plot  the  expedients  of  parrying  the  just  re- 
sentment of  his  kinsmen,  or,  if  these  should  fail  him,  the 
means  of  escaping  from  a  punishment  that  his  forebodings 
told  him  would  be  terrible. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  these  preparations,  Ishmael 
rarely  spoke.  A  gesture,  or  a  glance  of  the  eye,  served  to 
indicate  his  pleasure  to  his  sons,  and  with  these  simple 
methods  of  communication  all  parties  appeared  content. 
When  the  signal  was  made  to  proceed,  the  squatter  threw 
his  rifle  into  the  hollow  of  his  arm  and  his  axe  across  his 
shoulder,  taking  the  lead  as  usual.  Esther  buried  hersell 
in  the  wagon  which  contained  her  daughters  ;  the  young 
men  took  their  customary  places  among  the  cattle  or  nigh 
the  teams  ;  and  the  whole  proceeded  at  their  ordinary  dull 
but  unremitted  gait. 

For  the  first  time  in  many  a  day  the  squatter  turned  his 
back  toward  the  setting  sun.  The  route  he  held  was  in  the 
direction  of  the  settled  country,  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  moved  sufficed  to  tell  his  children,  who  had  learned  to 
read  their  father's  determinations  in  his  mien,  that  their* 
journey  on  the  prairie  was  shortly  to  have  an  end.  Still 
nothing  else  transpired  for  hours,  that  might  denote  the  ex- 
istence of  any  sudden  or  violent  revolution  in  the  purposes 
or  feelings  of  Ishmael.  During  all  that  time  he  marched 
alone,  keeping  a  few  hundred  rods  in  front  of  his  teams, 
seldom  giving  any  sign  of  extraordinary  excitement.  Once 
or  twice,  indeed,  his  huge  figure  was  seen  standing  on  the 
summit  of  some  distant  swell,  with  the  head  bent  toward 
the  earth,  as  he  leaned  on  his  rifle  ;  but  then  these  moments 
of  intense  thought  were  rare,  and  of  short  continuance. 
The  train  had  long  thrown  its  shadows  toward  the  east  be- 
fore any  material  alteration  was  made  in  the  disposition  of 
their  march.  Water-courses  were  waded,  plains  were  passed, 
and  rolling  ascents  risen  and  descended,  without  producing 
the  smallest  change.  Long  practised  in  the  difficulties  of 
that  peculiar  species  of  travelling  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
the  squatter  avoided  the  more  impracticable  obstacles  of 
their  route  by  a  sort  of  instinct,  invariably  inclining  to  the 
right  or  left  in  season,  as  the  formation  of  the  land,  the 


374  THE  PRAIRIE. 

presence  of  trees,  or  the  signs  of  rivers  forewarned  him 
of  the  necessity  of  such  movements. 

At  length  the  hour  arrived  when  charity  to  man  and 
beast  required  a  temporary  suspension  of  labor.  Ishmael 
chose  the  required  spot  with  his  customary  sagacity.  The 
regular  formation  of  the  country,  such  as  it  has  been  de« 
scribed  in  the  earlier  pages  of  our  book,  had  long  been  in- 
terrupted by  a  more  unequal  and  broken  surface.  There 
were,  it  is  true,  in  general,  the  same  wide  and  empty  wastes, 
the  same  rich  and  extensive  bottoms,  and  that  wild  and 
singular  combination  of  swelling  fields  and  of  nakedness, 
which  gives  that  region  the  appearance  of  an  ancient 
country,  incomprehensibly  stripped  of  its  people  and  their 
dwellings.  But  these  distinguishing  features  of  the  roll- 
ing prairies  had  long  been  interrupted  by  irregular  hillocks, 
occasional  masses  of  rock,  and  broad  belts  of  forest. 

Ishmael  chose  a  spring  that  broke  out  of  the  base  of  a  rock 
some  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  elevation,  as  a  place  well  suited 
to  the  wants  of  his  herds.  The  water  moistened  a  small 
swale  that  lay  beneath  the  spot,  which  yielded,  in  return 
for  the  fecund  gift,  a  scanty  growth  of  grass.  A  solitary 
willow  had  taken  root  in  the  alluvion,  and,  profiting  by  its 
exclusive  possession  of  the  soil,  the  tree  had  sent  up  its 
stem  far  above  the  crest  of  the  adjacent  rock,  whose  peaked 
summit  had  once  been  shadowed  by  its  branches.  But  its 
loveliness  had  gone  with  the  mysterious  principle  of  life. 
As  if  in  mockery  of  the  meagre  show  of  verdure  that  the 
spot  exhibited,  it  remained  a  noble  and  solemn  monument 
of  former  fertility.  The  larger,  ragged,  and  fantastic 
branches  still  obtruded  themselves  abroad,  while  the  white 
and  hoary  trunk  stood  naked  and  tempest-riven.  Not  a 
leaf  nor  a  sign  of  vegetation  was  to  be  seen  about  it.  In 
all  things  it  proclaimed  the  frailty  of  existence,  and  the 
fulfilment  of  time. 

Here  Ishmael,  after  making  the  customary  signal  for 
the  train  to  approach,  threw  his  vast  frame  upon  the  earth, 
and  seemed  to  muse  on  the  deep  responsibility  of  his 
present  situation.  His  sons  were  not  long  in  arriving ; 
for  the  cattle  no  sooner  scented  the  food  and  water  than 
they  quickened  their  page,  and  then  succeeded  the  usual 
bustle  and  avocations  of  a  halt. 

The  impression  made  by  the  scene  of  that  morning  was 
not  so  deep  or  lasting,  on  the  children  of  Ishmael  and 
Esther,  as  to  induce  them  to  forget  the  wants  of  Nature 


THE  PRAIRIE. 


375 


But  while  the  sons  were  searching  among  their  stores  for 
something  substantial  to  appease  their  hunger,  and  the 
younger  fry  were  wrangling  about  their  simple  dishes,  the 
parents  of  the  unnurtured  family  were  differently  em- 
ployed. 

When  the  squatter  saw  that  all,  even  to  the  reviving 
Abiram,  were  busy  in  administering  to  their  appetites,  he 
gave  his  downcast  partner  a  glance  of  his  eye,  and  withdrew 
toward  a  distant  roll  of  the  land  which  bounded  the  view 
toward  the  east.  The  meeting  of  the  pair  in  this  naked 
spot  was  like  an  interview  held  above  the  grave  of  their 
murdered  son.  Ishmael  signed  to  his  wife  to  take  a  seat 
beside  him  on  a  fragment  of  rock,  and  then  followed  a 
space  during  which  neither  seemed  disposed  to  speak. 

"  We  have  journeyed  together  long,  through  good  and 
bad,"  Ishmael  at  length  commenced  ;  "  much  have  we  had 
to  try  us,  and  some  bitter  cups  have  we  been  made  to 
swallow,  my  woman  ;  but  nothing  like  this  has  ever  before 
lain  in  my  path." 

"  It  is  a  heavy  cross  for  a  poor,  misguided,  and  sinful 
woman  to  bear,"  returned  Esther,  bowing  her  head  to  her 
knees,  and  partly  concealing  her  face  in  her  dress.  "A 
heavy  and  a  burdensome  weight  is  this  to  be  laid  upon  the 
shoulders  of  a  sister  and  a  mother  !  " 

"Ay;  therein  lies  the  hardship  of  the  case.  I  had 
brought  my  mind  to  the  punishment  of  that  houseless  trap- 
per with  no  great  strivings,  for  the  man  had  done  me  few 
favors,  and  God  forgive  me  if  I  suspected  him  wrongfully 
of  much  evil !  This  is,  however,  bringing  shame  in  at  one 
door  of  my  cabin  in  order  to  drive  it  out  at  the  other.  But 
shall  a  son  of  mine  be  murdered,  and  he  who  did  it  go  at 
large  ? — the  boy  would  never  rest  !  " 

"  Oh  !  Ishmael,  we  pushed  the  matter  far  !  Had  little 
been  said,  who  would  have  been  the  wiser  ?  Our  con- 
sciences might  then  have  been  quiet." 

"  Eester,"  said  the  husband,  turning  on  her  a  reproach- 
ful but  still  a  dull  regard,  "  the  hour  has  been,  my  woman, 
when  you  thought  another  hand  had  done  this  wickedness." 

"  I  did,  I  did  !  the  Lord  gave  me  the  feeling  as  a  punish- 
ment for  my  sins  !  but  his  mercy  was  not  slow  in  lifting 
the  veil  ;  I  looked  into  the  book,  Ishmael,  and  there  I  found 
the  words  of  comfort." 

"  Have  you  that  book  at  hand,  woman  ?  it  may  happen 
to  advise  in  such  a  dreary  business." 


376  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Esther  fumbled  in  her  pocket,  and  was  not  long  in  pro- 
ducing  the  fragment  of  a  Bible  which  had  been  thumbed 
and  smoke-dried  till  the  print  was  nearly  illegible.  It  was 
the  only  article  in  the  nature  of  a  book  that  was  to  be 
found  among  the  chattels  of  the  squatter,  and  it  had  been 
preserved  by  his  wife  as  a  melancholy  relic  of  more  pros- 
perous, and  possibly  of  more  innocent,  days.  She  had  long 
been  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  it  under  the  pressure  of 
such  circumstances  as  were  palpably  beyond  human  re- 
dress, though  her  spirit  and  resolution  rarely  needed  sup- 
port under  those  that  admitted  of  reparation  through  any 
of  the  ordinary  means  of  reprisal.  In  this  manner  Esther 
had  made  a  sort  of  convenient  ally  of  the  word  of  God  ; 
rarely  troubling  it  for  counsel,  however,  except  when  her 
own  incompetency  to  avert  an  evil  was  too  apparent  to  be 
disputed.  We  shall  leave  casuists  to  determine  how  far 
she  resembled  any  other  believers  in  this  particular,  and 
proceed  directly  with  the  matter  before  us. 

"  There  are  many  awful  passages  in  these  pages,  Ish- 
mael,"  she  said,  when  the  volume  was  opened,  and  the 
leaves  were  slowly  turning  under  her  finger,  "  and  some 
there  ar'  that  teach  the  rules  of  punishment." 

Her  husband  made  a  gesture  for  her  to  find  one  of  those 
brief  rules  of  conduct  which  have  been  received  among 
all  Christian  nations  as  the  direct  mandates  of  the  Crea- 
tor, and  which  have  been  found  so  just  that  even  they 
who  deny  their  high  authority,  admit  their  wisdom.  Ish- 
mael  listened  with  grave  attention  as  his  companion  read 
all  those  verses  which  her  memory  suggested,  and  which 
were  thought  applicable  to  the  situation  in  which  they 
found  themselves.  He  made  her  show  him  the  words, 
which  he  regarded  with  a  sort  of  strange  reverence.  A 
resolution  once  taken  was  usually  irrevocable  in  one  who 
was  moved  with  so  much  difficulty.  He  put  his  hand  upon 
the  book  and  closed  the  pages  himself,  as  much  as  to  ap- 
prise his  wife  that  he  was  satisfied.  Esther,  who  so  well 
knew  his  character,  trembled  at  the  action,  and,  casting  a 
glance  at  his  steady  eye,  she  said  : 

"And  yet,  Ishmael,  my  blood  and  the  blood  of  my  chil« 
dren  is  in  his  veins  !  cannot  mercy  be  shown  ?  " 

"  Woman,"  he  answered,  sternly,  "  when  we  believed  that 
miserable  old  trapper  had  done  this  deed,  nothing  was  said 
of  mercy  !  " 

Esther  made  no  reply,  but,  folding  her  arms  upon  he! 


THE  PRAIRIE.  357 

Dreast,  she  sat  silent  and  thoughtful  for  many  minutes. 
Then  she  once  more  turned  her  anxious  gaze  upon  the 
countenance  of  her  husband,  where  she  found  all  passion 
and  care  apparently  buried  in  the  coldest  apathy.  Satis- 
fied now  that  the  fate  of  her  brother  was  sealed,  and  pos- 
sibly conscious  how  well  he  merited  the  punishment  that 
was  meditated,  she  no  longer  thought  of  mediation.  No 
more  words  passed  between  them.  Their  eyes  met  for  an 
instant,  and  then  both  arose  and  walked  in  profound  si- 
lence toward  the  encampment. 

The  squatter  found  his  children  expecting  his  return  in 
the  usual  listless  manner  with  which  they  awaited  all  com- 
ing events.  The  cattle  were  already  herded,  and  the  horses 
in  their  gears  in  readiness  to  proceed,  so  soon  as  he  should 
indicate  that  such  was  his  pleasure.  The  children  were 
already  in  their  proper  vehicle,  and,  in  short,  nothing  de- 
layed the  departure  but  the  absence  of  the  parents  of  the 
wild  brood. 

"  Abner,"  said  the  father,  with  the  deliberation  with 
which  all  his  proceedings  were  characterized,  "  take  the 
brother  of  your  mother  from  the  wagon,  and  let  him  stand 
on  the  'arth." 

Abiram  issued  from  his  place  of  concealment,  trembling, 
it  is  true,  but  far  from  destitute  of  hopes  as  to  his  final 
success  in  appeasing  the  just  resentment  of  his  kinsman. 
After  throwing  a  glance  around  him  with  the  vain  wish  of 
finding  a  single  countenance  in  which  he  might  detect  a 
solitary  Oieam  of  sympathy,  he  endeavored  to  smother 
those  apprehensions  that  were  by  this  time  reviving  in  their 
original  violence,  by  forcing  a  sort  of  friendly  communi- 
cation between  himself  and  the  squatter  : 

"The  beasts  are  getting  jaded,  brother,"  he  said  ;  "and 
as  we  have  made  so  good  a  march  already,  is  it  not  time 
to  'camp?  To  my  eye  you  may  go  far  before  a  better  place 
than  this  is  found  to  pass  the  night  in."^ 

"  Tis  well  you  like  it.  Your  tarry  Here  ar'  likely  to  be 
long.  My  sons,  draw  nigh  and  listen.  Abiram  White," 
he  added,  lifting  his  cap,  and  speaking  with  a  solemnity 
and  steadiness  that  rendered  even  his  dull  mien  imposing, 
"  you  have  slain  my  first-born,  and  according  to  the  laws 
of  God  and  man  you  must  die  !  " 

The  kidnapper  started  at  this  terrible  and  sudden  sen- 
tence, with  the  terror  that  one  would  exhibit  who  unex- 
pectedly found  himself  in  the  grasp  of  a  monster  from 


378  THE  PRAIRIE. 

whose  power  there  was  no  retreat.  Although  filled  with 
the  most  serious  forebodings  of  what  might  be  his  lot,  his 
courage  had  not  been  equal  to  look  his  danger  in  the  face, 
and,  with  the  deceitful  consolation  with  which  timid  tem- 
pers are  apt  to  conceal  their  desperate  condition  from 
themselves,  he  had  rather  courted  a  treacherous  relief  in 
his  cunning  than  prepared  himself  for  the  worst. 

"  Die  !  "  he  repeated,  in  a  voice  that  scarcely  issued  from 
his  chest  ;  "  a  man  is  surely  safe  among  his  kinsmen  !  " 

"  So  thought  my  boy,"  returned  the  squatter,  motion- 
ing for  the  team  that  contained  his  wife  and  the  girls  to 
proceed,  as  he  very  coolly  examined  the  priming  of  his 
piece.  "  By  the  rifle  did  you  destroy  my  son  :  it  is  fit 
and  just  that  you  meet  your  end  by  the  same  weapon." 

Abiram  stared  about  him  with  a  gaze  that  bespoke  an 
unsettled  reason.  He  even  laughed,  as  if  he  would  not 
only  persuade  himself  but  others  that  what  he  heard  was 
some  pleasantry  intended  to  try  his  nerves.  But  nowhere 
did  his  frightful  merriment  meet  with  an  answering  echo. 
All  around  was  solemn  and  still.  The  visages  of  his  ne- 
phews were  excited,  but  cold  toward  him,  and  that  of  his 
former  confederate  determined.  This  very  steadiness  of 
mien  was  a  thousand  times  more  alarming  and  hopeless 
than  any  violence  could  have  proved.  The  latter  might 
possibly  have  touched  his  spirit  and  awakened  resistance, 
but  the  former  threw  him  entirely  on  the  feeble  resources 
of  himself. 

"  Brother,"  he  said,  in  a  hurried,  unnatural  whisper, 
"  did  I  hear  you  ?  " 

**  My  words  are  plain,  Abiram  White  ;  thou  hast  done 
murder,  and  for  the  same  thou  must  die  !  " 

"  Esther  !  sister,  sister,  will  you  leave  me  ?  O  sister  ! 
do  you  hear  my  call  ? " 

"  I  hear  one  speak  from  the  grave  !  "  returned  the  husky 
tones  of  Esther,  as  the  wagon  passed  the  spot  where  the 
criminal  stood.  "  It  is  the  voice  of  my  firstborn  calling 
aloud  for  justice  !  God  have  mercy,  God  have  mercy  on 
your  soul ! " 

The  team  slowly  pursued  its  route,  and  the  deserted 
Abiram  now  found  himself  deprived  of  the  smallest  ves- 
tige of  hope.  Still  he  could  not  summon  fortitude  t<s 
meet  his  death,  and,  had  not  his  limbs  refused  to  aid  him, 
he  would  yet  have  attempted  to  fly.  Then,  by  a  sudden  re- 
volution from  hope  to  utter  despair,  he  fell  upon  his  knees 


THE  PRAIHrE.  379 

and  commenced  a  prayer  in  which  cries  for  mercy  to  God 
and  to  his  kinsman  were  wildly  and  blasphemously  min- 
gled. The  sons  of  Ishmaei  turned  away  in  horror  at  the 
disgusting  spectacle,  and  even  the  stern  nature  of  the 
squatter  began  to  bend  before  so  abject  misery. 

"May  that  which  you  ask  of  Him  for  be  granted,"  he 
said,  "  but  a  father  can  never  forget  a  murdered  child." 

He  was  answered  by  the  most  humble  appeals  for  time. 
A  week,  a  day,  an  hour,  were  each  implored  with  an 
earnestness  commensurate  to  the  value  they  receive  when 
a  whole  life  is  compressed  into  their  short  duration.  The 
squatter  was  troubled,  and  at  length  he  yielded  in  part  to 
the  petitions  of  the  criminal.  His  final  purpose  was  not 
altered,  though  he  changed  the  means.  "  Abner,"  he  said, 
"mount  the  rock  and  look  on  every  side,  that  we  may  be 
sure  none  are  nigh." 

While  his  nephew  was  obeying  this  order,  gleams  of  re- 
viving hope  were  seen  shooting  across  the  quivering  fea- 
tures of  the  kidnapper.  The  report  was  favorable  ;  nothing 
having  life,  the  retiring  teams  excepted,  was  to  be  seen, 
A  messenger  was,  however,  coming  from  the  latter  in  great 
apparent  haste.  Ishmaei  awaited  its  arrival.  He  re- 
ceived from  the  hands  of  one  of  his  wondering  and  fright- 
ened girls  a  fragment  of  that  book  which  Esther  had 
preserved  with  so  much  care.  The  squatter  beckoned  the 
child  away,  and  placed  the  leaves  in  the  hands  of  the 
criminal. 

"  Esther  has  sent  you  this,"  he  said,  "that  in  your  last 
moments  you  may  remember  God." 

"  Bless  her,  bless  her  !  a  good  and  kind  sister  has  she 
been  to  me  !  But  time  must  be  given  that  I  may  read  ; 
time,  my  brother,  time ! " 

"Time  shall  not  be  wanting.  You  shall  be  your  own 
executioner,  and  this  miserable  office  shall  pass  away 
from  my  hands." 

Ishmaei  proceeded  to  put  his  new  resolution  into  force. 
The  immediate  apprehensions  of  the  kidnapper  were 
quieted  by  an  assurance  that  he  might  yet  live  for  days, 
though  his  punishment  was  inevitable.  A  reprieve  to  one 
abject  and  wretched  as  Abiram,  temporarily  produced  the 
same  effects  as  a  pardon.  He  was  even  foremost  in  assist- 
ing in  the  appalling  arrangements,  and,  of  all  actors  in 
that  solemn  tragedy  his  voice  alone  was  facetious  and 
jocular. 


380  THE  PRAIRIE. 

A  thin  shelf  of  the  rock  projected  beneath  one  of  the 
ragged  arms  of  the  willow.  It  was  many  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  which,  in 
fact,  its  appearance  had  suggested.  On  this  little  platform 
the  criminal  was  placed,  his  arms  bound  at  the  elbows  be* 
hind  his  back,  beyond  the  possibility  of  liberation,  with  a 
proper  cord  leading  from  his  neck  to  the  limb  of  the  tree. 
The  latter  was  so  placed,  that  when  suspended  the  body 
could  find  no  foothold.  The  fragment  of  the  Bible  was 
placed  in  his  hands,  and  he  was  left  to  seek  his  consolation 
as  he  might  from  its  pages. 

"  And  now,  Abiram  White,"  said  the  squatter,  when  his 
sons  had  descended  from  completing  this  arrangement,  "  I 
give  you  a  last  and  solemn  asking.  Deatli  is  before  you  in 
two  shapes.  With  this  rifle  can  your  misery  be  cut  short, 
or  by  that  cord,  sooner  or  later,  must  you  meet  your  end." 

"  Let  me  live  !  Oh,  Ishmael,  you  know  not  how  sweet 
life  is  when  the  last  moment  draws  so  nigh  ! " 

"  'Tis  done,"  said  the  squatter,  motioning  for  his  assist- 
ants to  follow  the  herds  and  teams.  "And  now,  miserable 
man,  that  it  may  prove  a  consolation  to  your  end,  I  forgive 
you  my  wrongs  and  leave  you  to  your  God." 

Ishmael  turned  and  pursued  his  way  across  the  plain  at 
his  ordinary  sluggish  and  ponderous  gait.  Though  his 
head  was  bent  a  little  toward  the  earth,  his  inactive  mind 
did  not  prompt  him  to  cast  a  look  behind.  Once,  indeed, 
he  thought  he  heard  his  name  called  in  tones  that  were  a 
little  smothered,  but  they  failed  to  make  him  pause. 

At  the  spot  where  he  and  Esther  had  conferred  he 
reached  the  boundary  of  the  visible  horizon  from  the  rock. 
Here  he  stopped,  and  ventured  a  glance  in  the  direction 
of  the  place  he  had  just  quitted.  The  sun  was  near  dip- 
ping into  the  plains  beyond,  and  its  last  rays  lighted  the 
naked  branches  of  the  willow.  He  saw  the  ragged  outline 
of  the  whole  drawn  against  the  glowing  heavens,  and  he 
even  traced  the  still  upright  form  of  the  being  he  had  left 
to  his  misery.  Turning  the  roll  of  the  swell,  he  proceeded 
with  the  feelings  of  one  who  had  been  suddenly  and  vio- 
lently separated  from  a  recent  confederate  forever. 

Within  a  mile  the  squatter  overtook  his  teams.  His  sons 
had  found  a  place  suited  to  the  encampment  for  the  night, 
and  merely  awaited  his  approach  to  confirm  their  choice. 
Few  words  were  necessary  to  express  his  acquiescence. 
Everything  passed  in  a  silence  more  general  and  remark- 


THE  PRAIRIE.  381 

able  than  ever.  The  chidings  of  Esther  were  not  heaid 
among  her  young,  or,  if  heard,  they  were  more  in  the  tones 
of  softened  admonition  than  in  her  usual  upbraiding  key. 

No  questions  nor  explanations  passed  between  the  hus- 
band and  his  wife.  It  was  only  as  the  latter  was  about  to 
withdraw  among  her  children  for  the  night,  that  the  for- 
mer saw  her  taking  a  furtive  look  at  the  pan  of  his  rifle. 
Ishmael  bade  his  sons  seek  their  rest,  announcing  his  in- 
tention to  look  to  the  safety  of  the  camp  in  person.  When 
all  was  still  he  walked  out  upon  the  prairie  with  a  sort  of 
sensation  that  he  found  his  breathing  among  the  tents  too 
straitened.  The  night  was  well  adapted  to  heighten  the 
feelings  which  had  been  created  by  the  events  of  the  day. 

The  wind  had  risen  with  the  moon,  and  it  was  occasion- 
ally sweeping  over  the  plain  in  a  manner  that  made  it  not 
difficult  for  the  sentinel  to  imagine  strange  and  unearthly 
sounds  were  mingling  in  the  blasts.  Yielding  to  the  ex- 
traordinary impulses  of  which  he  was  the  subject,  he  cast 
a  glance  around  to  see  that  all  were  slumbering  in  security, 
and  then  he  strayed  toward  the  swell  of  land  already  men- 
tioned. Here  the  squatter  found  himself  at  a  point  that 
commanded  a  view  to  the  east  and  to  the  west.  Light, 
fleecy  clouds  were  driving  before  the  moon,  which  was 
cold  and  watery,  though  there  were  moments  when  its 
placid  rays  were  shed  from  clear  blue  fields,  seeming  to 
soften  objects  to  its  own  mild  loveliness. 

For  the  first  time  in  a  life  of  so  much  wild  adventure, 
Ishmael  felt  a  keen  sense  of  solitude.  The  naked  prairies 
began  to  assume  the  forms  of  illimitable  and  dreary  wastes, 
and  the  rushing  of  the  wind  sounded  like  the  whisperings 
of  the  dead.  It  was  not  long  before  he  thought  a  shriek 
was  borne  past  him  on  a  blast.  It  did  not  sound  like  a 
call  from  earth,  but  it  swept  frightfully  through  the  upper 
air,  mingled  with  the  hoarse  accompaniment  of  the  wind. 
The  teeth  of  the  squatter  were  compressed,  and  his  huge 
hand  grasped  the  rifle,  as  if  it  would  crush  the  metal 
Then  came  a  lull,  a  fresher  blast,  and  a  cry  of  horror  that 
seemed  to  have  been  uttered  at  the  very  portals  of  his  ears. 
A  sort  of  echo  burst  involuntarily  from  his  own  lips,  as 
men  shout  under  unnatural  excitement,  and  throwing  his 
rifle  across  his  shoulder,  he  proceeded  toward  the  rock 
with  *;he  strides  of  a  giant. 

It  w?s  iaot  often  that  the  blood  of  Ishmael  moved  at  th3 
rate  fo'fch  which  the  fluid  circulates  in  the  veins  of  ordinary 


552  THE  PRAIRIE. 

men  ;  but  now  he  felt  it  ready  to  gush  from  every  pore  in 
his  body.  The  animal  was  aroused,  in  his  most  latent 
energies.  Ever  as  he  advanced  he  heard  those  shrieks, 
which  sometimes  seemed  ringing  among  the  clouds,  and 
sometimes  passed  so  nigh  as  to  appear  to  brush  the  earth. 
At  length  there  came  a  cry  in  which  there  could  be  no  de- 
lusion, or  to  which  the  imagination  could  lend  no  horror. 
It  appeared  to  fill  each  cranny  of  the  air,  as  the  visible 
horizon  is  often  charged  to  fulness  by  the  dazzling  flash  oi 
the  electric  fluid.  The  name  of  God  was  distinctly  aud« 
ible,  but  it  was  awfully  and  blasphemously  blended  with 
sounds  that  may  not  be  repeated.  The  squatter  stopped, 
and  for  a  moment  he  covered  his  ears  with  his  hands. 
When  he  withdrew  the  latter,  a  low  and  husky  voice  at  his 
elbow  asked  in  smothered  tones  : 

"  Ishmael,  my  man,  hear  ye  nothing?  " 

"  Hist  ! "  returned  the  husband,  laying  a  powerful  arm 
on  Esther,  without  manifesting  the  smallest  surprise  at  the 
unlooked-for  presence  of  his  wife.  "  Hist,  woman  !  if  you 
have  the  fear  of  Heaven,  be  still !  " 

A  profound  silence  succeeded.  Though  the  wind  rose 
and  fell  as  before,  its  rushing  was  no  longer  mingled  with 
those  fearful  cries.  The  sounds  were  imposing  and  solemn, 
but  it  was  the  solemnity  and  majesty  of  Nature. 

"  Let  us  go  on, "  said  Esther  ;  "  all  is  hushed." 

"Woman,  what  has  brought  you  here  ?"  demanded  her 
husband,  whose  blood  had  returned  into  its  former  chan- 
nels, and  whose  thoughts  had  already  lost  a  portion  of 
their  excitement. 

"  Ishmael,  he  murdered  our  firstborn  ;  but  it  is  not  meet 
that  the  son  of  my  mother  should  lie  upon  the  ground, 
like  the  carrion  of  a  dog." 

"  Follow ! "  returned  the  squatter,  again  grasping  his 
rifle,  and  striding  toward  the  rock.  The  distance  was  still 
considerable  ;  and  their  approach,  as  they  drew  nigh  the 
place  of  execution,  was  moderated  by  awe.  Many  min- 
utes had  passed  before  they  reached  a  spot  where  they 
might  distinguish  the  outlines  of  the  dusky  objects. 

"  Where  have  you  put  the  body  ?  "  whispered  Esther. 
"  See,  here  are  pick  and  spade,  that  a  brother  of  mine 
may  sleep  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth ! " 

The  moon  broke  from  behind  a  mass  of  clouds,  and  the 
eye  of  the  woman  was  enabled  to  follow  the  finger  of 
Ishmael.  It  pointed  to  a  human  form  swinging  in  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  28j 

wind,  beneath  the  ragged  and  shining  aim  of  the  willow. 
Esther  bent  her  head  and  veiled  her  eyes  from  the  sight. 
But  Ishmael  drew  nigher,  and  contemplated  his  work  in 
awe,  though  not  in  compunction.  The  leaves  of  the 
sacred  book  were  scattered  on  the  ground,  and  even  a 
fragment  of  the  shelf  had  been  displaced  by  the  kidnapper 
in  his  agony.  But  all  was  now  in  the  stillness  of  death. 
The  grim  and  convulsed  countenance  of  the  victim  was  at 
times  brought  full  into  the  light  of  the  moon,  and  again, 
as  the  wind  lulled,  the  fatal  rope  drew  a  dark  line  across 
its  bright  disk.  The  squatter  raised  his  rifle  with  extreme 
care,  and  fired.  The  cord  was  cut,  and  the  body  came 
lumbering  to  the  earth,  a  heavy  and  insensible  mass. 

Until  now  Esther  had  not  moved  or  spoken.  But  her 
hand  was  not  slow  to  assist  in  the  labor  of  the  hour.  The 
grave  was  soon  dug.  It  was  instantly  made  to  receive  its 
miserable  tenant.  As  the  lifeless  form  descended,  Esther, 
who  sustained  the  head,  looked  up  into  the  face  of  her 
husband  with  an  expression  of  anguish,  and  said  : 

"Ishmael,  my  man,  it  is  very  terrible!  I  cannot  kiss 
the  corpse  of  my  father's  child  !  " 

The  squatter  laid  his  broad  hand  on  the  bosom  of  the 
dead,  and  said  : 

"  Abiram  White,  we  all  have  need  of  mercy  ;  from  my 
soul  do  I  forgive  you  !  May  God  in  Heaven  have  pity  on 
your  sins ! " 

The  woman  bowed  her  face,  and  imprinted  her  lips 
long  and  fervently  on  the  pallid  forehead  of  her  brother. 
After  this  came  the  falling  clods  and  all  the  solemn  sounds 
of  filling  a  grave.  Esther  lingered  on  her  knees,  and  Ish- 
mael stood  uncovered  while  the  woman  muttered  a  prayer. 
All  was  then  finished. 

On  the  following  morning  the  teams  and  herds  of  the 
squatter  were  seen  pursuing  their  course  toward  the  set- 
tlements. As  they  approached  the  confines  of  society,  the 
train  was  blended  among  a  thousand  others.  Though 
some  of  the  numerous  descendants  of  this  peculiar  pair 
were  reclaimed  from  their  lawless  and  semi-barbarous  lives, 
the  principals  of  the  family  themselves  were  never  heard 
of  more. 


384  THE  PRAIRIE. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  passage  of  the  Pawnee  to  his  village  was  interrupted 
by  no  scene  of  violence.  His  vengeance  had  been  as  com- 
plete as  it  was  summary.  Not  even  a  solitary  scout  of  the 
Sioux  was  left  on  the  hunting-grounds  he  was  obliged  to 
traverse,  and  of  course  the  journey  of  Middleton's  party 
was  as  peaceful  as  if  made  in  the  bosom  of  the  States. 
The  marches  were  timed  to  meet  the  weakness  of  the  fe- 
males. In  short,  the  victors  seemed  to  have  lost  every 
trace  of  ferocity  with  their  success,  and  appeared  disposed 
to  consult  the  most  trifling  of  the  wants  of  that  engrossing 
people  who  were  daily  encroaching  on  their  rights,  and 
reducing  the  red-men  of  the  West  from  their  state  of 
proud  independence  to  the  condition  of  fugitives  and  wan- 
derers. 

Our  limits  will  not  permit  a  detail  of  the  triumphant 
entry  of  the  conquerors.  The  exultation  of  the  tribe  was 
proportioned  to  its  previous  despondency.  Mothers 
boasted  of  the  honorable  deaths  of  their  sons  ;  wives  pro- 
claimed the  honor  and  pointed  to  the  scars  of  their  hus- 
bands ;  and  Indian  girls  rewarded  the  young  braves  with 
songs  of  triumph.  The  trophies  of  their  fallen  enemies 
were  exhibited,  as  conquered  standards  are  displayed  in 
more  civilized  regions.  The  deeds  of  former  warriors 
were  recounted  by  the  aged  men,  and  declared  to  be 
eclipsed  by  the  glory  of  this  victory ;  while  Hard-Heart 
himself,  so  distinguished  for  his  exploits  from  boyhood  to 
that  hour,  was  unanimously  proclaimed  and  reproclaimed 
the  worthiest  chief  and  the  stoutest  brave  that  the  Wah- 
condah  had  ever  bestowed  on  his  most  favored  children, 
the  Pawnees  of  the  Lo-ups. 

Notwithstanding  the  comparative  security  in  which  Mid- 
dleton  found  his  recovered  treasure,  be  was  not  sorry  to 
isee  his  faithful  and  sturdy  artillerists  standing  among  the 
throng  as  he  entered  in  the  wild  train,  and  lifting  their 
voices  in  a  martial  shout  to  greet  his  return.  Tiie  pres- 
ence of  this  force,  small  as  it  was,  removed  every  shadow 
of  uneasiness  from  his  mind.  It  made  him  master  of  his 
movements,  gave  him  dignity  and  importance  in  the  eyes 
of  his  new  friends,  and  would  enable  him  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  of  the  wide  region  which  svill  lay  between  the 


THE  PRAIRIE.  38$ 

village  of  the  Pawnees  and  the  nearest  fortress  of  his 
countrymen.  A  lodge  was  yielded  to  the  exclusive  pos- 
session of  Inez  and  Ellen  ;  and  even  Paul,  when  he  saw 
an  armed  sentinel  in  the  uniform  of  the  States  pacing 
before  its  entrance,  was  content  to  stray  among  the  dwell 
ings  of  the  "red-skins,"  prying  with  but  little  reserve  into 
their  domestic  economy,  commenting  sometimes  jocularly, 
sometimes  gravely,  and  always  freely,  on  their  different 
expedients,  or  endeavoring  to  make  the  wondering  house- 
wives comprehend  his  quaint  explanations  of  what  he  con- 
ceived to  be  the  better  customs  of  the  whites. 

This  inquiring  and  troublesome  spirit  found  no  imitators 
among  the  Indians.  The  delicacy  and  reserve  of  Hard- 
Heart  was  communicated  to  his  people.  When  every  at- 
tention that  could  be  suggested  by  their  simple  manners 
and  narrow  wants  had  been  fulfilled,  no  intrusive  foot  pre- 
sumed to  approach  the  cabins  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
strangers.  They  were  left  to  seek  their  repose  in  the  man- 
ner which  most  comported  with  their  habits  and  inclina- 
tions. The  songs  and  rejoicings  of  the  tribe,  however,  ran 
far  into  the  night,  during  the  deepest  hours  of  which  the 
voice  of  more  than  one  warrior  was  heard,  recounting, 
from  the  top  of  his  lodge,  the  deeds  of  his  people  and  the 
glory  of  their  triumphs. 

Everything  having  life,  notwithstanding  the  excesses  of 
the  night,  was  abroad  with  the  appearance  of  the  sun. 
The  expression  of  exultation,  which  had  so  lately  been 
seen  on  every  countenance,  was  now  changed  to  one  better 
suited  to  the  feeling  of  the  moment.  It  was  understood 
by  all,  that  the  pale-faces,  who  had  befriended  their  chief, 
were  about  to  take  their  final  leave  of  the  tribe.  The 
soldiers  of  Middleton,  in  anticipation  of  his  arrival,  had 
bargained  with  an  unsuccessful  trader  for  the  use  of  his 
boat,  which  lay  in  the  stream  ready  to  receive  its  cargo, 
and  nothing  remained  to  complete  the  arrangements  foi 
the  long  journey. 

Middleton  did  not  see  this  moment  arrive  entirely  with- 
out distrust.  The  admiration  with  which  Hard-Heart  re- 
garded Inez  had  not  escaped  his  jealous  eye,  any  more 
than  had  the  lawless  wishes  of  Mahtoree.  He  knew  the 
consummate  manner  in  which  a  savage  could  conceal  his 
designs,  and  he  felt  that  it  would  be  a  culpable  weakness 
to  be  unprepared  for  the  worst.  Secret  instructions  were 
therefore  given  to  his  men,  while  the  preparations  they 

25 


38<5  THE  PRAIRIE. 

made  were  properly  masked  behind  the  show  of  military 
parade  with  which  it  was  intended  to  signalize  their  de- 
parture. 

The  conscience  of  the  young  soldier  reproached  him 
when  he  saw  the  whole  tribe  accompanying  his  party  to  the 
margin  of  the  stream,  with  unarmed  hands  and  sorrowful 
countenances.  They  gathered  in  a  circle  around  the  stran- 
gers and  their  chief,  and  became  not  only  peaceful  but 
highly  interested  observers  of  what  was  passing.  As  it 
was  evident  that  Hard-Heart  intended  to  speak,  the  for- 
mer stopped,  and  manifested  their  readiness  to  listen,  the 
trapper  performing  the  office  of  interpreter.  Then  the 
young  chief  addressed  his  people,  in  the  usual  metaphori- 
cal language  of  an  Indian.  Fie  commenced  by  alluding  to 
the  antiquity  and  renown  of  his  own  nation.  He  spoke  of 
their  successes  in  the  hunts  and  on  the  war-path  ;  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  had  always  known  how  to  defend 
their  rights  and  to  chastise  their  enemies.  After  he  had 
said  enough  to  manifest  his  respect  for  the  greatness  of 
the  Loups,  and  to  satisfy  the  pride  of  the  listeners,  he 
made  a  sudden  transition  to  the  race  of  whom  the  strangers 
were  members.  He  compared  their  countless  numbers 
to  the  flights  of  migratory  birds  in  the  season  of  blossoms, 
or  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  With  a  delicacy  that  none  knew 
better  how  to  practise  than  an  Indian  warrior,  he  made  no 
direct  mention  of  the  rapacious  tempers  that  so  many  of 
them  had  betrayed  in  their  dealings  with  the  red-men. 
Feeling  that  the  sentiment  of  distrust  was  strongly  en~ 
grafted  in  the  tempers  of  his  tribe,  he  rather  endeavored 
t3  soothe  any  just  resentment  they  might  entertain,  by  in- 
direct excuses  and  apologies.  He  reminded  the  listeners 
that  even  the  Pawnee  Loups  had  been  obliged  to  chase 
many  unworthy  individuals  from  their  villages.  The  Wah- 
condah  sometimes  veiled  his  countenance  from  a  red-man. 
No  doubt  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  pale-faces  often  looked 
darkly  on  his  children.  Such  as  were  abandoned  to  the 
worker  of  evil  could  never  be  brave  or  virtuous,  let  the 
color  of  the  skin  be  what  it  might.  He  bade  his  young 
men  look  at  the  hands  of  the  Big-knives.  They  were  not 
empty,  like  those  of  hungry  beggars.  Neither  were  they 
filled  with  goods,  like  those  of  knavish  traders.  They 
were,  like  themselves,  warriors,  and  they  carried  arms 
which  they  knew  well  how  to  use — they  were  worthy  to 
be  called  brothers  ! 


TIfK  PRAIRIE.  387 

Then  he  directed  the  attention  of  all  to  the  chief  of  the 
strangers.  He  was  a  son  of  their  great  white  father.  He 
had  not  come  upon  the  prairies  to  frighten  the  buffaloes 
from  their  pastures,  or  to  seek  the  game  of  the  Indians. 
Wicked  men  had  robbed  him  of  one  of  his  wives  ;  no  doubt 
she  was  the  most  obedient,  the  meekest,  the  loveliest  of 
them  all.  They  had  only  to  open  their  eyes  to  see  that 
his  words  must  be  true.  Now  that  the  white  chief  had 
found  his  wife,  he  was  about  to  return  to  his  own  people 
in  peace.  He  would  tell  them  that  the  Pawnees  were  just, 
and  there  would  be  a  line  of  wampum  between  the  two 
nations.  Let  all  his  people  wish  the  strangers  a  safe  re- 
turn to  their  towns.  The  warriors  of  the  Loups  knew 
both  how  to  receive  their  enemies,  and  how  to  clear  the 
briers  from  the  path  of  their  friends. 

The  heart  of  Middleton  beat  quick  as  the  young  parti- 
san* alluded  to  the  charms  of  Inez,  and  for  an  instant  he 
cast  an  impatient  glance  at  his  little  line  of  artillerists  ; 
but  the  chief  from  that  moment  appeared  to  forget  he  had 
ever  seen  so  fair  a  being.  His  feelings,  if  he  had  any  on 
the  subject,  were  veiled  behind  the  cold  mask  of  Indian 
self-denial.  He  took  each  warrior  by  the  hand,  not  for- 
getting the  meanest  soldier,  but  his  cold  and  collected  eye 
never  wandered  for  an  instant  toward  either  of  the  females. 
Arrangements  had  been  made  for  their  comfort,  with  a 
prodigality  and  care  that  had  not -failed  to  excite  some  sur- 
prise in  his  young  men,  but  in  no  other  particular  did  he 
shock  their  manly  pride  by  betraying  any  solicitude  in  be- 
half of  the  weaker  sex. 

The  leave-taking  was  general  and  imposing.  Each  male 
Pawnee  was  sedulous  to  omit  no  one  of  the  strange  war- 
riors in  his  attentions,  and,  of  course,  the  ceremony  occu- 
pied some  time.  The  only  exception,  and  that  was  not 
general,  was  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Battius.  Not  a  few  of  the 
young  men,  it  is  true,  were  indifferent  about  lavishing  civ- 
ilities on  one  of  so  doubtful  a  profession,  but  the  worthy 
naturalist  found  some  consolation  in  the  more  matured 


*  The  Americans  and  the  Indians  have  adopted  several  words,  which 
each  believe  peculiar  to  the  language  of  the  others.  Thus  "squaw,'* 
"papoose,"  or  child,  wigwam,  etc.,  etc.,  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
belonged  at  all  to  any  Indian  dialect,  are  much  used  by  both  whites  and 
ted  men  in  their  intercourse.  Many  words  are  derived  from  the  French 
in  this  species  of  prairies  nomaic.  Partisan,  brave,  etc.,  are  of  the  number. 


388  THE  PRA7RIK. 

politeness  of  the  old  men,  who  had  inferred  that,  though 
not  of  much  use  in  war,  the  medicine  of  the  Big-knives 
might  possibly  be  made  serviceable  in  peace. 

When  all  of  Middleton's  party  had  embarked,  the  trap- 
per lifted  a  small  bundle,  which  had  lain  at  his  feet  during 
the  previous  proceedings,  and,  whistling  Hector  to  his 
side,  he  was  the  last  to  take  his  seat.  The  artillerists  gave 
the  usual  cheers,  which  were  answered  by  a  shout  from  the 
tribe,  and  then  the  boat  was  shoved  into  the  current,  and 
began  to  glide  swiftly  down  its  stream. 

A  long  and  a  musing,  if  not  a  melancholy  silence,  suc- 
ceeded this  departure.  It  was  first  broken  by  the  trapper, 
whose  regret  was  not  the  least  visible  in  his  dejected  and 
sorrowful  eye  : 

"They  are  a  valiant  and  an  honest  tribe,"  he  said  ;  "  that 
will  I  say  boldly  in  their  favor  ;  and  second  only  do  I  take 
them  to  be  to  that  once  mighty  but  now  scattered  people, 
the  Delawares  of  the  Hills.  Ah's  me,  captain,  if  you  had 
seen  as  much  good  and  evil  as  I  have  seen  in  these  nations 
of  red-skins,  you  would  know  of  how  much  value  was  a 
brave  and  simple-minded  warrior.  I  know  that  some  are 
to  be  found,  who  both  think  and  say  that  an  Indian  is  but 
little  better  than  the  beasts  of  these  naked  plains.  But  it 
is  needful  to  be  honest  in  one's  self,  to  be  a  fitting  judge  of 
honesty  in  others.  No  doubt,  no  doubt,  they  know  their 
enemies,  and  little  do  they  care  to  show  to  such  any  great 
confidence  or  love." 

"  It  is  the  way  of  man,"  returned  the  captain  ;  "  and  it  is 
probable  they  are  not  wanting  in  any  of  his  natural  quali^ 
ties." 

"  No,  no  ;  it  is  little  that  they  want,  that  Natur'  has  had 
to  give.  But  as  little  does  he  know  of  the  temper  of  a  red- 
skin, who  has  seen  but  one  Indian,  or  one  tribe,  as  he  knows 
of  the  color  of  feathers  who  has  only  looked  upon  a  crow. 
Now,  friend  steersman,  just  give  the  boat  a  sheer  toward 
yonder  low  sandy  point,  and  a  favor  will  be  granted  at  a 
short  asking." 

"For  what?"  demanded  Middleton  ;  "we  are  now  in 
the  swiftest  of  the  current,  and  by  drawing  to  the  shore  we 
shall  lose  the  force  of  the  stream." 

"Your  tarry  will  not  be  long,"  returned  the  old  man,  ap- 
plying his  own  hand  to  the  execution  of  that  which  he  had 
requested.  The  oarsmen  had  seen  enough  of  his  influence 
with  their  leader  not  to  dispute  his  wishes,  and,  before  time 


THE  PRAIRIE.  389 

was  given  for  further  discussion  on  the  subject  the  bow  of 
the  boat  had  touched  the  land. 

"Captain,"  resumed  the  other,  untying  his  little  wallet 
with  great  deliberation,  and  even  in  a  manner  to  show  he 
found  satisfaction  in  the  delay,  "  I  wish  to  offer  you  a  small 
matter  of  trade.  No  great  bargain,  mayhap  ;  but  still  the 
best  that  one,  of  whose  hand  the  skill  of  the  rifle  has  taken 
leave,  and  who  has  become  no  better  than  a  miserable  trap- 
per, can  offer  before  we  part." 

"  Part !"  was  echoed  from  every  mouth,  among  those  who 
had  so  recently  shared  his  dangers,  and  profited  by  his 
care. 

"What  the  devil,  old  trapper  !  do  you  mean  to  foot  it  to 
the  settlements,  when  here  is  a  boat  that  will  float  the  dis- 
tance in  half  the  time  that  the  jackass  the  doctor  has  given 
the  Pawnee  could  trot  along  the  same  ? " 

"  Settlements,  boy!  It  is  long  sin'  I  took  my  leave  of 
the  waste  and  wickedness  of  the  settlements  and  the  villages. 
If  I  live  in  a  clearing,  here,  it  is  one  of  the  Lord's  making, 
and  I  have  no  hard  thoughts  on  the  matter;  but  never 
again  shall  I  be  seen  running  wilfully  into  the  danger  of 
immoralities." 

"I  had  not  thought  of  parting,"  answered  Middleton, 
endeavoring  to  seek  some  relief  from  the  uneasiness  he 
felt,  by  turning  his  eyes  on  the  sympathizing  countenances 
of  his  friends  ;  "on  the  contrary,  I  had  hoped  and  believed 
that  you  would  have  accompanied  us  below,  where,  I  give 
you  a  sacred  pledge,  nothing  shall  be  wanting  to  make 
your  days  comfortable." 

"  Yes,  lad,  yes  ;  you  would  do  your  endeavors  ;  but  what 
are  the  strivings  of  man  against  the  working  of  the  devil  ? 
Ay,  if  kind  offers  and  good  wishes  could  have  done  the 
thing,  I  might  have  been  a  Congressman,  or  perhaps  a 
governor,  years  agone.  Your  gran'ther  wi-shed  the  same, 
and  there  are  them  still  living  in  the  Otsego  mountains,  as 
I  hope,  who  would  gladly  have  given  me  a  palace  for  my 
dwelling.  But  what  are  riches  without  content?  My  time 
must  now  be  short,  at  any  rate,  and  I  hold  it's  no  mighty 
sin  for  one  who  has  acted  his  part  honestly  near  ninety 
winters  and  summers,  to  wish  to  pass  the  few  hours  that 
remain  in  comfort.  If  you  think  I  have  done  wrong  in 
coming  thus  far  to  quit  you  again,  captain,  I  will  own  the 
reason  of  the  act,  without  shame  or  backwardness.  Though 
I  have  seen  so  much  of  the  wilderness,  it  is  not  to  be  gain* 


390 


J'Jfh   1'RAIRIK. 


said  that  my  feelings,  as  well  as  my  skin,  are  white.  Now, 
it  would  not  be  a  fitting  spectacle  that  yonder  Pawnee 
Loups  should  look  upon  the  weakness  of  an  old  warrior, 
if  weakness  he  should  happen  to  show  in  parting  forever 
from  those  he  has  reason  to  love,  though  he  may  not  set 
his  heart  so  strongly  on  them  as  to  wish  to  go  into  the  set- 
tlements in  their  company." 

"Harkee,  old  trapper,"  said  Paul,  clearing  his  throat 
with  a  desperate  effort,  as  if  determined  to  give  his  voice 
a  clear  exit,  "I  have  just  one  bargain  to  make,  since  you 
talk  of  trading,  which  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  this  : 
I  offer  you,  as  my  side  of  the  business,  one-half  of  my 
shanty,  nor  do  I  much  care  if  it  be  the  biggest  half ;  the 
sweetest  and  the  purest  honey  that  can  be  made  of  the 
wild  locust ;  always  enough  to  eat,  with  now  and  then  a 
mouthful  of  venison,  or,  for  that  matter,  a  morsel  of  buf- 
falo's hump,  seeing  that  I  intend  to  push  my  acquaintance 
with  the  animal,  and  as  good  and  as  tidy  cooking  as  can 
come  from  the  hands  of  one  like  Ellen  Wade,  here,  who 
will  shortly  be  Nelly  somebody  else,  and  altogether  such 
general  treatment  as  a  decent  man  might  be  supposed  to 
pay  to  his  best  friend,  or,  for  that  matter,  to  his  own  father  ; 
in  return  for  the  same,  you  ar'  to  give  us  at  odd  moments 
some  of  your  ancient  traditions,  perhaps  a  little  wholesome 
advice  on  occasions,  in  small  quantities  at  a  time,  and  as 
much  of  your  agreeable  company  as  you  please." 

"It  is  well — it  is  well,  boy,"  returned  the  old  man,  fum- 
bling at  his  wallet;  "honestly  offered,  and  not  unthank- 
fully  declined  — but  it  cannot  be  ;  no,  it  can  never  be." 

"Venerable  venator,"  said  Dr.  Battius,  "there  are  obli- 
gations which  every  man  owes  to  society  and  to  human 
nature.  It  is  time  that  you  should  return  to  your  country- 
men, to  deliver  up  some  of  those  stores  of  experimental 
knowledge  that  you  have  doubtless  obtained  by  so  long  a 
sojourn  in  the  wilds,  which,  however  they  may  be  corrupt- 
ed by  preconceived  opinions,  will  prove  acceptable  be- 
quests to  those  whom,  as  you  say,  you  must  shortly  leave 
forever." 

"  Friend  physicianer,"  returned  the  trapper,  looking  the 
other  steadily  in  the  face,  "  as  it  would  be  no  easy  matter 
to  judge  of  the  temper  of  the  rattler  by  considering  the 
fashions  of  the  moose,  so  it  would  be  hard  to  speak  of  the 
usefulness  of  one  man  by  thinking  too  much  of  the  deeds 
of  another.  You  have  your  gifts  like  others,  I  suppose, 


THE  PRAIRIE.  39i 

and  little  do  I  wish  to  disturb  them.  But  as  to  me,  the 
Lord  has  made  me  for  a  doer  and  not  a  talker,  and  there- 
fore do  I  consider  it  no  harm  to  shut  my  ears  to  your  in- 
vitation." 

"  It  is  enough,"  interrupted  Middleton  ;  "  I  have  seen 
and  heard  so  much  of  this  extraordinary  man,  as  to  know 
that  persuasions  will  not  change  his  purpose.  First,  we 
will  hear  your  request,  my  friend,  and  then  we  will  considef 
what  may  be  best  done  for  your  advantage." 

"  It  is  a  small  matter,  captain,"  returned  the  old  man, 
succeeding  at  length  in  opening  his  bundle.  **  A  small  and 
trifling  matter  is  it,  to  what  I  once  used  to  offer  in  the  way 
of  a  bargain  ;  but  then  it  is  the  best  I  have,  and  therein 
not  to  be  despised.  Here  are  the  skins  of  four  beavers, 
that  I  took,  it  might  be  a  month  afore  we  met,  and  here 
is  another  from  a  raccoon,  that  is  of  no  great  matter,  to  be 
sure,  but  which  may  serve  to  make  weight  atween  us." 

"And  what  do  you  propose  to  do  with  them  ?" 

"  I  offer  them  in  lawTful  barter.  Them  knaves  the  Siouxes 
—the  Lord  forgive  me  for  ever  believing  it  was  the  Kon- 
zas ! — have  stolen  the  best  of  my  traps,  and  driven  me  alto- 
gether to  make  shift  inventions,  which  might  foretell  a 
dreary  winter  for  me  should  my  time  stretch  into  another 
season.  I  wish  you  therefore  to  take  the  skins,  and  to 
offer  them  to  some  of  the  trappers  you  will  not  fail  to  meet 
below,  in  exchange  for  a  few  traps,  and  to  send  the  same 
into  the  Pawnee  village  in  my  name.  Be  careful  to  have  my 
mark  painted  on  them  :  a  letter  N,  with  a  hound's  ear  and 
the  lock  of  a  rifle.  There  is  no  red-skin  who  will  then  dis- 
pute my  right.  For  all  which  trouble  I  have  little  more  to 
offer  than  my  thanks,  unless  my  friend,  the  bee-hunter  here, 
will  accept  of  the  raccoon,  and  take  on  himself  the  specif 
charge  of  the  whole  matter." 

"  If  I  do  may  I  be !  "  The  mouth  of  Paul  was  stopped 

by  the  hand  of  Ellen,  and  he  was  obliged  to  swallow  the 
rest  of  the  sentence,  which  he  did  with  a  species  of  emo- 
tion that  bore  no  slight  resemblance  to  the  process  of  stran- 
gulation. 

"  Well,  well,"  returned  the  old  man,  meekly,  "  I  hope 
there  is  no  heavy  offence  in  the  offer.  I  know  that  the 
skin  of  a  raccoon  is  of  small  price,  but  then  it  was  no 
mighty  labor  that  I  asked  in  return." 

"You  entirely  mistake  the  meaning  of  our  friend,"  in- 
terrupted Middleton,  who  observed  that  the  bee-hunter 


39* 


THE  PR  AIRS  P.. 


was  looking  in  every  direction  but  the  right  one,  and  that 
he  was  utterly  unable  to  make  his  own  vindication.  "  He 
did  not  mean  to  say  that  he  declined  the  charge,  but  merely 
that  he  refused  all  compensation.  It  is  unnecessary,  how- 
ever, to  say  more  of  this  ;  it  shall  be  my  office  to  see  that 
the  debt  we  owe  is  properly  discharged,  and  that  all  your 
necessities  shall  be  anticipated." 

"  Anan  !  "  said  the  old  man,  looking  up  inquiringly  into 
the  other's  face,  as  if  to  ask  an  explanation. 

"  It  shall  all  be  as  you  wish.  Lay  the  skins  with  my  bag- 
gage. We  will  bargain  for  you  as  for  ourselves." 

"  Thankee,  thankee,  captain  ;  your  gran'ther  was  of  a 
free  and  generous  mind.  So  much  so,  in  truth,  that  those 
just  people,  the  Delawares,  called  him  the  'Open-hand.' 
I  wish  now,  I  was  as  I  used  to  be,  in  order  that  I  might 
send  in  the  lady  a  few  delicate  martens  for  her  tippets  and 
overcoats,  just  to  show  you  that  I  know  how  to  give  cour* 
tesy.  But  do  not  expect  the  same,  for  I  am  too  old  to  give 
the  promise  !  It  will  all  be  just  as  the  Lord  shall  see  fit. 
I  can  offer  you  nothing  else,  for  I  haven't  lived  so  long  in 
the  wilderness  not  to  know  the  scrupulous  ways  of  a  gen- 
tleman." 

"  Harkee,  old  trapper,"  cried  the  bee-hunter,  striking 
his  own  hand  into  the  open  palm  which  the  other  had  ex- 
tended, with  a  report  but  little  below  the  crack  of  a  rifle, 
<l  I  have  just  two  things  to  say  :  firstly,  that  the  captain 
has  told  you  my  meaning  better  than  I  can  myself,  and 
secondly,  if  you  want  a  skin,  either  for  your  private  use  or 
to  send  abroad,  I  have  it  at  your  service  ;  and  that  is  the 
skin  of  one  Paul  Hover !  " 

The  old  man  returned  the  grasp  he  received,  and  opened 
his  mouth  to  the  utmost  in  his  extraordinary,  silent  laugh. 

"  You  couldn't  have  given  such  a  squeeze,  boy,  when  the 
Teton  squaws  were  about  you  with  their  knives  ?  Ah  ! 
you  are,  in  your  prime  and  in  your  vigor,  and  happiness, 
if  honesty  lies  in  your  path."  Then  the  expression  of  his 
rugged  features  suddenly  changed  to  a  look  of  seriousness 
and  thought.  "Come  hither,  lad,"  he  said,  leading  the 
bee-hunter  by  a  button  to  the  land,  and  speaking  apart  in 
a  tone  of  admonition  and  confidence  :  "much  has  passed 
atween  us  on  the  pleasures  and  respectableness  of  a  life  in 
the  woods  or  on  the  borders.  I  do  not  now  mean  to  say 
that  all  you  have  heard  is  not  true,  but  different  tempers 
call  for  different  employments.  You  have  taken  to  3'oul 


THE  PRAIRIE.  393 

bosom,  there,  a  good  and  kind  child,  and  it  has  become 
your  duty  to  consider  her,  as  well  as  yourself,  in  setting 
forth  in  life.  You  are  little  given  to  skirting  the  settle- 
ments, but  to  my  poor  judgment  the  girl  would  be  more 
like  a  flourishing  flower  in  the  sun  of  a  clearing  than  in 
the  winds  of  the  prairie.  Therefore  forget  anything  you 
may  have  heard  from  me,  which  is  nevertheless  true,  and 
turn  your  mind  on  the  ways  of  the  inner  country." 

Paul  could  only  answer  with  a  squeeze  that  would  have 
brought  tears  from  the  eyes  of  most  men,  but  which  pro- 
duced no  other  effect  on  the  indurated  muscles  of  the  other 
than  to  make  him  laugh  and  nod,  as  if  he  received  the 
same  as  a  pledge  that  the  bee-hunter  would  remember  his 
advice.  The  trapper  then  turned  away  from  his  rough  but 
warm-hearted  companion,  and,  having  called  Hector  from 
the  boat,  he  seemed  anxious  still  to  utter  a  few  words  more. 

"  Captain,"  he  at  length  resumed,  "  I  know  when  a  poor 
man  talks  of  credit  he  deals  in  a  delicate  word,  according 
to  the  fashions  of  the  world  ;  and  when  an  old  man  talks 
of  life,  he  speaks  of  that  which  he  may  never  see  ;  never- 
theless, there  is  one  thing  I  will  say,  and  that  is  not  so 
much  on  my  own  behalf  as  on  that  of  another  person. 
Here  is  Hector,  a  good  and  faithful  pup,  that  has  long 
outlived  the  time  of  a  dog  ;  and,  like  his  master,  he  looks 
more  to  comfort  now  than  to  any  deeds  in  running.  But 
the  creatur'  has  his  feelings  as  well  as  a  Christian.  He 
has  consorted  latterly  with  his  kinsman  there,  in  such  a 
sort  as  to  find  great  pleasure  in  his  company,  and  I  will 
acknowledge  that  it  touches  my  feelings  to  part  the  pair 
so  soon.  If  you  will  set  a  value  on  your  hound,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  send  it  to  you  in  the  spring,  more  especially 
should  them  same  traps  come  safe  to  hand  ;  or,  if  you  dis- 
like parting  with  the  animal  altogether,  I  will  just  ask  you 
for  his  loan  througli  the  winter.  I  think  I  can  see  my  pup 
will  not  last  beyond  that  time,  for  I  have  judgment  in  these 
matters,  since  many  is  the  friend,  both  hound  and  red-skin, 
that  I  have  seen  depart  in  my  day,  though  the  Lord  hath 
not  yet  seen  fit  to  order  his  angels  to  sound  forth  my  name." 

"Take  him,  take  him,"  cried  Middleton  ;  "take  all,  or 
anything ! " 

The  old  man  whistled  the  younger  dog  to  the  land,  and 
then  he  proceeded  to  the  final  adieux.  Little  was  said  on 
either  side.  The  trapper  took  each  person  solemnly  by  the 
hand,  and  uttered  something  friendly  and  kind  to  all. 


394  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Middleton  was  perfectly  speechless,  and  was  driven  to  af- 
fect busying  himself  among  the  baggage.  Paul  whistled 
with  all  his  might,  and  even  Obed  took  his  leave  with  an 
effort  that  bore  the  appearance  of  desperate  philosophical 
resolution.  When  he  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  whole, 
the  old  man,  with  his  own  hands,  shoved  the  boat  into  the 
current,  wishing  God  to  speed  them.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken,  nor  a  stroke  of  the  oar  given,  until  the  travellers 
had  floated  past  a  knoll  that  hid  the  trapper  from  their 
view.  He  was  last  seen  standing  on  the  low  point,  leaning 
on  his  rifle,  with  Hector  crouched  at  his  feet,  and  the 
younger  dog  frisking  along  the  sands,  in  the  playfulness 
of  youth  and  vigor. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  water-courses  were  at  their  height,  and  the  boat 
went  down  the  swift  current  like  a  bird.  The  passage 
proved  prosperous  and  speedy.  In  less  than  a  third  of  the 
time  that  would  have  been  necessary  for  the  same  journey 
by  land,  it  was  accomplished  by  the  favor  of  those  rapid 
rivers.  Issuing  from  one  stream  into  another,  as  the  veins 
of  the  human  body  communicate  with  the  larger  channels 
of  life,  they  soon  entered  the  grand  artery  of  the  Western 
waters,  and  landed  safely  at  the  very  door  of  the  father  of 
Inez. 

The  joy  of  Don  Augustin,  and  the  embarrassment  of  the 
worthy  Father  Ignatius,  may  be  imagined.  The  former 
wept  and  returned  thanks  to  Heaven  ;  the  latter  returned 
thanks,  and  did  not  weep.  The  mild  provincials  were  too 
happy  to  raise  any  questions  on  the  character  of  so  joyful 
a  restoration  ;  and,  by  a  sort  of  general  consent,  it  soon 
came  to  be  an  admitted  opinion  that  the  bride  of  Middle- 
ton  had  been  kidnapped  by  a  villain,  and  that  she  was  re« 
stored  to  her  friends  by  human  agency.  There  were,  as 
respects  this  belief,  certainly  a  few  skeptics,  but  then  they 
enjoyed  their  doubts  in  private,  with  that  species  of  sub- 
limated arid  solitary  gratification  that  a  miser  finds  in  gaz- 
ing at  his  growing  but  useless  hoards. 

In  order  to  give  the  worthy  priest  something  to  employ 
his  mind,  Middleton  made  him  the  instrument  of  uniting 
Paul  and  Ellen.  The  former  consented  to  the  ceremonv 


THE  PRAIRIE.  395 

because  he  found  that  all  his  friends  laid  great  stress  on 
the  matter  ;  but  shortly  after  he  led  his  bride  into  the 
plains  of  Kentucky,  under  the  pretence  of  paying  certain 
customary  visits  to  sundry  members  of  the  family  of  Hover. 
While  there,  he  took  occasion  to  have  the  marriage 
properly  solemnized  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, in  whose  ability  to  forge  the  nuptial  chain  he 
had  much  more  faith  than  in  that  of  all  the  gownsmen 
within  the  pale  of  Rome.  Ellen,  who  appeared  conscious 
that  some  extraordinary  preventives  might  prove  neces- 
sary to  keep  one  of  so  erratic  a  temper  as  her  husband 
within  the  proper  matrimonial  boundaries,  raised  no  ob- 
jections to  these  double  knots,  and  all  parties  were  con- 
tented. 

The  lo^t.1  importance  Middleton  had  acquired  by  his 
union  with  the  daughter  of  so  affluent  a  proprietor  as  Don 
Augustin,  united  to  his  personal  merit,  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  government.  He  was  soon  employed  in 
various  situations  01  responsibility  and  confidence,  which 
both  served  to  elevate  his  character  in  the  public  estima- 
tion and  to  afford  the  means  of  patronage.  The  bee-hunter 
was  among  the  first  of  those  to  whom  he  saw  fit  to  extend 
his  favor.  It  was  far  from  difficult  to  find  situations  suited 
to  the  abilities  of  Paul,  in  the  state  of  society  that  existed 
three-and-twenty  years  ago  in  those  regions.  The  efforts 
of  Middleton  and  Inez  in  behalf  of  her  husband  were 
warmly  and  sagaciously  seconded  by  Ellen,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded, in  process  of  time,  in  working  a  great  and  beneficial 
change  in  his  character.  He  soon  became  a  landholder, 
then  a  prosperous  cultivator  of  the  soil,  and  shortly  after 
a  town  officer.  By  that  progressive  change  in  fortunes, 
which  in  the  republic  is  often  seen  to  be  as  singularly  ac- 
companied by  a  corresponding  improvement  in  knowledge 
and  self-respect,  he  went  on,  from  step  to  step,  until  his 
wife  enjoyed  the  maternal  delight  of  seeing  her  children 
placed  far  beyond  the  dangers  of  returning  to  that  state 
from  which  both  their  parents  had  issued.  Paul  is  actually 
at  this  moment  a  member  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  the  State  where  he  has  long  resided  ;  and  he  is 
even  notorious  for  making  speeches  that  have  a  tendency 
to  put  that  deliberative  body  in  good-humor,  and  which, 
as  they  are  based  on  great  practical  knowledge  suited  to 
the  condition  of  the  country,  possess  a  merit  that  is  much 
wanted  in  many  more  subtle  and  fine-spun  theories  that 


396  THE  PRAIRIE. 

are  daily  heard,  in  similar  assemblies,  to  issue  from  tha 
lips  of  certain  instinctive  politicians.  But  all  these  happy 
fruits  were  the  results  of  much  care,  and  of  a  long  period 
of  time.  Middleton,  who  fills,  with  a  credit  better  suited 
to  the  difference  in  their  educations,  a  seat  in  a  far  highef 
branch  of  legislative  authority,  is  the  source  from  which 
we  have  derived  most  of  the  intelligence  necessary  to  com< 
pose  our  legend.  In  addition  to  what  he  has  related  of 
Paul,  and  of  his  own  continued  happiness,  he  has  added  a 
short  narrative  of  what  took  place  on  a  subsequent  visit 
to  the  prairies,  with  which,  as  we  conceive  it  a  suitable 
termination  to  what  has  gone  before,  we  shall  judge  it  wise 
to  conclude  our  labors. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  that  succeeded  the  season  in 
which  the  preceding  events  occurred,  the  young  man,  still 
in  the  military  service,  found  .himself  on  the  \vaters  of  the 
Missouri,  .at  a  point  not  far  remote  from  the  Pawnee  towns. 
Released  from  any  immediate  calls  of  duty,  and  strongly 
urged  to  the  measure  by  Paul,  who  was  in  his  company, 
lie  determined  to  take  horse,  and  cross  the  country  to  visit 
the  partisan,  and  to  inquire  into  the  fate  of  his  friend  the 
trapper.  As  his  train  was  suited  to  his  functions  and  rank, 
the  journey  was  effected  with  privations  and  hardships 
that  are  the  accompaniments  of  all  travelling  in  a  wild,  but 
without  any  of  those  dangers  and  alarms  that  marked  his 
former  passage  through  the  same  regions.  When  within 
a  proper  distance,  he  despatched  an  Indian  runner,  belong-, 
ing  to  a  friendly  tribe,  to  announce  the  approach  of  him- 
self and  party,  continuing  his  route  at  a  deliberate  pace, 
in  order  that  the  intelligence  might,  as  was  customary, 
precede  his  arrival.  To  the  surprise  of  the  travellers, 
their  message  was  unanswered.  Hour  succeeded  hour,  and 
mile  after  mile  was  passed,  without  bringing  either  the 
signs  of  an  honorable  reception,  or  the  more  simple  assur- 
ances of  a  friendly  welcome.  At  length  the  cavalcade,  at 
whose  head  rode  Middleton  and  Paul,  descended  from  the 
elevated  plain,  on  which  they  had  long  been  journeying, 
to  a  luxuriant  bottom,  that  brought  .them  to  the  level  of 
the  village  of  the  Loups.  The  sun  was  beginning  to  fall, 
and  a  sheet  of  golden  light  was  spread  over  the  placid 
plain,  lending  to  its  even  surface  those  glorious  tints  and 
hues  that  the  human  imagination  is  apt  to  conceive  form 
the  embellishment  of  still  more  imposing  scenes.  The 
verdure  of  the  year  yet  remained,  and  herds  of  horses  and 


THE  PRAIRIE.  397 

mules  were  grazing  peacefully  in  the  vast  natural  pasture, 
under  the  keeping  of  vigilant  Pawnee  boys.  Paul  pointed 
out  among  them  the  \vell-known  form  of  Asinus,  sleek,  fat 
and  luxuriating  in  the  fulness  of  content,  as  he  stood  with 
reclining  ears  and  closed  eyelids,  seemingly  musing  on  the 
exquisite  nature  of  his  present  indolent  enjoyment. 

The  route  of  the  party  led  them  at  no  great  distance 
from  one  of  those  watchful  youths  who  was  charged  with  a 
trust  heavy  as  the  principal  wealth  of  his  tribe.  He  heard 
the  trampling  of  the  horses,  and  cast  his  eye  aside,  but,  in- 
stead of  manifesting  curiosity  or  alarm,  his  look  instantly 
returned  whence  it  had  been  withdrawn,  to  the  spot  where 
the  village  was  knowrn  to  stand. 

"  There  is  something  remarkable  in  all  this,"  muttered 
Middleton,  half  offended  at  what  he  conceived  to  be  not 
only  a  slight  to  his  rank,  but  offensive  to  himself  person- 
ally ;  "  yonder  boy  has  heard  of  our  approach,  or  he  would 
not  fail  to  notify  his  tribe  ;  and  yet  he  scarcely  deigns  to 
favor  us  with  a  glance.  Look  to  your  arms,  men  ;"it  may 
be  necessary  to  let  these  savages  feel  our  strength." 

':  Therein,  captain,  I  think  you're  in  an  error,"  returned 
Paul  ;  "  if  honesty  is  to  be  met  on  the  prairies  at  all,  you 
vill  find  it  in  our  old  friend  Hard-Heart ;  neither  is  an 
Indian  to  be  judged  of  by  the  rules  of  a  white.  See  !  we  are 
not  altogether  slighted,  for  here  comes  a  party  at  last  to  meet 
us,  though  it  is  a  little  pitiful  as  to  show  and  numbers." 

Paul  was  right  in  both  particulars.  A  group  of  horse- 
men were  at  length  seen  wheeling  round  a  little  copse  and 
advancing  across  the  plain  directly  toward  them.  The  ad- 
vance of  this  party  was  slow  and  dignified.  As  it  drew 
nigh,  the  partisan  of  the  Loups  was  seen  at  its  head,  fol- 
lowed by  a  dozen  younger  warriors  of  his  tribe.  They  were 
all  unarmed,  nor  did  they  even  wear  any  of  tho^e  ornaments 
or  feathers  which  are  considered  testimonials  of  respect  to 
the  guest  an  Indian  receives,  as  well  as  evidence  of  his 
own  importance. 

The  meeting  was  friendly,  though  a  little  restrained  on 
both  sides.  Middleton,  jealous  of  his  own  consideration, 
no  less  than  of  the  authority  of  his  government,  suspected 
some  undue  influence  on  the  part  of  the  agents  of  the 
Canadas  ;  and,  as  he  was  determined  to  maintain  the  au- 
thority of  which  he  was  the  representative,  he  felt  himself 
constrained  to  manifest  a  hauteur  that  he  was  far  from  feel* 
ing.  It  was  not  so  easy  to  penetrate  the  motives  of  the 


398  THE  PRAIRIE. 

Pawnees.  Calm,  dignified,  and  yet  far  from  repulsive,  thej 
set  an  example  of  courtesy,  blended  with  reserve,  that 
many  a  diplomatist  of  the  most  polished  court  might  have 
striven  in  vain  to  imitate. 

In  this  manner  the  two  parties  continued  their  course  to 
the  town.  Middleton  had  time,  during  the  remainder  of 
the  ride,  to  revolve  in  his  mind  all  the  probable  reasons 
which  his  ingenuity  could  suggest  for  this  strange  recep- 
tion. Although  he  was  accompanied  by  a  regular  inter- 
preter, the  chiefs  made  their  salutations  in  a  manner  that 
dispensed  with  his  services.  Twenty  times  the  captain 
turned  his  glance  on  his  former  friend,  endeavoring  to  read 
the  expression  of  his  rigid  features.  But  every  effort  and 
all  conjectures  proved  equally  futile.  The  eye  of  Hard- 
Heart  was  fixed,  composed,  and  a  little  anxious  ;  but,  aa 
to  every  other  emotion,  impenetrable.  He  neither  spoke 
himself,  nor  seemed  willing  to  invite  discourse  in  his  visit- 
tors  ;  it  was  therefore  necessary  for  Mid&leton  to  adopt  tht 
patient" manners  of  his  companions,  and  to  await  the  issu& 
for  the  explanation. 

When  they  entered  the  town,  its  inhabitants  were  seen 
collected  in  an  open  space,  where  they  were  arranged  with 
the  customary  deference  to  age  and  rank.  The  whoU 
formed  a  large  circle,  in  the  centre  of  which  were  perhaps 
a  dozen  of  the  principal  chiefs.  Hard-Heart  waved  his 
hand  as  he  approached,  and,  as  the  mass  of  bodies  opened, 
he  rode  through,  followed  by  his  companions.  Here  they 
dismounted  ;  and,  as  the  beasts  were  led  apart,  the  strangers 
found  themselves  environed  by  a  thousand  grave,  com- 
posed, but  solicitous  faces. 

Middleton  gazed  about  him  in  growing  concern,  for  no 
cry,  no  song,  no  shout  welcomed  him  among  a  people  from 
whom  he  had  so  lately  parted  with  regret.  His  uneasiness, 
not  to  say  apprehension,  was  shared  by  all  his  followers. 
Determination  and  stern  resolution  began  to  assume  the 
place  of  anxiety  in  every  eye,  as  each  man  silently  felt  for 
his  arms,  and  assured  himself  that  his  several  weapons 
were  in  a  state  for  service.  But  there  was  no  answering 
symptom  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  their  hosts.  Hard- 
Heart  beckoned  for  Middleton  and  Paul  to  follow,  leading 
the  way  toward  the  cluster  of  forms  that  occupied  the 
centre  of  the  circle.  Here  the  visitors  found  a  solution  of 
all  the  movements  which  had  given  them  so  much  reason 
for  apprehension. 


THE  PRAIRIE.  393 

The  trapper  was  placed  on  a  rude  seat,  which  had  been 
made,  with  studied  care,  to  support  his  frame  in  an  up* 
right  and  easy  attitude.  The  first  glance  of  the  eye  told 
his  former  friends  that  the  old  man  was  at  length  called 
upon  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  Nature.  His  eye  was 
glazed,  and  apparently  as  devoid  of  sight  as  of  expression. 
His  features  were  a  little  more  sunken  and  strongly 
marked  than  formerly  ;  but  there  all  change,  so  far  as  ex- 
terior was  concerned,  might  be  said  to  have  ceased.  His 
approaching  end  was  not  to  be  ascribed  to  any  positive 
disease,  but  had  been  a  gradual  and  mild  decay  of  the 
physical  powers.  Life,  it  is  true,  still  lingered  in  his  sys- 
tem ;  but  it  was  as  if  at  times  entirely  ready  to  depart,  and 
then  it  would  appear  to  reanimate  the  sinking  form,  reluc- 
tant to  give  up  the  possession  of  a  tenement  that  had  never 
been  corrupted  by  vice  or  undermined  by  disease.  It 
would  have  been  no  violent  fancy  to  have  imagined  that 
the  spirit  fluttered  about  the  placid  lips  of  the  old  woods- 
man, reluctant  to  depart  from  a  shell  that  had  so  long 
given  it  an  honest  and  honorable  shelter. 

His  body  was  placed  so  as  to  let  the  light  of  the  setting 
sun  fall  full  upon  the  solemn  features.  His  head  was  bare, 
the  long,  thin  locks  of  gray  fluttering  lightly  in  the  even- 
ing breeze.  His  rifle  lay  upon  his  knee,  and  the  other 
accoutrements  of  the  chase  were  placed  at  his  side,  within 
reach  of  his  hand.  Between  his  feet  lay  the  figure  of  a 
hound,  with  its  head  crouching  to  the  earth,  as  if  it  slum- 
bered ;  and  so  perfectly  easy  and  natural  was  its  position, 
that  a  second  glance  was  necessary  to  tell  Middleton  he 
saw  only  the  skin  of  Hector,  stuffed,  by  Indian  tenderness 
and  ingenuity,  in  a  manner  to  represent  the  living  animal. 
His  own  dog  was  playing  at  a  distance  with  the  child  of 
Tachechana  and  Mahtoree.  The  mother  herself  stood  at 
hand,  holding  in  her  arms  a  second  offspring,  that  might 
boast  of  a  parentage  no  less  honorable  than  that  which  be- 
longed to  the  son  of  Hard-Heart.  Le  Balafre  was  seated 
nigh  the  dying  trapper,  with  every  mark  about  his  person 
that  the  hour  of  his  own  departure  was  not  far  distant. 
The  rest  of  those  immediately  in  the  centre  were  aged 
men,  who  had  apparently  drawn  near  in  order  to  observe 
the  manner  in  which  a  just  and  fearless  warrior  would 
depart  on  the  greatest  of  his  journeys. 

The  old  man  was  reaping  the  rewards  of  a  life  remark- 
able for  temperance  and  activity,  in  a  tranquil  and  placid 


4<x>  THE  PRAIRIE. 

death.  His  vigor  in  a  manner  endured  to  the  very  last 
Decay,  when  it  did  occur  was  rapid,  but  free  from  pain. 
He  had  hunted  with  the  tribe  in  the  spring,  and  even 
throughout  most  of  the  summer;  when  his  limbs  suddenly 
refused  to  perform  their  customary  offices.  A  sympathiz- 
ing weakness  took  possession  of  all  his  faculties  ;  and  the 
Pawnees  believed  that  they  were  going  to  lose,  in  this  un- 
expected manner,  a  sage  and  counsellor  whom  they  had 
begun  both  to  love  and  respect.  But,  as  we  have  already 
said,  the  immortal  occupant  seemed  unwilling  to  desert  its 
tenement.  The  lamp  of  life  flickered,  without  becoming 
extinguished.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  Mid- 
dleton  arrived  there  was  a  general  reviving  of  the  powers 
of  the  whole  man.  His  tongue  was  again  heard  in  whole- 
some maxims,  and  his  eye  from  time  to  time  recognized 
the  persons  of  his  friends.  It  merely  proved  to  be  a  brief 
and  final  intercourse  with  the  world,  on  the  part  of  one 
who  had  already  been  considered,  as  to  mental  communion, 
to  have  taken  his  leave  of  it  forever. 

When  he  had  placed  his  guests  in  front  of  the  dying 
man,  Hard- Heart,  after  a  pause,  that  proceeded  as  much 
from  sorrow  as  decorum,  leaned  a  little  forward,  and  de- 
manded : 

"  Does  my  father  hear  the  words  of  his  son  ?" 

"Speak,"'returned  the  trapper,  in  tones  that  issued  from 
his  chest,  but  which  were  rendered  awfully  distinct  by  the 
stillness  that  reigned  in  the  place.  "  I  am  about  to  depart 
from  the  village  of  the  Loups,  and  shortly  shall  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  your  voice." 

"  Let  the  wise  chief  have  no  cares  for  his  journey," 
continued  Hard-Heart,  with  an  earnest  solicitude  that  led 
him  to  forget,  for  the  moment,  that  others  were  waiting  to 
address  his  adopted  parent  ;  "  a  hundred  Loups  shall  clear 
his  path  from  briers." 

*'  Pawnee,  I  die  as  I  have  lived,  a  Christian  man  !"  re- 
sumed the  trapper,  with  a  force  of  voice  that  had  the  same 
startling  effect  on  his  hearers  as  is  produced  by  the  trumpet, 
when  its  blast  rises  suddenly  and  freely  on  the  air,  after  its 
obstructed  sounds  have  been  heard  struggling  in  the  dis- 
tance ;  "  as  I  came  into  life  so  will  I  leave  it.  Horses  and 
arms  are  not  needed  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Great 
Spirit  of  my  people.  He  knows  my  color  and  according 
to  my  gifts  will  He  judge  my  deeds." 

"  My  father  will  tell  my  young  men  how  many  Mingoes 


THE  PRAIRIE.  401 

he  has  struck,  and  what  acts  of  valor  and  justice  he  has 
done,  that  they  may  know  how  to  imitate  him." 

"  A  boastful  tongue  is  not  rueard  in  the  heaven  of  a  white 
man  !  "  solemnly  returned  the  old  man.  "  What  I  have 
done  He  has  seen.  His  eyes  are  always  open.  That 
which  has  been  well  done  will  He  remember  ;  wherein  I 
have  been  wrong  will  He  not  forget  to  chastise,  though 
He  will  do  the  same  in  mercy.  No,  my  son  ;  a  pale-face 
may  not  sing  his  own  praises,  and  hope  to  have  them  ac- 
ceptable before  his  God  !  " 

A  little  disappointed,  the  young  partisan  stepped  mod- 
estly back,  making  way  for  the  recent  comers  to  approach. 
Middleton  took  one  of  the  meagre  hands  of  the  trapper, 
and,  struggling  to  command  his  voice,  he  succeeded  in  an- 
nouncing his  presence. 

The  old  man  listened  like  one  whose  thoughts  were 
dwelling  on  a  very  different  subject  ;  but,  when  the  other 
had  succeeded  in  making  him  understand  that  he  was 
present,  an  expression  of  joyful  recognition  passed  over 
his  faded  features. 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  so  soon  forgotten  those  whom 
you  so  materially  served  ! "  Middleton  concluded.  "  It 
would  pain  me  to  think  my  hold  on  your  memory  was  so 
light." 

"  Little  that  I  have  ever  seen  is  forgotten,"  returned  the 
trapper  :  "  I  am  at  the  close  of  many  weary  days,  but  there 
is  not  one  among  them  all  that  I  could  wish  to  overlook. 
I  remember  you,  with  the  whole  of  your  company  ;  ay,  and 
your  gran'ther,  that  went  before  you.  I  am  glad  that  you 
have  come  back  upon  these  plains,  for  I  had  need  of  one 
who  speaks  English,  since  little  faith  can  be  put  in  the 
traders  of  these  regions.  Will  you  do  a  favor  to  an  old 
and  dying  man  ?  " 

"Name  it,"  said  Middleton  ;  "it  shall  be  done." 

"  It  is  a  far  journey  to  send  such  trifles,"  resumed  the 
old  man,  who  spoke  at  short  intervals,  as  strength  and 
breath  permitted,  "  a  far  and  weary  journey  is  the  same  ; 
but  kindnesses  and  friendships  are  things  not  to  be  forgot- 
ten. There  is  a  settlement  among  the  Otsego  hills " 

"  I  know  the  place,"  interrupted  Middleton,  observing 
that  he  spoke  with  increasing  difficulty  ;  proceed  to  tell 
me  what  yCu  would  have  done." 

"  Take  this  rifle,  pouch,  and  horn,  and  send  them  to  the 
person  whose  name  is  graven  on  the  plates  of  the  stock — 
«6 


402  TV//';  rRATRI7>.. 

a,  trader  cut  the  letters  with  his  knife — for  it  is  long  that  I 
have  intended  to  send  him  such  a  token  of  my  love.'' 

"  It  shall  be  so.     Is  there  more  that  you  could  wish  ?" 

"  Little  else  have  I  to  bestow.  My  traps  I  give  to  my 
Indian  son  ;  for  honestly  and  kindly  has  he  kept  his  faith. 
Let  him  stand  before  me." 

Middleton  explained  to  the  chief  what  the  trapper  had 
said,  and  relinquished  his  own  place  to  the  other. 

"  Pawnee,"  continued  the  old  man,  always  changing  his 
language  to  suit  the  person  he  addressed,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  according  to  the  ideas  he  expressed,  "it  is  a  cus- 
tom of  my  people  for  the  father  to  leave  his  blessing  with 
the  son  before  he  shuts  his  eyes  forever.  This  blessing 
I  give  to  you  ;  take  it  ;  for  the  prayers  of  a  Christian  man 
will  never  make  the  path  of  a  just  warrior  to  the  blessed 
prairies  either  longer  or  more  tangled  !  May  the  God  of 
a  white  man  look  on  your  deeds  with  friendly  eyes,  and 
may  you  never  commit  an  act  that  shall  cause  him  to 
darken  his  face.  I  know  not  whether  we  shall  ever  meet 
again.  There  are  many  traditions  concerning  the  place 
of  Good  Spirits.  It  is  not  for  one  like  me,  old  and  expe- 
rienced though  I  am,  to  set  up  my  opinions  against  a  na- 
tion's. You  believe  in  the  blessed  prairies,  and  I  have 
faith  in  the  sayings  of  my  fathers.  If  both  are  true  our 
parting  will  be  final  ;  but,  if  it  should  prove  that  the  same 
meaning  is  hid  under  different  words,  we  shall  yet  stand 
together,  Pawnee,  before  the  face  of  your  Wahcondah,  who 
will  then  be  no  other  than  my  God.  There  is  much  to  be 
said  in  favor  of  both  religions,  for  each  seems  suited  to  its 
own  people,  and  no  doubt  it  was  so  intended.  I  fear  I 
have  not  altogether  followed  the  gifts  of  my  color,  inas- 
much as  I  find  it  a  little  painful  to  give  up  forever  the  use 
of  the  rifle,  and  the  comforts  of  the  chase.  But  then  the 
fault  has  been  my  own,  seeing  that  it  could  not  have  been 
His.  Ay,  Hector,"  he  continued,  leaning  forward  a  little, 
and  feeling  for  the  ears  of  the  hound,  "  our  parting  has 
come  at  last,  dog,  and  it  will  be  a  long  hunt.  You  have 
been  an  honest,  and  a  bold,  and  a  faithful  hound.  Pawnee, 
you  cannot  slay  the  pup  on  my  grave,  for  where  a  Christian 
dog  falls,  there  he  lies  forever ;  but  you  must  be  kind  to 
him  after  I  am  gone,  for  the  love  you  bear  his  master." 

"  The  words  of  my  father  are  in  my  ears,"  returned  the 
young  partisan,  making  a  grave  and  respectful  gesture  of 
assent. 


THE  PRAIR/K.  403 

''Do  you  hear  what  the  chief  has  promised,  dog  ?"  de- 
manded the  trapper,  making  an  effort  to  attract  the  notice 
of  the  insensible  effigy  of  his  hound.  Receiving  no  an- 
swering look,  nor  hearing  any  friendly  whine,  the  old  man 
felt  for  the  mouth,  and  endeavored  to  force  his  hand  be- 
tween the  cold  lips.  The  truth  then  flashed  upon  him, 
although  he  \vas  far  from  perceiving  the  whole  extent  of 
the  deception.  Falling  back  in  his  seat,  he  hung  his  head, 
like  one  who  felt  a  severe  and  unexpected  shock.  Profit- 
ing by  this  momentary  forgetfulness,  two  young  Indians 
removed  the  skin  with  the  same  delicacy  of  feeling  that 
had  induced  them  to  attempt  the  pious  fraud. 

"  The  dog  is  dead  !  "  muttered  the  trapper,  after  a  pause 
of  many  minutes  ;  "  a  houn4  has  his  time  as  well  as  a  man  ; 
and  well  has  he  filled  his  days  ! — Captain,"  he  added,  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  wave  his  hand  to  Middleton,  "  I  am  glad 
you  have  come  ;  for  though  kind,  and  well-meaning  ac- 
cording to  the  gifts  of  their  color,  these  Indians  are  not 
the  men  to  lay  the  head  of  a  white  man  in  his  grave.  I 
have  been  thinking,  too,  of  this  dog  at  my  feet  :  it  will  not 
do  to  set  forth  the  opinion  that  a  Christian  can  expect  to 
meet  his  hound  again  ;  still  there  can  be  little  harm  in 
placing  what  is  left  of  so  faithful  a  servant  nigh  the  bones 
of  his  master." 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  desire." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  with  me  in  this  matter.  In  order, 
then,  to  save  labor,  lay  the  pup  at  my  feet ;  or,  for  that 
matter,  put  him  side  by  side.  A  hunter  need  never  be 
ashamed  to  be  found  in  company  with  his  dog  !  " 

"  I  charge  myself  with  your  wish." 

The  old  man  made  a  long  and  apparently  a  musing  pause. 
At  times  he  raised  his  eyes  wistfully,  as  if  he  would  again 
address  Middleton,  but  some  innate  feeling  appeared  al- 
ways to  suppress  his  words.  The  other,  who  observed  his 
hesitation,  inquired,  in  a  way  most  likely  to  encourage  him 
to  proceed,  whether  there  was  aught  else  that  he  could 
wish  to  have  done. 

"I  am  without  kith  or  kin  in  the  wide  world  !"  the 
trapper  answered  ;  "  when  I  am  gone,  there  will  be  an 
end  of  my  race.  We  have  never  been  chiefs ;  but  hon- 
est, and  useful  in  our  way  I  hope  it  cannot  be  denied  we 
have  always  proved  ourselves.  My  father  lies  buried 
near  the  sea,  and  the  bones  of  his  son  will  whiten  on  the 
prairies " 


404  THE  PRA1RSE. 

"  Name  the  spot,  and  your  remains  shall  be  placed  by 
the  side  of  your  father,"  interrupted  Middleton. 

"  Not  so,  not  so,  captain.  Let  me  sleep  where  I  have 
lived — beyond  the  din  of  the  settlements !  Still  I  see  no 
need  why  the  grave  of  an  honest  man  should  be  hid,  like 
a  red-skin  in  his  ambushment.  I  paid  a  man  in  the  settle- 
ments to  make  and  put  a  graven  stone  at  the  head  of  my 
father's  resting-place.  It  \vas  of  the  value  of  twelve  beaver- 
skins,  and  cunningly  and  curiously  was  it  carved  !  Then  it 
told  to  all  comers  that  the  body  of  such  a  Christian  lay  be- 
neath ;  and  it  spoke  of  his  manner  of  life,  of  his  years,  and 
of  his  honesty.  When  we  had  done  with  the  Frenchers  in 
the  old  war  I  made  a  journey  to  the  spot,  in  order  to  see 
that  all  was  rightly  performed,  and  glad  I  am  to  say,  the 
workman  had  not  forgotten  his  faith." 

"And  such  a  stone  you  would  have  at  your  grave  ?  " 

"  I  !  no,  no,  I  have  no  son  but  Hard-Heart,  and  it  is  lit- 
tle that  an  Indian  knows  of  white  fashions  and  usages. 
Besides,  I  am  his  debtor  already,  seeing  it  is  so  little  I  have 
done  since  I  have  lived  in  his  tribe.  The  rifle  might  bring 
the  value  of  such  a  thing — but  then  I  know  it  will  give  the 
boy  pleasure  to  hang  the  piece  in  his  hall,  for  many  is  the 
deer  and  the  bird  that  he  has  seen  it  destroy.  No,  no, 
the  gun  must  be  sent  to  him  whose  name  is  graven  on  the 
lock." 

"  But  there  is  one  who  would  gladly  prove  his  affection 
in  the  way  you  wish  ;  he  who  owes  you  not  only  his  own 
deliverance  from  so  many  dangers,  but  who  inherits  a  heavy 
debt  of  gratitude  from  his  ancestors.  The  stone  shall  be 
put  at  the  head  of  your  grave." 

The  old  man  extended  his  emaciated  hand,  and  gave  the 
other  a  squeeze  of  thanks. 

"  I  thought  you  might  be  willing  to  do  it,  but  I  was  back- 
ward in  asking  the  favor,"  he  said,  "  seeing  that  you  are 
not  of  my  kin.  Put  no  boastful  words  on  the  same,  but 
just  the  name,  the  age,  and  the  time  of  the  death,  with 
something  from  the  holy  book  ;  no  more,  no  more.  My 
name  will  then  not  be  altogether  lost  on  'arth  ;  I  need  no 
more." 

Middleton  intimated  his  assent,  and  then  followed  a  pause 
that  was  only  broken  by  distant  and  broken  sentences  from 
the  dying  man.  He  appeared  now  to  have  closed  his  ac- 
counts with  the  world,  and  to  await  merely  for  the  final 


THE  PRAIRIE.  405 

summons  to  quit  it.  Middleton  and  Hard-Heart  placed 
themselves  on  the  opposite  sides  of  his  seat,  and  watched 
with  melancholy  solicitude  the  variations  of  his  countenance. 
For  two  hours  there  was  no  very  sensible  alteration.  The 
expression  of  his  faded  and  time-worn  features  was  that  of 
a  calm  and  dignified  repose.  From  time  to  time  he  spoke, 
uttering  some  brief  sentence  in  the  way  of  advice,  or  ask- 
ing some  simple  questions  concerning  those  in  whose  for- 
tunes he  still  took  a  friendly  interest.  During  the  whole 
of  that  solemn  and  anxious  period  each  individual  of  the 
tribe  kept  his  place,  in  the  most  self-restrained  patience. 
When  the  old  man  spoke  all  bent  their  heads  to  listen  : 
arid  when  his  words  were  uttered,  they  seemed  to  ponder 
on  their  wisdom  and  usefulness. 

As  the  flame  drew  nigher  to  the  socket  his  voice  was 
hushed,  and  there  were  moments  when  his  attendants 
doubted  whether  he  stili  belonged  to  the  living.  Middle- 
ton,  who  watched  each  wavering  expression  of  his  weather- 
beaten  visage  with  the  interest  of  a  keen  observer  of 
human  nature,  softened  by  the  tenderness  of  personal  re- 
gard, fancied  he  could  read  the  workings  of  the  old  man's 
soul  in  the  strong  lineaments  of  his  countenance.  Per- 
haps what  the  enlightened  soldier  took  for  the  delusion  of 
mistaken  opinion  did  actually  occur — for  who  has  returned 
from  that  unknown  world  to  explain  by  what  forms,  and 
in  what  manner,  he  was  introduced  into  its  awful  pre- 
cincts ?  Without  pretending  to  explain  what  must  ever 
be  a  mystery  to  the  quick,  we  shall  simply  relate  facts  as 
they  occurred. 

The  trapper  had  remained  nearly  motionless  for  an 
hour.  His  eyes  alone  had  occasionally  opened  and  shut. 
When  opened  his  gaze  seemed  fastened  on  the  clouds 
which  hung  around  the  western  horizon,  reflecting  the 
bright  colors,  and  giving  form  and  loveliness  to  the  glo- 
rious tints  of  an  American  sunset.  The  hour — the  calm 
beauty  of  the  season — the  occasion — all  conspired  to  fill 
the  spectators  with  solemn  awe.  Suddenly,  while  musing 
on  the  remarkable  position  in  which  he  was  placed,  Mid- 
dleton felt  the  hand  which  he  held  grasp  his  own  with  in- 
credible power,  and  the  old  man,  supported  on  either  side 
by  his  friends,  rose  upright  to  his  feet.  For  a  moment 
he  looked  about  him,  as  if  to  invite  all  in  presence  to 
listen  (the  lingering  remnant  of  human  frailty),  and  then. 


406  THE  PRAIRIE. 

/ 

with  a  fine  military  elevation  of  the  head,  and  with  a  voice 
that  might  be  heard  in  every  part  of  that  numerous  assem- 
bly, he  pronounced  the  word  : 

"Here!" 

A  movement  so  entirely  unexpected,  and  the  air  of 
grandeur  and  humility  which  were  so  remarkably  united 
in  the  mien  of  the  trapper,  together  with  the  clear  and  un- 
common force  of  his  utterance,  produced  a  short  period 
of  confusion  in  the  faculties  of  all  present.  When  Mid- 
dleton  and  Hard-Heart,  each  of  whom  had  involuntarily 
extended  a  hand  to  support  the  form  of  the  old  man, 
turned  to  him  again  they  found  that  the  subject  of  their 
interests  was  removed  forever,  beyond  the  necessity  of 
their  care.  They  mournfully  placed  the  body  in  its  seat, 
and  Le  Balafre  arose  to  announce  the  termination  of  the 
scene  to  the  tribe.  The  voice  of  the  old  Indian  seemed  a 
sort  of  echo  from  that  invisible  world  to  which  the  meek 
spirit  of  the  trapper  had  just  departed. 

"A  valiant,  a  just,  and  a  wise  warrior,  has  gone  on  the 
path  which  will  lead  him  to  the  blessed  grounds  of  his 
people  ! "  he  said.  "  When  the  voice  of  the  Wahcondah 
called  him,  he  was  ready  to  answer.  Go,  my  children  ; 
remember  the  just  chief  of  the  pale-faces,  and  clear  your 
own  tracks  from  briers  ! " 

The  grave  was  made  beneath  the  shade  of  some  noble 
oaks.  It  has  been  carefully  watched  to  the  present  hour 
by  the  Pawnees  of  the  Loups,  and  is  often  shown  to  the 
traveller  and  the  trader  as  a  spot  where  a  just  white  man 
sleeps.  In  due  time  the  stone  was  placed  at  its  head,  with 
the  simple  inscription  which  the  trapper  had  himself  re- 
quested. The  only  liberty  taken  by  Middleton  was  to 
add — u  May  no  wanton  hand  ever  disturb  his  remains  ?  ?f 


THE  END, 


"  'Bravely  done,  Captain!  don't  spare  the  whip,  and  turn  to  the 
left  before  you  cross  the  brook ! '  " — The  Spy,  page  8j. 


THE   SPY 


BY 


J.    FENIMORE    COOPER 


THE   SPY. 


"  Breathes  there  the  man,  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land  ! " 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  author  has  often  been  asked  if  there  were  any  foun- 
dation in  .real  life  for  the  delineation  of  the  principal 
character  in  this  book.  He  can  give  no  clearer  answer  to 
the  question  than  by  laying  before  his  readers  a  simple 
statement  of  the  facts  connected  with  its  original  publica- 
tion. 

Many  years  since,  the  writer  of  this  volume  was  at  the 
residence  of  an  illustrious  man,  who  had  been  employed  in 
various  situations  of  high  trust  during  the  darkest  days  of 
the  American  revolution.  The  discourse  turned  upon  the 
effects  which  great  political  excitement  produces  on  char- 
acter, and  the  purifying  consequences  of  a  love  of  country, 
when  that  sentiment  is  powerfully  and  generally  awakened 
in  a  people.  He  who,  from  his  years,  his  services,  and  his 
knowledge  of  men,  was  best  qualified  to  take  the  lead  in 
such  a  conversation,  was  the  principal  speaker.  After 
dwelling  on  the  marked  manner  in  which  the  great  strug- 
gle of  the  nation,  during  the  war  of  1775,  had  given  a  new 
and  honorable  direction  to  the  thoughts  and  practices  of 
multitudes  whose  time  had  formerly  been  engrossed  by 
the  most  vulgar  concerns  of  life,  he  illustrated  his  opinions 
by  relating  an  anecdote,  the  truth  of  which  he  could  attest 
as  a  personal  witness. 

The  dispute  between  England  and  the  United  States  of 
America,  though  not  strictly  a  family  quarrel,  had  many 
of  the  features  of  a  civil  war.  The  people  of  the  latter 


4  THE   SPY. 

were  never  properly  and  constitutionally  subject  to  the 
people  of  the  former,  but  the  inhabitants  of  both  countries 
owed  allegiance  to  a  common  king.  The  Americans,  as  a 
nation,  disavowed  this  allegiance,  and  the  English  choos- 
ing to  support  their  sovereign  in  the  attempt  to  regain  his 
power,  most  of  the  feelings  of  an  internal  struggle  were 
involved  in  the  conflict.  A  large  proportion  of  the  emi- 
grants from  Europe,  then  established  in  the  colonies,  took 
part  with  the  crown  ;  and  there  were  many  districts  in 
which  their  influence,  united  to  that  of  the  Americans  who 
refused  to  lay  aside  their  allegiance,  gave  a  decided  pre- 
ponderance to  the  royal  cause.  America  was  then  too 
young,  and  too  much  in  need  of  every  heart  and  hand,  to 
regard  these  partial  divisions,  small  as  they  were  in  actual 
amount,  with  indifference.  The  evil  was  greatly  increased 
by  the  activity  of  the  English  in  profiting  by  these  inter- 
nal dissensions  ;  and  it  became  doubly  serious  when  it  was 
found  that  attempts  were  made  to  raise  various  corps  of 
provincial  troops,  which  were  to  be  banded  with  those 
from  Europe,  to  reduce  the  young  republic  to  subjection. 
Congress  named  an  especial  and  a  secret  committee,  there- 
fore, for  the  express  purpose  of  defeating  this  object.  Of 
this  committee,  Mr.  -  — ,  the  narrator  of  the  anecdote,  was 
chairman. 

In  the  discharge  of  the  novel  duties  which  now  devolved 

on  him,  Mr. had  occasion  to  employ  an  agent  whose 

services  differed  but  little  from  those  of  a  common  spy. 
This  man,  as  will  easily  be  understood,  belonged  to  a  con- 
dition in  life  which  rendered  him  the  least  reluctant  to  ap- 
pear in  so  equivocal  a  character.'  He  was  poor,  ignorant, 
so  far  as  the  usual  instruction  was  concerned  ;  but  cool, 
shrewd,  and  fearless  by  nature.  It  was  his  office  to  learn 
in  what  part  of  the  country  the  agents  of  the  crown  were 
making  their  efforts  to  embody  men,  to  repair  to  the  place, 
enlist,  appear  zealous  in  the  cause  he  affected  to  serve,  and 
otherwise  to  get  possession  of  as  many  of  the  secrets  of  the 
enemy  as  possible.  The  last  he  of  course  communicated 
to  his  employers,  who  took  all  the  means  in  their  power  to 
counteract  the  plans  of  the  English,  and  frequently  with 
success. 

It  will  readily  be  conceived  that  a  service  like  this  was 
attended  with  great  personal  hazard.  In  addition  to  the 
danger  of  discovery,  there  was  the  daily  risk  of  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  Americans  themselves,  who  invariably 


THE   SPY.  5 

visited  sins  of  this  nature  more  severely  on  the  natives  of 
the  country  than  on  the  Europeans  who  fell  into  their 

hands.  In  fact  the  agent  of  Mr. was  several  times 

arrested  by  the  local  authorities  ;  and,  in  one  instance,  he 
was  actually  condemned  by  his  exasperated  countrymen  to 
the  gallows.  Speedy  and  private  orders  to  his  gaoler  alone 
saved  him  from  an  ignominious  death.  He  was  permitted 
to  escape  ;  and  this  seeming,  and  indeed  actual,  peril  was 
of  great  aid  in  supporting  his  assumed  character  among 
the  English.  By  the  Americans,  in  his  little  sphere,  he  was 
denounced  as  a  bold  and  inveterate  Tory.  In  this  manner 
he  continued  to  serve  his  country  in  secret  during  the  early 
years  of  the  struggle,  hourly  environed  by  danger,  and  the 
constant  subject  of  unmerited  opprobrium. 

In  the  year Mr. was  named  to  a  high  and  hon- 
orable employment  at  a  European  court.  Before  vacating 
his  seat  in  Congress,  he  reported  to  that  body  an  outline 
of  the  circumstances  related,  necessarily  suppressing  the 
name  of  his  agent,  and  demanding  an  appropriation  in  be- 
half of  a  man  who  had  been  of  so  much  use,  at  so  great 
risk.  A  suitable  sum  was  voted,  and  its  delivery  was  con- 
fided to  the  chairman  of  the  secret  committee. 

Mr. took  the  necessary  means  to  summon  his  agent 

to  a  personal  interview.  They  met  in  a  wood  at  midnight. 

Here  Mr. complimented  his  companion  on  his  fidelity 

and  adroitness  ;  explained  the  necessity  of  their  communi- 
cations being  closed  ;  and  finally  tendered  the  money.  The 
other  drew  back,  and  declined  receiving  it.  "  The  country 
has  need  of  all  its  means,"  he  said  ;  "  as  for  myself,  I  can 
work,  or  gain  a  livelihood  in  various  ways."  Persuasion 
was  useless,  for  patriotism  was  uppermost  in  the  heart  of 
this  remarkable  individual  ;  and  Mr. departed,  bear- 
ing with  him  the  gold  he  had  brought  and  a  deep  respect 
for  the  man  who  had  so  long  hazarded  his  life,  unrequited, 
for  the  cause  they  served  in  common. 

The  writer  is  under  an  impression  that  at  a  later  day  the 

agent  of  Mr. consented  to  receive  a  remuneration  for 

what  he  had  done  ;  but  it  was  not  until  his  country  was 
entirely  in  a  condition  to  bestow  it. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  an  anecdote  like 
this,  simply  but  forcibly  told  by  one  of  its  principal  actors, 
made  a  deep  impression  on  all  who  heard  it.  Many  years 
later,  circumstances,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  relate,  and 
of  an  entirely  adventitious  nature,  induced  the  writer  to 


6  THE   SPY. 

publish  a  novel  which  proved  to  be,  what  he  little  foresaw 
at  the  time,  the  first  of  a  tolerably  long  series.  The  same 
adventitious  causes  which  gave  birth  to  the  book,  deter- 
mined its  scene  and  its  general  character.  The  former  was 
laid  in  a  foreign  country;  and  the  latter  embraced  a  crude 
effort  to  describe  foreign  manners.  When  this  tale  was 
published  it  became  a  matter  of  reproach  among  the 
author's  friends,  that  he,  an  American  in  heart  as  in  birth, 
should  give  to  the  world  a  work  which  aided  perhaps,  in 
some  slight  degree,  to  feed  the  imaginations  of  the  young 
and  unpractised  among  his  own  countrymen,  by  pictures 
drawn  from  a  state  of  society  so  different  from  that  to 
which  he  belonged.  The  writer,  while  he  knew  how  much 
of  what  he  had  done  was  purely  accidental,  felt  the  reproach 
to  be  one  that,  in  a  measure,  was  just.  As  the  only  atone- 
ment in  his  power,  he  determined  to  inflict  a  second  book, 
whose  subject  should  admit  of  no  cavil,  not  only  on  the 
world,  but  on  himself.  He  chose  patriotism  for  his  theme  ; 
and  to  those  who  read  this  introduction  and  the  book  itself, 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  he  took  the  hero  of  the 
anecdote  just  related  as  the  best  illustration  of  his  subject. 

Since  the  original  publication  of  "  The  Spy,"  there  have 
appeared  several  accounts  of  different  persons  who  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  in  the  author's  mind  while  writing  the 

book.  As  Mr. did  not  mention  the  name  of  his  agent, 

the  writer  never  knew  any  more  of  his  identity  with  this  or 
that  individual  than  has  been  here  explained.  Both  Wash- 
ington and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  an  unusual  number  of 
secret  emissaries  ;  in  a  war  that  partook  so  much  of  a 
domestic  character,  and  in  which  the  contending  parties 
were  people  of  the  same  blood  and  language,  it  could 
scarcely  be  otherwise. 

The  style  of  the  book  has  been  revised  by  the  author  in 
this  edition.  In  this  respect,  he  has  endeavored  to  make  it 
more  worthy  of  the  favor  with  which  it  has  been  received, 
though  he  is  compelled  to  admit  there  are  faults  so  inter- 
woven with  the  structure  of  the  tale  that,  as  in  the  case  of 
a  decayed  edifice,  it  would  cost  perhaps  less  to  reconstruct 
than  to  repair.  Five  and  twenty  years  have  been  as  ages 
with  most  things  connected  with  America.  Among  other 
advances,  that  of  her  literature  has  not  been  the  least. 
So  little  was  expected  from  the  publication  of  an  original 
work  of  this  description  at  the  time  it  was  written,  that  the 
first  volume  of  "  The  Spy  "  was  actually  printed  several 


THE    SPY.  7 

months  before  the  author  felt  a  sufficient  inducement  to 
write  a  line  of  the  second.  The  efforts  expended  on  a 
hopeless  task  are  rarely  worthy  of  him  who  makes  them, 
however  low  it  may  be  necessary  to  rate  the  standard  of 
his  general  merit. 

One  other  anecdote,  connected  with  the  history  of  this 
book,  may  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  hopes  of  an 
American  author,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century. 
As  the  second  volume  was  slowly  printing,  from  manu- 
script that  was  barely  dry  when  it  went  into  the  composit- 
or's hands,  the  publisher  intimated  that  the  work  might 
grow  to  a  length  that  would  consume  the  profits.  To  set 
his  mind  at  rest,  the  last  chapter  was  actually  written, 
printed,  and  paged  several  weeks  before  the  chapters 
which  precede  it  were  even  thought  of.  This  circum- 
stance, while  it  cannot  excuse,  may  serve  to  explain  the 
manner  in  which  the  actors  are  hurried  off  the  scene. 

A  great  change  has  come  over  the  country  since  this 
book  was  originally  written.  The  nation  is  passing  from 
the  gristle  into  the  bone,  and  the  common  mind  is  begin- 
ning to  keep  even  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  body  poli- 
tic. The  march  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico  was  made  un- 
der the  orders  of  that  gallant  soldier  who,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before,  was  mentioned  with  honor  in  the  last 
chapter  of  this  very  book.  Glorious  as  was  that  march, 
and  brilliant  as  were  its  results  in  a  military  point  of  view, 
a  stride  was  then  made  by  the  nation,  in  a  moral  sense, 
that  has  hastened  it  by  an  age  in  its  progress  toward  real 
independence  and  high  political  influence.  The  guns  that 
filled  the  valley  of  the  Aztecs  with  their  thunder,  have  been 
heard  in  echoes  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  produc- 
ing equally  hope  or  apprehension. 

There  is  now  no  enemy  to  fear,  but  the  one  that  resides 
within.  By  accustoming  ourselves  to  regard  even  the 
people  as  erring  beings,  and  by  using  the  restraints  that 
wisdom  has  adduced  from  experience,  there  is  much  rea- 
son to  hope  that  the  same  Providence  which  has  so  well 
aided  us  in  our  infancy,  may  continue  to  smile  on  our  man- 
hood. 

COOPERSTOWN,  March  29^  1849, 


CHAPTER   I. 

And  though  amidst  the  calm  of  thought  entire, 
Some  high  and  haughty  features  might  betray 

A  soul  impetuous  once — 'twas  earthly  fire 
That  fled  composure's  intellectual  ray, 
As  /Etna's  fires  grow  dim  before  the  rising  day. 

— Gertrude  of  Wyoming. 

IT  was  near  the  close  of  the  year  1780,  that  a  solitary 
traveller  was  seen  pursuing  his  way  through  one  of  the 
numerous  little  valleys  of  Westchester.*  The  easterly 
wind,  with  its  chilling  dampness  and  increasing  violence, 
gave  unerring  notice  of  the  approach  of  a  storm,  which,  as 
usual,  might  be  expected  to  continue  for  several  days  ; 
and  the  experienced  eye  of  the  traveller  was  turned  in 
vain,  through  the  darkness  of  the  evening,  in  quest  of  some 
convenient  shelter  in  which,  for  the  term  of  his  confine- 
ment by  the  rain  that  already  began  to  mix  with  the  atmos- 
phere in  a  thick  mist,  he  might  obtain  such  accommoda- 
tions as  his  purposes  required.  Nothing,  however,  offered 
but  the  small  and  inconvenient  tenements  of  the  lower 
order  of  the  inhabitants,  with  whom,  in  that  immediate 
neighborhood,  he  did  not  think  it  either  safe  or  politic  to 
trust  himself. 

The  county  of  Westchester,  after  the  British  had  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  island  of  New  York,f  became 
common  ground,  in  which  both  parties  continued  to  act 

*  As  each  State  of  the  American  Union  has  its  own  counties,  it  often 
happens  that  there  are  several  which  bear  the  same  name.  The  scene  of 
this  tale  is  in  New  York,  whose  county  of  Westchester  is  the  nearest  ad- 
joining to  the  city. 

f  The  city  of  New  York  is  situated  on  an  island  called  Manhattan  ;  but 
it  is,  at  one  point,  separated  from  the  county  of  Westchester  by  a  creek  of 
only  a  few  feet  in  width.  The  bridge  at  this  point  is  called  King's  Bridge. 
It  was  the  scene  of  many  skirmishes  during  the  war,  and  is  alluded  to  in 
this  tale.  Every  Manhattanese  knows  the  difference  between  "  Manhat- 
tan Island  "  and  "  the  island  of  Manhattan."  The  first  is  applied  to  a 
small  district  in  the  vicinity  of  Corlear's  Hook,  while  the  last  embraces 
the  whole  island  ;  or  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  as  it  is  termed  in 
the  laws. 


THE   SPY.  9 

for  the  remainder  of  the  war  of  the  revolution.  A  large 
proportion  of  its  inhabitants,  either  restrained  by  their 
attachments,  or  influenced  by  their  fears,  affected  a  neu- 
trality they  did  not  feel.  The  lower  towns  were,  of  course, 
more  particularly  under  the  dominion  of  the  crown,  while 
the  upper,  finding  a  security  from  the  vicinity  of  the  con- 
tinental troops,  were  bold  in  asserting  their  revolutionary 
opinions,  and  their  right  to  govern  themselves.  Great 
numbers,  however,  wore  masks,  which  even  to  this  day 
have  not  been  thrown  aside  ;  and  many  an  individual  has 
gone  down  to  the  tomb,  stigmatized  as  a  foe  to  the  rights 
of  his  countrymen,  while,  in  secret,  he  has  been  the  useful 
agent  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolution  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  could  the  hidden  repositories  of  divers  flaming  patri- 
ots have  been  opened  to  the  light  of  day,  royal  protections 
would  have  been  discovered  concealed  under  piles  of  Brit- 
ish gold. 

At  the  sound  of  the  tread  of  the  noble  horse  ridden  by 
the  traveller,  the  mistress  of  the  farmhouse  he  was  pass- 
ing at  the  time  might  be  seen  cautiously  opening  the  door 
of  the  building  to  examine  the  stranger  ;  and  perhaps, 
with  an  averted  face,  communicating  the  result  of  her  ob- 
servations to  her  husband,  who,  in  the  rear  of  the  building, 
was  prepared  to  seek,  if  necessary,  his  ordinary  place  of 
concealment  in  the  adjacent  woods.  The  valley  was  situ- 
ated about  midway  in  the  length  of  the  county,  and  was 
sufficiently  near  to  both  armies  to  make  the  restitution  of 
stolen  goods  no  uncommon  occurrence  in  that  vicinity. 
It  is  true,  the  sam-j  articles  were  not  always  regained  ;  but 
a  summary  substitute  was  generally  resorted  to,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  legal  justice,  which  restored  to  the  loser  the 
amount  of  his  loss,  and  frequently  with  no  inconsiderable 
addition  for  the  temporary  use  of  his  property.  In  short, 
the  law  was  momentarily  extinct  in  that  particular  dis- 
trict, and  justice  was  administered  subject  to  the  bias  of 
personal  interests,  and  the  passions  of  the  strongest. 

The  passage  of  a  stranger,  with  an  appearance  of  some- 
what doubtful  character,  and  mounted  on  an  animal  which, 
although  unfurnished  vvitii  any  of  the  ordinary  trappings 
of  war,  partook  largely  of  the  bold  and  upright  carriage 
that  distinguished  his  rider,  gave  rise  to  many  surmises 
among  the  gazing  inmates  of  the  different  habitations  ;  and 
in  some  instances,  where  conscience  was  more  than  ordi- 
narily awake,  to  no  little  alarm. 

Tired  with  the  exercise  of  a  day  of  unusual  fatigue,  and 


io  THE   SPY. 

anxious  to  obtain  a  speedy  shelter  from  the  increasing  vio- 
lence of  the  storm,  that  now  began  to  change  its  character 
to  large  drops  of  driving  rain,  the  traveller  determined,  as 
a  matter  of  necessity,  to  make  an  application  for  admission 
at  the  next  dwelling  that  offered.  An  opportunity  was  not 
long  wanting  ;  and,  riding  through  a  pair  of  neglected 
bars,  he  knocked  loudly  at  the  outer  door  of  a  building,  of 
a  very  humble  exterior,  without  quitting  his  saddle.  A 
female  of  middle  age,  with  an  outward  bearing  but  little 
more  prepossessing  than  that  of  her  dwelling,  appeared  to 
answer  the  summons.  The  startled  woman  half  closed  her 
door  again  in  affright,  as  she  saw,  by  the  glare  of  a  large 
wood  fire,  a  mounted  man  so  unexpectedly  near  its  thresh- 
old ;  and  an  expression  of  terror  mingled  with  her  natural 
curiosity  as  she  required  his  pleasure. 

Although  the  day  was  too  nearly  closed  to  admit  of  a 
minute  scrutiny  of  the  accommodations  within,  enough 
had  been  seen  to  cause  the  horseman  to  endeavor,  once 
more,  to  penetrate  the  gloom,  with  longing  eyes,  in  search 
of  a  more  promising  roof,  before,  with  an  ill-concealed  re- 
luctance, he  stated  his  necessities  and  wishes.  His  request 
was  listened  to  with  evident  unwillingness,  and,  while  yet 
unfinished,  it  was  eagerly  interrupted  by  the  reply  : 

"  I  can't  say  I  like  to  give  lodgings  to  a  stranger  in 
these  ticklish  times,"  said  the  female,  in  a  pert  sharp  key  ; 
"  I'm  nothing  but  a  forlorn  lone  body  ;  or,  what's  the  same 
thing,  there's  nobody  but  the  old  gentleman  at  home  ; 
but  a  half  mile  further  up  the  road  is  a  house  where  you 
can  get  entertainment,  and  that  for  nothing.  I  am  sure 
'twill  be  much  convenienter  to  them,  and  more  agreeable 
to  me  ;  because,  as  I  said  before,  Harvey  is  away — I  wish 
he'd  take  advice,  and  leave  off  wandering  ;  he's  well  to  do 
in  the  world,  by  this  time  ;  and  he  ought  to  leave  off  his 
uncertain  courses,  and  settle  himself  handsomely  in  life, 
like  other  men  of  his  years  and  property.  But  Harvey 
Birch  will  have  his  own  way,  and  die  vagabond  after  all !  " 

The  horseman  did  not  wait  to  hear  more  than  the  ad- 
vice to  pursue  his  course  up  the  road  ;  but  he  had  slowly 
turned  his  horse  toward  the  bars,  and  was  gathering  the 
folds  of  an  ample  cloak  around  his  manly  form,  prepara- 
tory to  facing  the  storm  again,  when  something  in  the 
speech  of  the  female  suddenly  arrested  the  movement. 

"  Is  this,  then,  the  dwelling  of  Harvey  Birch  ? "  he  in- 
quired, in  an  involuntary  manner,  apparently  checking 
himself  as  he  was  about  to  utter  more. 


THE   SPY.  II 

"Why,  one  can  hardly  say  it  is  his  dwelling,"  replied 
the  other,  drawing  a  hurried  breath,  like  one  eager  to 
answer  ;  "  he  is  never  in  it,  or  so  seldom,  that  I  hardly  re- 
member his  face,  when  he  does  think  it  worth  his  while  to 
show  it  to  his  poor  old  father  and  me.  But  it  matters 
little  to  me,  I'm  sure,  if  he  ever  comes  back  again  or  not ; 
— turn  in  the  first  gate  on  your  left — no,  I  care  but  little 
for  my  part,  whether  Harvey  ever  shows  his  face  again  or 
not — not  I  ; "  and  she  closed  the  door  abruptly  on  the 
horseman,  who  gladly  extended  his  ride  a  half-mile  further, 
to  obtain  lodgings  which  promised  both  more  comfort  and 
greater  security. 

Sufficient  light  yet  remained  to  enable  the  traveller  to 
distinguish  the  improvements*  which  had  been  made  in  the 
cultivation,  and  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  grounds 
around  the  building  to  which  he  was  now  approaching. 
The  house  was  of  stone,  long,  low,  and  with  a  small  wing 
at  each  extremity.  A  piazza,  extending  along  the  front, 
with  neatly  turned  pillars  of  wood,  together  with  the  good 
order  and  preservation  of  the  fences  and  out-buildings, 
gave  the  place  an  air  altogether  superior  to  the  common 
farm-houses  of  the  country.  After  leading  his  horse  be- 
hind an  angle  of  the  wall,  where  it  was  in  some  degree 
protected  from  the  wind  and  rain,  the  traveller  threw  his 
valise  over  his  arm,  and  knocked  loudly  at  the  entrance  of 
the  building  for  admission.  An  aged  black  soon  ap- 
peared ;  and  without  seeming  to  think  it  necessary,  under 
the  circumstances,  to  consult  his  superiors — first  taking 
one  prying  look  at  the  applicant  by  the  light  of  the  candle 
in  his  hand — he  acceded  to  the  request  for  accommoda- 
tions. The  traveller  was  shown  into  an  extremely  neat 
parlor,  where  a  fire  had  been  lighted  to  cheer  the  dulness 
of  an  easterly  storm,  and  an  October  evening.  After  giv- 
ing the  valise  into  the  keeping  of  his  civil  attendant,  and 
politely  repeating  his  request  to  the  old  gentleman  who 
arose  to  receive  him,  and  paying  his  compliments  to  the 
three  ladies  who  were  seated  at  work  with  their  needles, 
the  stranger  commenced  laying  aside  some  of  the  outer 
garments  which  he  had  worn  in  his  ride. 

On  taking  an  extra  handkerchief  from  his  neck,  and  re- 
moving a  cloak  of  blue  cloth,  with  a  surtout  of  the  same 

*  Improvements  is  used  by  the  Americans  to  express  every  degree  of 
change  in  converting  land  from  its  state  of  wilderness  to  that  of  cultivation. 
In  this  meaning  of  the  word  it  is  an  improvement  to  fell  the  trees  ;  and  it 
is  valued  precisely  by  the  supposed  amount  of  the  cost. 


12  THE   SPY. 

material,  he  exhibited  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  observant 
family  party  a  tall  and  extremely  graceful  person,  of  ap- 
parently fifty  years  of  age.  His  countenance  evinced  a 
settled  composure  and  dignity ;  his  nose  was  straight,  and 
approaching  to  Grecian  ;  his  eye,  of  a  gray  color,  was 
quiet,  thoughtful,  and  rather  melancholy  ;  the  mouth  and 
lower  part  of  his  face  being  expressive  of  decision  and 
much  character.  His  dress,  being  suited  to  the  road,  was 
simple  and  plain,  but  such  as  was  worn  by  the  higher  class 
of  his  countrymen;  he  wore  his  own  hair,  dressed  in  a 
manner  that  gave  a  military  air  to  his  appearance,  and 
which  was  rather  heightened  by  his  erect  and  conspicu- 
ously graceful  carriage.  His  whole  appearance  was  so 
impressive  and  so  decidedly  that  of  a  gentleman,  that,  as 
he  finished  laying  aside  the  garments,  the  ladies  arose 
from  their  seats,  and  together  with  the  master  of  the 
house,  they  received  anew,  and  returned,  the  complimen- 
tary greetings  which  were  again  offered. 

The  host  was  by  several  years  the  senior  of  the  travel- 
ler, and  by  his  manner,  dress,  and  everything  around  him, 
showed  he  had  seen  much  of  life,  and  the  best  of  society. 
The  ladies  were,  a  maiden  of  forty,  and  two  much  younger, 
who  did  not  seem,  indeed,  to  have  reached  half  those 
years.  The  bloom  of  the  elder  of  these  ladies  had  van- 
ished, but  her  eyes  and  fine  hair  gave  an  extremely  agree- 
able expression  to  her  countenance  ;  and  there  was  a  soft- 
ness and  affability  in  her  deportment  that  added  a  charm 
many  more  juvenile  faces  do  not  possess.  The  sisters,  for 
such  the  resemblance  between  the  younger  females  de- 
noted them  to  be,  were  in  all  the  pride  of  youth,  and  the 
roses,  so  eminently  the  property  of  the  Westchester  fair, 
glowed  on  their  cheeks,  and  lighted  their  deep  blue  eyes 
with  that  lustre  which  gives  so  much  pleasure  to  the  be- 
holder, and  which  indicates  so  much  internal  innocence 
and  peace.  There  was  "much  of  that  feminine  delicacy,  in 
the  appearance  of  the  three,  which  distinguishes  the  sex  in 
this  country  ;  and,  like  the  gentleman,  their  demeanor 
proved  them  to  be  women  of  the  higher  order  of  life. 

After  handing  a  glass  of  excellent  Madeira  to  his  guest, 
Mr.  Wharton,  for  so  was  the  owner  of  this  retired  estate 
called,  resumed  his  seat  by  the  fire,  with  another  in  his 
own  hand.  For  a  moment  he  paused,  as  if  debating  with 
his  politeness,  but  at  length  threw  an  inquiring  glance  on 
the  stranger,  as  he  inquired  : 

"  To  whose  health  am  I  to  have  the  honor  of  drinking  ? " 


THE  SPY.  13 

The  traveller  had  also  seated  himself,  and  he  sat  uncon- 
sciously gazing  on  the  fire  while  Mr.  Wharton  spoke  ; 
turning  his  eyes  slowly  on  his  host  with  a  look  of  close 
observation,  he  replied,  while  a  faint  tinge  gathered  on  his 
features : 

"  Mr.  Harper." 

"  Mr.  Harper,"  resumed  the  other,  with  the  formal  pre- 
cision of  the  day,  "  I  have  the  honor  to  drink  your  health, 
and  to  hope  you  will  sustain  no  injury  from  the  rain  to 
which  you  have  been  exposed." 

Mr.  Harper  bowed  in  silence  to  the  compliment,  and  he 
soon  resumed  the  meditations  from  which  he  had  been  in- 
terrupted, and  for  which  the  long  ride  he  had  that  day 
made,  in  the  wind,  might  seem  a  very  natural  apology. 

The  young  ladies  had  again  taken  their  seats  beside  the 
work-stand,  while  their  aunt,  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton,  with- 
drew, to  superintend  the  preparations  necessary  to  ap- 
pease the  hunger  of  their  unexpected  visitor.  A  short 
silence  prevailed,  during  which  Mr.  Harper  was  apparently 
enjoying  the  change  in  his  situation,  when  Mr.  Wharton 
again  broke  it,  by  inquiring  whether  smoke  was  disagree- 
able to  his  companion  ;  to  which,  receiving  an  answer  in 
the  negative,  he  immediately  resumed  the  pipe  which  had 
been  laid  aside  at  the  entrance  of  the  traveller.  . 

There  was  an  evident  desire  on  the  part  of  the  host  to 
enter  into  conversation,  but  either  from  an  apprehension 
of  treading  on  dangerous  ground,  or  an  unwillingness  to 
intrude  upon  the  rather  studied  taciturnity  of  his  guest,  he 
several  times  hesitated,  before  he  could  venture  to  make 
any  further  remark.  At  length,  a  movement  from  Mr. 
Harper,  as  he  raised  his  eyes  to  the  party  in  the  room,  en- 
couraged him  to  proceed. 

"  I  find  it  very  difficult,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  cautiously 
avoiding,  at  first,  such  subjects  as  he  wished  to  introduce, 
{<  to  procure  that  quality  of  tobacco  for  my  evenings' 
amusement,  to  which  I  have  been  accustomed  " 

"  I  should  think  the  shops  in  New  York  might  furnish 
the  best  in  the  country,"  calmly  rejoined  the  other. 

'•  Why — yes,"  returned  the  host,  in  rather  a  hesitating 
manner,  lifting  his  eyes  to  the  face  of  Harper,  and  lower- 
ing them  quickly  under  his  steady  look,  "  there  must  be 
plenty  in  town  ;  but  the  war  has  made  communication 
with  the  city,  however  innocent,  too  dangerous  to  be  risked 
for  so  trifling  an  article  as  tobacco." 

The  box  from  which  Mr.  Wharton  had  just  taken  a  sup- 


I4  THE   SPY. 

ply  for  his  pipe  was  lying  open,  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
elbow  of  Harper,  who  took  a  small  quantity  from  its  con- 
tents, and  applied  it  to  his  tongue,  in  a  manner  perfectly 
natural,  but  one  that  filled  his  companion  with  alarm. 
Without,  however,  observing  that  the  quality  was  of  the 
most  approved  kind,  the  traveller  relieved  his  host  by  re- 
lapsing again  into  his  meditations.  Mr.  Wharton  now  felt 
unwilling  to  lose  the  advantage  he  had  gained,  and,  mak- 
ing an  effort  of  more  than  usual  vigor,  he  continued  : 

"  I  wish  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  this  unnatural 
struggle  was  over,  that  we  might  again  meet  our  friends 
and  relatives  in  peace  and  love." 

*'  It  is  much  to  be  desired,"  said  Harper,  emphatically, 
again  raising  his  eyes  to  the  countenance  of  his  host. 

"  I  hear  of  no  movement  of  consequence,  since  the  ar- 
rival of  our  new  allies,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  shaking  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe,  and  turning  his  back  to  the  other, 
under  the  pretence  of  receiving  a  coal  from  his  youngest 
daughter. 

"  None  have  yet  reached  the  public,  I  believe." 

"  Is  it  thought  any  important  steps  are  about  to  be 
taken?"  continued  Mr.  Wharton,  still  occupied  with  his 
daughter,  yet  unconsciously  suspending  his  employment, 
in  expectation  of  a  reply. 

"Is  it  intimated    any  are  in  agitation  ?  " 

"  Oh !  nothing  in  particular  ;  but  it  is  natural  to  expect 
some  new  enterprise  from  so  powerful  a  force  as  that 
under  Rochambeau." 

Harper  made  an  assenting  inclination  with  his  head,  but 
no  other  reply,  to  this  remark  ;  while  Mr.  Wharton,  after 
lighting  his  pipe,  resumed  the  subject. 

"  They  appear  more  active  in  the  South  ;  Gates  and  Corn- 
wallis  seem  willing  to  bring  the  war  to  an  issue,  there." 

The  brow  of  Harper  contracted,  and  a  deeper  shade  of 
melancholy  crossed  his  features  ;  his  eye  kindled  with  a 
transient  beam  of  fire,  that  spoke  a  latent  source  of  deep 
feeling.  The  admiring  gaze  of  the  younger  of  the  sisters 
had  barely  time  to  read  its  expression  before  it  passed 
away,  leaving  in  its  room  the  acquired  composure  which 
marked  the  countenance  of  the  stranger,  and  that  impres- 
sive dignity  which  so  conspicuously  denotes  the  empire  of 
reason. 

The  elder  sister  made  one  or  two  movements  in  her 
chair,  before  she  ventured  to  say,  in  a  tone  which  partook 
in  no  small  measure  of  triumph  : 


THE 

u  General  Gates  has  been  less  fortunate  with  the  Earl 
than  with  General  Burgoyne." 

"  But  General  Gates  is  an  Englishman,  Sarah,"  cried  the 
younger  lady,  with  quickness  ;  then,  coloring  to  the  eyes 
at  her  own  boldness,  she  employed  herself  in  tumbling  over 
the  contents  of  her  work-basket,  silently  hoping  that  the 
remark  would  be  unnoticed. 

The  traveller  had  turned  his  face  from  one  sister  to  tht 
other,  as  they  had  spoken  in  succession,  and  an  almost  im- 
perceptible movement  of  the  muscles  of  the  mouth  be- 
trayed a  new  emotion  as  he  playfully  inquired  of  the 
younger  : 

"  May  I  venture  to  ask,  what  inference  you  would  draw 
from  that  fact  ? " 

Frances  blushed  yet  deeper  at  this  direct  appeal  to  her 
opinions  upon  a  subject  upon  which  she  had  incautiously 
spoken  in  the  presence  of  a  stranger  ;  but,  finding  an  an- 
swer necessary,  after  some  little  hesitation,  and  with  a  good 
deal  of  stammering  in  her  manner,  she  replied  : 

"  Only — only — sir — my  sister  and  myself  sometimes 
differ  in  our  opinions  of  the  prowess  of  the  British."  A 
smile  of  much  meaning  played  on  a  face  of  infantile  inno- 
cency,  as  she  concluded. 

"On  what  particular  points  of  their  prowess  do  you 
differ?"  continued  Harper,  meeting  her  look  of  animation 
with  a  smile  of  almost  paternal  softness. 

"  Sarah  thinks  the  British  are  never  beaten,  while  I  do 
not  put  so  much  faith  in  their  invincibility." 

The  traveller  listened  to  her  with  that  pleased  indul- 
gence with  which  virtuous  age  loves  to  contemplate  the 
ardor  of  youthful  innocence  ;  but  making  no  reply,  he 
turned  to  the  fire,  and  continued  for  some  time  gazing  on 
its  embers,  in  silence. 

Mr.  Wharton  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  pierce  the  dis- 
guise of  his  guest's  political  feelings  ;  but,  while  there  was 
nothing  forbidding  in  his  countenance,  there  was  nothing 
communicative  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  strikingly  re- 
served ;  and  the  master  of  the  house  arose,  in  profound 
.ignorance  of  what,  in  those  days,  was  the  most  material 
point  in  the  character  of  his  guest,  to  lead  the  way  into 
another  room,  and  to  the  supper-table.  Mr.  Harper  of- 
fered his  hand  to  Sarah  Wharton,  and  they  entered  the 
room  together  ;  while  Frances  followed,  greatly  at  a  loss 
to  know  whether  she  had  not  wounded  the  feelings  of 
her  father's  inmate. 


16  THE  SPY. 

The  storm  began  to  rage  with  great  violence  without ; 
and  the  dashing  rain  on  the  sides  of  the  building  awakened 
that  silent  sense  of  enjoyment,  which  is  excited  by  such 
sounds  in  a  room  of  quiet  comfort  and  warmth,  when  a  loud 
summons  at  the  outer  door  again  called  the  faithful  black 
to  the  portal.  In  a  minute  the  servant  returned,  and  in- 
formed his  master  that  another  traveller,  overtaken  by  the 
storm,  desired  to  be  admitted  to  the  house  for  a  shelter 
through  the  night. 

At  the  first  sounds  of  the  impatient  summonsof  this  new 
applicant,  Mr.  Wharton  had  risen  from  his  seat  in  evident 
uneasiness  ;  and,  with  eyes  glancing  with  quickness  from 
his  guest  to  the  door  of  the  room,  he  seemed  to  be  expect- 
ing something  to  proceed  from  this  second  interruption, 
connected  with  the  stranger  who  had  occasioned  the  first. 
He  scarcely  had  time  to  bid  the  black,  with  a  faint  voice, 
to  show  this  second  comer  in,  before  the  door  was  thrown 
hastily  open,  and  the  stranger  himself  entered  the  apart- 
ment. He  paused  a  moment,  as  the  person  of  Harper  met 
his  view,  and  then,  in  a  more  formal  manner,  repeated  the 
request  he  had  before  made  through  the  servant.  Mr. 
Wharton  and  his  family  disliked  the  appearance  of  this 
new  visitor  excessively  ;  but  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
and  the  uncertainty  of  the  consequences,  if  he  were  re- 
fused the  desired  lodgings,  compelled  the  old  gentleman 
to  give  a  reluctant  acquiescence. 

Some  of  the  dishes  were  replaced  by  the  orders  of  Miss 
Peyton,  and  the  weather-beaten  intruder  was  invited  to 
partake  of  the  remains  of  the  repast,  from  which  the  party 
had  just  risen.  Throwing  aside  a  rough  great-coat,  he  very 
composedly  took  the  offered  chair,  and  unceremoniously 
proceeded  to  allay  the  cravings  of  an  appetite  which  ap- 
peared by  no  means  delicate.  But  at  every  mouthful  he 
would  turn  an  unquiet  eye  on  Harper,  who  studied  his  ap- 
pearance with  a  closeness  of  investigation  that  was  very 
embarrassing  to  its  subject.  At  length,  pouring  out  a  glass 
of  wine,  the  new-comer  nodded  significantly  to  his  ex- 
aminer, previously  to  swallowing  the  liquor,  and  said,  with 
something  of  bitterness  in  his  manner  :  . 

"  I  drink  to  our  better  acquaintance,  sir  ;  I  believe  this 
is  the  first  time  we  have  met,  though  your  attention  would 
seem  to  say  otherwise." 

The  quality  of  the  wine  seemed  greatly  to  his  fancy,  for, 
on  replacing  the  glass  upon  the  table,  he  gave  his  lips  a 
smack  that  resounded  through  the  room  ;  and?  taking  up 


THE   SPY.  17 

the  bottle,  he  held  it  between  himself  and  the  light  for  a 
moment,  in  silent  contemplation  of  its  clear  and  brilliant 
color. 

"I  think  we  have  never  met  before,  sir,"  replied  Harper, 
with  a  slight  smile  on  his  features,  as  he  observed  the 
movements  of  the  other  ;  but  appearing  satisfied  with  his 
scrutiny,  he  turned  to  Sarah  Wharton,  who  sat  next  him. 
and  carelessly  remarked  : 

"  You,  doubtless,  find  your  present  abode  solitary,  after 
being  accustomed  to  the  gayeties  of  the  city  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  excessively  so,"  said  Sarah,  hastily.  "  I  do  wish, 
with  my  father,  that  this  cruel  war  was  at  an  end,  that  we 
might  return  to  our  friends  once  more." 

"And  you,  Miss  Frances,  do  you  long  as  ardently  for 
peace  as  your  sister  ? " 

"  On  many  accounts  I  certainly  do,"  returned  the  other, 
venturing  to  steal  a  timid  glance  at  her  interrogator  ;  and, 
meeting  the  same  benevolent  expression  of  feeling  as  be- 
fore, she  continued,  as  her  own  face  lighted  into  one  of  its 
animated  and  bright  smiles  of  intelligence,  "but  not  at  the 
expense  of  the  rights  of  my  countrymen." 

"Rights!"  repeated  her  sister,  impatiently;  "whose 
rights  can  be  stronger  than  those  of  a  sovereign  ;  and  what 
duty  is  clearer  than  to  obey  those  who  have  a  natural  right 
to  command  ? " 

"  None,  certainly,"  said  Frances,  laughing  with  great 
pleasantry  ;  and,  taking  the  hand  of  her  sister  affection- 
ately within  both  of  her  own,  she  added,  with  a  smile  di- 
rected toward  Harper  : 

"  I  gave  you  to  understand  that  my  sister  and  myself 
differed  in  our  political  opinions  ;  but  we  have  an  impartial 
umpire  in  my  father,  who  loves  his  own  countrymen,  and 
he  loves  the  British — so  he  takes  sides  with  neither." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  in  a  little  alarm,  eyeing  first 
one  guest  and  then  the  other  ;  "  I  have  near  friends  in  both 
armies,  and  I  dread  a  victory  by  either  as  a  source  of  cer- 
tain private  misfortune." 

"  I  take  it  you  have  little  reason  to  apprehend  much 
from  the  Yankees,  in  that  way,"  interrupted  the  guest  at 
the  table,  coolly  helping  himself  to  another  glass  from  the 
bottle  he  had  admired. 

"  His  Majesty  may  have  more  experienced  troops  than 
the  continentals,"  answered  the  host,  fearfully,  "but  the 
Americans  have  met  with  distinguished  success." 

Harper  disregarded  the  observations  of  both,  and,  rising 


1 8  THE   SPY. 

he  desired  to  be  shown  to  his  place  of  rest.  A  small  boy 
was  directed  to  guide  him  to  his  room  ;  and  wishing  a 
courteous  good-night  to  the  whole  party,  the  traveller 
withdrew.  The  knife  and  fork  fell  from  the  hands  of  the 
unwelcome  intruder,  as  the  door  closed  on  the  retiring 
figure  of  Harper  ;  he  arose  slowly  from  his  seat  ;  listening 
attentively  he  approached  the  door  of  the  room — opened  it 
— seemed  to  attend  to  the  retreating  footsteps  of  the  other 
— and,  amid  the  panic  and  astonishment  of  his  companions, 
he  closed  it  again.  In  an  instant,  the  red  wig  which  con- 
cealed his  black  locks,  the  large  patch  which  hid  half  his 
face  from  observation,  the  stoop  that  had  made  him  appear 
"fifty  years  of  age,  disappeared. 

"  My  father  ! — my  dear  father  !  "  cried  the  handsome 
young  man  ;  "  and  you,  my  dearest  sisters  and  aunt ! — have 
I  at  last  met  you  again  ? " 

"  Heaven  bless  you,  my  Henry,  my  son  !  "  exclaimed  the 
astonished  but  delighted  parent ;  while  his  sisters  sank  on 
his  shoulders,  dissolved  in  tears. 

The  faithful  old  black,  who  had  been  reared  from  infancy 
in  the  house  of  his  master,  and  who,  as  if  in  mockery  of 
his  degraded  state,  had  been  complimented  with  the  name 
of  Caesar,  was  the  only  other  witness  of  this  unexpected 
discovery  of  the  son  of  Mr.  Wharton.  After  receiving  the 
extended  hand  of  his  young  master,  and  imprinting  on  it  a 
fervent  kiss,  Caesar  withdrew.  The  boy  did  not  re-enter  the 
room  ;  and  the  black  himself,  after  some  time,  returned, 
just  as  the  young  British  captain  was  exclaiming  : 

"  But  who  is  this  Mr.  Harper  ? — is  he  likely  to  betray 
me  ?" 

"  No — no — no — Massa  Harry,"  cried  the  negro,  shaking 
his  gray  head  confidently  ;  "  I  been  to  see — Massa  Harper 
on  he  knee — pray  to  God — no  gemman  who  pray  to  God, 
tell  of  good  son,  come  to  see  old  fader — Skinner  do  that — 
no  Christian  !  " 

This  poor  opinion  of  the  Skinners  was  not  confined  to 
Mr.  Caesar  Thompson,  as  he  called  himself — but  Caesar 
Wharton,  as  he  was  styled  by  the  little  world  to  which  he 
was  known.  The  convenience,  and  perhaps  the  necessi- 
ties, of  the  leaders  of  the  American  arms  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  New  York,  had  induced  them  to  employ  certain 
subordinate  agents,  of  extremely  irregular  habits,  in  exe- 
cuting their  lesser  plans  of  annoying  the  enemy.  It  was 
not  a  moment  for  fastidious  inquiries  into  abuses  of  any 
description,  and  oppression  and  injustice  were  the  natural 


THK  spy.  r9 

consequences  of  the  possession  of  a  military  power  that 
was  uncurbed  by  the  restraints  of  civil  authority.  In  time, 
a  distinct  order  of  the  community  was  formed,  whose  sole 
occupation  appears  to  have  been  that  of  relieving  their 
fellow-citizens  from  any  little  excess  of  temporary  pros- 
perity they  might  be  thought  to  enjoy,  under  the  pretence 
of  patriotism,  and  the  love  of  liberty. 

Occasionally,  the  aid  of  military  authority  was  not  want- 
ing in  enforcing  these  arbitrary  distributions  of  worldly 
goods ;  and  a  petty  holder  of  a  commission  in  the  state 
militia  was  to  be  seen  giving  the  sanction  of  something 
like  legality  to  acts  of  the  most  unlicensed  robbery,  and 
sometimes  bloodshed. 

On  the  part  of  the  British,  the  stimulus  of  loyalty  was 
by  no  means  suffered  to  sleep,  where  so  fruitful  a  field  of- 
fered on  which  it  might  be  expended.  But  their  free- 
booters were  enrolled,  and  their  efforts  more  systematized. 
Long  experience  had  taught  their  leaders  the  efficacy  of 
concentrated  force  ;  and,  unless  tradition  does  great  injus- 
tice to  their  exploits,  the  result  did  no  little  credit  to  their 
foresight.  The  corps — we  presume,  from  their  known  af- 
fectioa  to  that  useful  animal — had  received  the  quaint  ap- 
pellation of  "Cow-boys." 

Caesar  was,  however,  far  too  loyal  to  associate  men,  who 
held  the  commission  of  George  III.,  with  the  irregular 
warriors  whose  excesses  he  had  so  often  witnessed,  and 
from  whose  rapacity  neither  his  poverty  nor  his  bondage  had 
suffered  even  him  to  escape  uninjured.  The  Cow-boys, 
therefore,  did  not  receive  their  proper  portion  of  the 
black's  censure,  when  he  said  no  Christian,  nothing  but 
a  "Skinner,"  could  betray  a  pious  child,  while  honoring 
his  father  with  a  visit  so  full  of  peril. 


CHAPTER    II. 

And  many  a  halcyon  day  he  lived  to  see 

Unbroken,  but  by  one  misfortune  dire, 

When  fate  had  reft  his  mutual  heart — but  she 

Was  gone — and  Gertrude  climbed  a  widowed  father's  knee. 

—  Gertrude  of  Wyoming. 

THE  father  of  Mr.  Wharton  was  a  native  of  England,  and 
of  a  family  whose  parliamentary  interest  had  enabled  them 
to  provide  for  a  younger  son  in  the  colony  of  New  York. 


20  THE   SPY, 

The  young  man,  like  hundreds  of  others  in  his  situation, 
had  settled  permanently  in  the  country.  He  married  ;  and 
the  sole  issue  of  his  connection  had  been  sent  early  in  life 
to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  English  schools.  After  tak- 
ing his  degrees  at  one  of  the  universities  of  the  mother- 
country,  the  youth  had  been  suffered  to  acquire  a  knowl- 
edge of  life  with  the  advantages  of  European  society.  But 
the  death  of  his  father  recalled  him,  after  passing  two 
years  in  this  manner,  to  the  possession  of  an  honorable 
name,  and  avery  ample  estate. 

It  was  much  the  fashion  of  that  day  to  place  the  youth 
of  certain  families  in  the  army  or  navy  of  England,  as  the 
regular  stepping-stones  to  preferment.  Most  of  the  higher 
offices  in  the  colonies  were  filled  by  men  who  had  made 
arms  their  profession  ;  and  it  was  even  no  uncommon 
sight  to  see  a  veteran  warrior  laying  aside  the  sword  to  as- 
sume the  ermine  on  the  benches  of  the  highest  judicial 
authority.  ^ 

In  conformity  with  this  system,  the  senior  Mr.  Wharton 
had  intended  his  son  for  a  soldier  ;  but  a  natural  imbecil- 
ity of  character  in  his  child  interfered  with  his  wishes. 

A  twelvemonth  had  been  spent  by  the  young  man  in 
weighing  the  comparative  advantages  of  the  different 
classes  of  troops,  when  the  death  of  his  father  occurred. 
The  ease  of  his  situation,  and  the  attentions  lavished  upon 
a  youth  in  the  actual  enjoyment  of  one  of  the  largest  es- 
tates in  the  colonies,  interfered  greatly  with  his  ambitious 
projects.  Love  decided  the  matter  ;  and  Mr.  Wharton,  in 
becoming  a  husband,  ceased  to  think  of  becoming  a  sol- 
dier. For  many  years  he  continued  happy  in  his  family, 
and  sufficiently  respected  by  his  countrymen,  as  a  man  of 
integrity  and  consequence,  when  all  his  enjoyments  van- 
ished, as  it  were,  at  a  blow.  His  only  son,  the  youth  in- 
troduced in  the  preceding  chapter,  had  entered  the  army 
and  had  arrived  in  his  native  country,  but  a  short  time  be- 
fore the  commencement  of  hostilities,  with  the  reinforce- 
ments the  ministry  had  thought  it  prudent  to  throw  into 
the  disaffected  parts  of  North  America.  His  daughters 
were  just  growing  into  life,  and  their  education  required 
all  the  advantages  the  city  could  afford.  His  wife  had 
been  for  some  years  in  declining  health,  and  had  barely 
time  to  fold  her  son  to  her  bosom,  and  rejoice  in  the  re- 
union of  her  family,  before  the  revolution  burst  forth,  in 
a  continued  blaze,  from  Georgia  to  Massachusetts.  The 
shock  was  too  much  for  the  feeble  condition  of  the  mother,  : 


THE   SPY.  21 

who  saw  her  child  called  to  the  field  to  combat  against  the 
members  of  her  own  family  in  the  South,  and  she  sank 
under  the  blow. 

There  was  no  part  of  the  continent  where  the  manners 
of  England,  and  its  aristocratical  notions  of  blood  and  al- 
liance, prevailed  with  more  force  than  in  a  certain  circle 
immediately  around  the  metropolis  of  New  York.  The 
customs  of  the  early  Dutch  inhabitants  had,  indeed, 
blended  in  some  measure  with  the  English  manners  ;  but 
still  the  latter  prevailed.  This  attachment  to  Great  Brit- 
ain was  increased  by  the  frequent  intermarriages  of  the 
officers  of  the  mother-country  with  the  wealthier  and  more 
powerful  families  of  the  vicinity,  until,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  their  united  influence  had  very  nearly 
thrown  the  colony  into  the  scale  on  the  side  of  the  crown. 
A  few,  however,  of  the  leading  families  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  people  ;  and  a  sufficient  stand  was  made  against  the 
efforts  of  the  ministerial  party,  to  organize,  and  aided  by 
the  army  of  the  confederation,  to  maintain,  an  indepen- 
dent and  republican  form  of  government. 

The  city  of  New  York  and  the  adjacent  territory  were 
alone  exempted  from  the  rule  of  the  new  commonwealth  ; 
while  the  royal  authority  extended  no  further  than  its  dig- 
nity could  be  supported  by  the  presence  of  an  army.  In 
this  condition  of  things,  the  loyalists  of  influence  adopted 
such  measures  as  best  accorded  with  their  different  charac- 
ters and  situations.  Many  bore  arms  in  support  of  the 
crown,  and,  by  their  bravery  and  exertions,  endeavored  to 
secure  what  they  deemed  to  be  the  rights  of  their  prince, 
and  their  own  estates,  from  the  effects  of  the  law  of  attain- 
der. Others  left  the  country ;  seeking  in  that  place  they 
emphatically  called  home,  an  asylum  as  they  fondly 
hoped,  for  a  season  only,  against  the  confusion  and  dan- 
gers of  a  war.  A  third,  and  a  more  wary,  portion  remained 
in  the  place  of  their  nativity,  with  a  prudent  regard  to  their 
ample  possessions,  and,  perhaps,  influenced  by  their  at- 
tachments to  the  scenes  of  their  youth.  Mr.  Wharton  was 
of  this  description.  After  making  a  provision  against  fu- 
ture contingencies,  by  secretly  transmitting  the  whole  of 
his  money  to  the  British  funds,  this  gentleman  determined 
to  continue  in  the  theatre  of  strife,  and  to  maintain  so 
strict  a  neutrality  as  to  insure  the  safety  of  his  large  es- 
tate, whichever  party  succeeded.  He  was  apparently  en- 
grossed in  the  education  of  his  daughters,  when  a  relation 
high  in  office  in  the  new  state,  intimated  that  a  residence 


22  THE   SPY. 

in  what  was  now  a  British  camp  differed  but  little,  in  the 
eyes  of  his  countrymen,  from  a  residence  in  the  British 
capital.  Mr.  Wharton  soon  saw  this  was  an  unpardonable 
offence  in  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  he  instantly  de- 
termined to  remove  the  difficulty  by  retiring  to  the  coun- 
try, tie  possessed  a  residence  in  the  county  of  West- 
chester  ;  and  having  been  for  many  years  in  the  habit  of 
withdrawing  thither  during  the  heats  of  the  summer 
months,  it  was  kept  furnished,  and  ready  for  his  accommo- 
dation. His  eldest  daughter  was  already  admitted  into 
the  society  of  women  ;  but  Frances,  the  younger,  required 
a  year  or  two  more  of  the  usual  cultivation,  to  appear  with 
proper  eclat :  at  least  so  thought  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton  ; 
and  as  this  lady,  a  younger  sister  of  the  deceased  mother, 
had  left  her  paternal  home  in  the  colony  of  Virginia,  with 
the  devotedness  and  affection  peculiar  to  her  sex.  to  super- 
intend the  wrelfare  of  her  nieces,  Mr.  Wharton  felt  that  her 
opinions  were  entitled  to  respect.  In  conformity  to  her 
advice,  therefore,  the  feelings  of  the  parent  were  made  to 
yield  to  the  welfare  of  his  children. 

Mr.  Wharton  withdrew  to  the  "  Locusts,''  with  a  heart 
rent  with  the  pain  of  separating  from  ail  that  was  left  him 
of  a  wife  he  had  adored,  but  in  obedience  to  a  constitu- 
tional prudence  that /pleaded  loudly  in  behalf  of  his 
worldly  goods.  His  handsome  town  residence  was  inhab- 
ited, in  the  meanwhile,  by  his  daughters  and  their  aunt. 
The  regiment  to  which.  Captain  Wharton  belonged  formed 
part  of  the  permanent  garrison  of  the  city  ;  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  presence  of  his  son  was  no  little  relief  to  the 
father,  in  his  unceasing  meditations  on  his  absent  daugh- 
ters. But  Captain  Wharton  was  a  young  man  and  a  sol- 
dier ;  his  estimate  of  character  was  not  always  the  wisest  ; 
and  his  propensities  led  him  to  imagine  that  a  red  coat 
never  concealed  a  dishonorable  heart. 

The  house  of  Mr.  Wharton  became  a  fashionable  lounge 
to  the  officers  of  the  royal  army,  as  did  that  of  every  other 
family  that  was  thought  worthy  of  their  notice.  The  con- 
sequences of  this  association  were,  to  some  few  of  the  vis- 
ited, fortunate  ;  to  more  injurious,  by  exciting  expecta- 
tions which  were  never  to  be  realized,  and,  unhappily,  to 
no  small  number  ruinous.  The  known  wealth  of  the  father, 
and,  possibly,  the  presence  of  a  high-spirited  brother,  for- 
bade any  apprehension  of  the  latter  danger  to  the  young 
ladies  ;  but  it  was  impossible  that  all  the  admiration  be- 
stowed on  the  fine  figure  and  lovely  face  of  Sarah  Wharton 


THE    SPY.  23 

should  be  thrown  away.  Her  person  was  formed  with  the 
early  maturity  of  the  climate,  and  a  strict  cultivation  of 
the  graces  had  made  her,  decidedly,  the  belle  of  the  city. 
No  one  promised  to  dispute  with  her  this  fem,ale  sover- 
eignty, unless  it  might  be  her  younger  sister.  Frances, 
however,  wanted  some  months  to  the  charmed  age  of  six- 
teen ;  and  the  idea  of  competition  was  far  from  the  minds 
of  either  of  the  affectionate  girls.  Indeed,  next  to  the  con- 
versation of  Colonel  Wellmere,  the  greatest  pleasure  of 
Sarah  was  in  contemplating  the  budding  beauties  of  the 
little  Hebe,  who  played  around  her  with  all  the  innocency 
of  youth,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  her  ardent  temper, 
and  with  no  little  of  the  archness  of  her  native  humor. 
Whether  or  not  it  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  Frances  re- 
ceived none  of  the  compliments  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  her 
elder  sister,  in  the  often-repeated  discussions  on  the  merits 
of  the  war,  between  the  military  beaux  who  frequented  the 
house,  it  is  certain  their  effects  on  the  sisters  were  exactly 
opposite.  It  was  much  the  fashion  then  for  the  British 
officers  to  speak  slightingly  of  their  enemies  ;  and  Sarah 
took-  all  the  idle  vaporing  of  her  danglers  to  be  truths. 
The  first  political  opinions  which  reached  the  ears  of 
Frances  were  coupled  with  sneers  on  the  conduct  of  her 
countrymen.  At  first  she  believed  them  ;  but  there  was 
occasionally  a  general,  who  was  obliged  to  do  justice  to  his 
enemy  in  order  to  obtain  justice  for  himself  ;  and  Frances 
became  somewhat  sceptical  on  the  subject  of  the  ineffici- 
ency of  her  countrymen.  Colonel  Wellmere  was  among 
those  who  delighted  most  in  expending  his  wit  on  the  un- 
fortunate Americans  ;  and,  in  time,  Frances  began  to 
listen  to  his  eloquence  with  great  suspicion,  and  some- 
times with  resentment. 

It  was  on  a  hot  sultry  day,  that  the  three  were  in  the 
parlor  of  Mr.  Wharton's  house,  the  colonel  and  Sarah 
seated  on  a  sofa,  engaged  in  a  combat  of  the  eyes,  aided 
by  the  usual  flow  of  small  talk,  and  Frances  was  occupied 
at  her  tamboring  frame,  in  an  opposite  corner  of  the  room, 
when  the  gentleman  suddenly  exclaimed  : 

"  How  gay  the  arrival  of  the  army  under  General  Bur- 
goyne  will  make  the  city,  Miss  Wharton  ! " 

"  Oh  !  how  pleasant  it  must  be,"  said  the  thoughtless 
Sarah,  in  reply  ;  "  I  am  told  there  are  many  charming  wo- 
men with  that  army  ;  as  you  say,  it  will  make  us  all  life 
and  gayety." 

Frances^  shook  back  the  abundance  of  her  golden  hair, 


24  THE   SPY. 

and  raised  her  eyes,  dancing  with  the  ardor  of  national 
feeling  ;  then  laughing,  with  a  concealed  humor,  she 
asked  : 

"  Is  it  so  certain  that  General  Burgoyne  will  be  per- 
mitted to  reach  the  city?" 

"  Permitted  ! "  echoed  the  colonel ;  "  who  is  there  to 
prevent  it,  my  pretty  Miss  Fanny  ? " 

Frances  was  precisely  at  that  age  when  young  people 
are  most  jealous  of  their  station  in  society  ;  neither  quite 
a  woman  nor  yet  a  child.  The  "  pretty  Miss  Fanny  "  was 
too  familiar  to  be  relished,  and  she  dropped  her  eyes  on  her 
work  again,  with  cheeks  that  glowed  like  crimson. 

"  General  Stark  took  the  Germans  into  custody,"  she 
answered,  compressing  her  lip  ;  "  may  not  General  Gates 
think  the  British  too  dangerous  to  go  at  large  ? " 

"  Oh  !  they  were  Germans,  as  you  say,"  cried  the  col- 
onel, excessively  vexed  at  the  necessity  of  explaining  at 
all  ;  "  mere  mercenary  troops  ;  but  when  the  really  British 
regiments  come  in  question,  you  will  see  a  very  different 
result." 

"  Of  that  there  is  no  doubt,"  cried  Sarah,  without  in  the 
least  partaking  of  the  resentment  of  the  colonel  to  her  sis- 
ter, but  hailing  already  in  her  heart  the  triumph  of  the 
British. 

"  Pray,  Colonel  Wellmere,"  said  Frances,  recovering 
her  good-humor,  and  raising  her  joyous  eyes  once  more  to 
the  face  of  the  gentleman,  "was  the  Lord  Percy  of  Lex- 
ington a  kinsman  of  him  who  fought  at  Chevy  Chase  ?" 

"  Why,  Miss  Fanny,  you  are  becoming  a  rebel,"  said  the 
colonel,  endeavoring  to  laugh  away  the  anger  he  felt ; 
"  what  you  are  pleased  to  insinuate  was  a  chase  at  Lexing- 
ton, was  nothing  more  than  a  judicious  retreat — a — kind 
of " 

<l  Running  fight,"  interrupted  the  good-humored  girl, 
laying  great  emphasis  on  the  first  word. 

"  Positively,  young  lady "  Colonel  Wellmere  was  in- 
terrupted by  a  laugh  from  a  person  who  had  hitherto  been 
unnoticed. 

There  was  a  small  family  apartment  adjoining  the  room 
occupied  by  the  trio,  and  the  air  had  blown  open  the  door 
communicating  between  the  two.  A  fine  young  man  was 
now  seen  sitting  near  the  entrance,  who,  by  his  smiling 
countenance,  was  evidently  a  pleased  listener  to  the  con- 
versation. He  rose  instantly,  and  coming  through  the 
door,  with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  appeared,  a  tall,  graceful 


THE   SPY,  25 

youth,  of  dark  complexion  and  sparkling  eyes  of  black, 
from  which  the  mirth  had  not  yet  entirely  vanished  as  he 
made  his  bow  to  the  ladies. 

"  Mr.  Dunwoodie  !  "  cried  Sarah,  in  surprise.  "  I  was 
ignorant  of  your  being  in  the  house  ;  you  will  find  a  cooler 
seat  in  th'is  room." 

"  I  thank  you,"  replied  the  young  man,  "  but  I  must  go 
and  seek  your  brother,  who  placed  me  there  in  ambuscade, 
as  he  called  it,  with  a  promise  of  returning  an  hour  ago." 
Without  making  any  further  explanation,  the  youth  bowed 
politely  to  the  young  women,  distantly  and  with  hauteur  to 
the  gentleman,  and  withdrew.  Frances  followed  him  into 
the  hall,  and  blushing  richly,  inquired,  in  a  hurried  voice  : 

u  But  why — why  do  you  leave  us,  Mr.  Dunwoodie? — 
'Henry  must  soon  return." 

The  gentleman  caught  one  of  her  hands  in  his  own,  and 
the  stern  expression  of  his  countenance  gave  place  to  a 
look  of  admiration,  as  he  replied  : 

''You  managed  him  famously,  my  dear  little  kins- 
woman ;  never — no  never,  forget  the  land  of  your  birth  ; 
remember,  if  you  are  the  granddaughter  of  an  English- 
man, you  are  also  the  granddaughter  of  a  Peyton." 

"  Oh  !  "  returned  the  laughing  girl,  "  it  would  be  difficult 
to  forget  that,  with  the  constant  lectures  on  genealogy  be- 
fore us,  with  which  we  are  favored  by  aunt  Jeanette — but 
why  do  you  go  ?" 

"  I  am  on  the  wing  for  Virginia,  and  have  much  to  do." 
He  pressed  her  hand  as  he  spoke,  and  looking  back  while 
in  the  act  of  closing  the  door,  exclaimed,  "  Be  true  to  your 
country — be  American."  The  ardent  girl  kissed  her  hand 
to  him  as  he  retired,  and  then  instantly  applying  it  with 
its  beautiful  fellow  to  her  burning  cheeks,  ran  into  her 
own  apartment  to  hide  her  confusion. 

Between  the  open  sarcasm  of  Frances,  and  the  ill-con- 
cealed disdain  of  the  young  man,  Colonel  Wellmere  had 
felt  himself  placed  in  an  awkward  predicament  ;  but 
ashamed  to  resent  such  trifles  in  the  presence  of  his  mis- 
tress, he  satisfied  himself  with  observing,  superciliously,  as 
Dunwoodie  left  the  room  : 

"  Quite  a  liberty  for  a  youth  in  his  situation  ;  a  shop 
boy  with  a  bundle,  I  fancy." 

The  idea  of  picturing  the  graceful  Peyton  Dunwoodie 
as  a  shop-boy  could  never  enter  the  mind  of  Sarah,  and 
she  looked  around  her  in  surprise,  when  the  colonel  con- 
tinued : 


26  TH2L    SPY. 

"  This  Mr.  Dun— Dun " 

"  Dunwoodie  !  Oh,  no — he  is  a  relation  of  my  aunt," 
cried  the  young  lady,  "and  an  intimate  friend  of  my 
brother  ;  they  were  at  school  together,  and  only  separated 
in  England,  when  one  went  into  the  army,  and  the  other  to 
a  French  military  academy." 

"  His  money  appears  to  have  been  thrown  away,"  ob- 
served the  colonel,  betraying  the  spleen  he  was  unsuccess- 
fully striving  to  conceal. 

"We  ought  to  hope  so,"  added  Sarah,  with  a  smile  ;  "  for 
it  is  said  he  intends  joining  the  rebel  army.  He  was 
brought  in  here,  in  a  French  ship,  and  has  just  been  ex- 
changed ;  you  may  soon  meet  him  in  arms." 

"Well,  let  him — I  wish  Washington  plenty  of  such  he- 
roes;" and  he  turned  to  a  more  pleasant  subject  by 
changing  the  discourse  to  themselves. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  scene  occurred  the  army  of  Bur- 
goyne  laid  down  their  arms.  Mr.  Wharton,  beginning  to 
think  the  result  of  the  contest  doubtful,  resolved  to  con- 
ciliate his  countrymen,  and  gratify  himself,  by  calling  his 
daughters  into  his  own  abode.  Miss  Peyton  consented  to 
be  their  companion  ;  and  from  that  time,  until  the  period 
at  which  we  commenced  our  narrative,  they  had  formed 
one  family. 

Whenever  the  main  army  made  any  movements,  Cap- 
tain Wharton  had,  of  course,  accompanied  it ;  and  once  or 
twice,  under  the  protection  of  strong  parties  acting  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Locusts,  he  had  enjoyed  rapid  and 
stolen  interviews  with  his  friends.  A  twelvemonth  had, 
however,  passed  without  his  seeing  them  ;  and  the  impa- 
tient Henry  had  adopted  the  disguise  we  have  mentioned, 
and  unfortunately  arrived  on  the  very  evening  that  an  un- 
known and  rather  suspicious  guest  was  an  inmate  of  the 
house,  which  seldom  contained  any  other  than  its  regular 
inhabitants. 

"But,  do  you  think  he  suspects  me?"  asked  the  cap- 
tain, with  anxiety,  after  pausing  to  listen  to  Caesar's  opin- 
ion of  the  Skinners. 

(<  How  should  he  ? "  cried  Sarah,  "  when  your  sisters 
and  father  could  not  penetrate  your  disguise." 

"  There  is  something  mysterious  in  his  manner ;  his 
looks  are  too  prying  for  an  indifferent  observer,"  con- 
tinued young  Wharton,  thoughtfully,  "  and  his  face  seems 
familiar  to  me.  The  recent  fate  of  Andre  has  created 
much  irritation  on  both  sides.  Sir  Henry  threatens  re- 


THE   SPY.  27 

taliation  for  his  death  ;  and  Washington  is  as  firm  as  if  half 
the  world  were  at  his  command.  The  rebels  would  think 
me  a  fit  subject  for  their  plans  just  now.  should  I  be  so 
unlucky  as  to  fall  into  their  hands." 

"  But,  my  son,"  cried  his  father,  in  great  alarm,  "you 
are  not  a  spy  ;  you  are  not  within  the  rebel — that  is,  the 
American  lines  ; — there  is  nothing  here  to  spy." 

"  That  might  be  disputed,"  rejoined  the  young  man, 
musing  ;  "their  pickets  were  as  low  as  the  White  Plains 
when  I  passed  through  in  disguise.  It  is  true  my  purposes 
are  innocent  ;  but  how  is  it  to  appear  ?  My  visit  to  you 
would  seem  a  cloak  to  other~designs.  Remember,  sir,  the 
treatment  you  received  not  a  year  since,  for  sending  me  a 
supply  of  fruit  for  the  winter." 

"  That  proceeded  from  the  misrepresentations  of  my 
kind  neighbors,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  "  who  hoped,  by  getting 
my  estate  confiscated,  to  purchase  good  farms  at  low 
prices.  Peyton  Dunwoodie,  however,  soon  obtained  our 
discharge  ;  we  were  detained  but  a  month." 

"  We  !  "  repeated  the  son,  in  amazement ;  (( did  they  take 
my  sisters,  also  ? — Fanny,  you  wrote  me  nothing  of  this." 

"  I  believe,"  said  Frances,  coloring  highly,  "  I  mentioned 
the  kind  treatment  we  received  from  your  old  friend,  Major 
Dunwoodie  ;  and  that  he  procured  my  father's  release." 

"  True  ; — but  were  you  with  him  in  the  rebel  camp  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  father,  kindly  ;  "  Fanny  would  not 
suffer  me  to  go  alone.  Jeanette  and  Sarah  took  charge  of 
the  Locusts,  and  this  little  girl  was  my  companion  in  cap- 
tivity." 

"  And  Fanny  returned  from  such  a  scene  a  greater  rebel 
than  ever,"  cried  Sarah,  indignantly  ;  "  one  would  think 
the  hardships  her  father  suffered  would  have  cured  her  of 
such  whims." 

"  What  say  you  to  the  charge,  my  pretty  sister  ?  "  cried 
the  captain,  gayly ; — "did  Peyton  strive  to  make  you  hate 
your  king  more  than  he  does  himself  ? " 

''Peyton  Dunwoodie  hates  no  one,"  said  Frances, 
quickly  ;  then,  blushing  at  her  own  ardor,  she  added  im- 
mediately, "  he  loves  you,  Henry,  I  know  ;  for  he  has  told 
me  so  again  and  again." 

Young  Wharton  tapped  his  sister  on  the  cheek,  with  a 
smile,  as  he  asked  her,  in  an  affected  whisper  :  "  Did  he 
tell  you  also  that  he  loved  my  little  sister  Fanny  ?" 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Frances  ;  and  the  remnants  of  the 
supper-table  soon  disappeared  under  her  superintendence. 


28  THE   SPY. 


CHAPTER   III. 

'Twas  when  the  fields  were  swept  of  Autumn's  store, 
And  growling  winds  the  fading  foliage  tore, 
Behind  the  Lowman  hill,  the  short-lived  light, 
Descending  slowly,  usher'd  in  the  night ; 
When  from  the  noisy  town,  with  mournful  look, 
His  lonely  way  the  meagre  peddler  took. — WILSON. 

A  STORM  below  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson,  if  it  be  in- 
troduced  with  an  easterly  wind,  seldom  lasts  less  than  two 
days.  Accordingly,  as  the  inmates  of  the  Locusts  assem- 
bled, on  the  following  morning,  around  their  early  break- 
fast, the  driving'  rain  was  seen  to  strike  in  nearly  horizontal 
lines  against  the  windows  of  the  building,  and  forbade  the 
idea  of  exposing*  either  man  or  beast  to  the  tempest. 
Harper  was  the  last  to  appear  ;  after  taking  a  view  of  the 
state  of  the  weather,  tie  apologized  to  Mr.  Wharton  for  the 
necessity  that  existed  ibr  his  trespassing  on  his  goodness 
for  a  longtime.  To  appearances,  the  reply  was  as  courte- 
ous as  the  excuse  ;  yet  Harper  wore  a  resignation  in  his 
deportment  that  was  widely  different  from  the  uneasy 
manner  of  the  father.  Henry  Wharton  had  resumed  his 
disguise  with  a  reluctance  amounting  to  disgust,  but  in 
obedience  to  the  commands  of  his  parent.  No  communi- 
cations passed  between  him  and  the  stranger,  after  the  first 
salutations  of  the  morning  had  been  paid  by  Harper  to  him, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  family.  Frances  had,  in- 
deed, thought  there  was  something  like  a  &mile  passing 
over  the  features  of  the  traveller,  when,  on  entering  the 
room,  he  first  confronted  her  brother  ;  but  it  was  confined 
to  the  eyes,  seeming  to  want  power  to  affect  the  muscles  of 
the  face,  and  was  soon  lost  in  the  settled  and  benevolent 
expression  which  reigned  in  his  countenance,  with  a  sway 
but  seldom  interrupted.  The  eyes  of  the  affectionate  sister 
were  turned  in  anxiety,  for  a  moment,  on  her  brother,  and 
glancing  again  on  her  unknown  guest,  met  his  look,  as  he 
offered  her,  with  marked  attention,  one  of  the  little  civili- 
ties of  the  table  ;  and  the  heart  of  the  girl,  which  had  be- 
gun to  throb  with  violence,  regained  a  pulsation  as  tem- 
pered as  youth,  health,  and  buoyant  spirits  could  allow. 
While  yet  seated  at  the  table,  Caesar  entered,  and,  laying  a 
small  parcel  in  silence  by  the  side  of  his  master,  modestly 
retired  behind  the  chair,  where,  placing  one  hand  on  its 


TffE   SPY.  29 

back,  he  continued  in  an  attitude  half  familiar,  half  re- 
spectful, a  listener. 

"  What  is  this,  Caesar  ? "  inquired  Mr.  Wharton,  turning 
the  bundle  over  to  examine  its  envelope,  and  eying  it 
rather  suspiciously. 

"  The  'baccy,  sir  ;  Harvey  Birch,  he  got  home,  and  he 
bring  you  a  little  good  'baccy  from  York." 

"  Harvey  Birch  !  "  rejoined  the  master,  with  great  delib- 
eration, stealing  a  look  at  his  guest.  "  I  do  not  remember 
desiring  him  to  purchase  any  tobacco  for  me  ;  but  as  he 
has  brought  it,  he  must  be  paid  for  his  trouble." 

For  an  instant  only,  as  the  negro  spoke,  did  Harper 
suspend  his  silent  meal  ;  his  eye  moved  slowly  from  the 
servant  to  the  master,  and  again  all  remained  in  its  im- 
penetrable reserve. 

To  Sarah  Wharton,  this  intelligence  gave  unexpected 
pleasure  ;  rising  from  her  seat,  with  impatience,  she  bade 
the  black  show  Birch  into  the  apartment  ;  when,  suddenly 
recollecting  herself,  she  turned  to  the  traveller  with  an 
apologizing  look,  and  added,  "if  Mr.  Harper  will  excuse 
the  presence  of  a  peddler." 

The  indulgent  benevolence  expressed  in  the  countenance 
of  the  stranger,  as  he  bowed  a  silent  acquiescence,  spoke 
more  eloquently  than  the  nicest  framed  period,  and  the 
young  lady  repeated  her  order,  with  a  confidence  in  its 
truth  that  removed  all  embarrassment. 

In  the  deep  recesses  of  the  windows  of  the  cottage  were 
seats  of  panelled  work  ;  and  the  rich  damask  curtains  that 
had  ornamented  the  parlor  in  Queen  Street,*  had  been 
transferred  to  the  Locusts,  and  gave  to  the  room  that  in- 
describable air  of  comfort  which  so  gracefully  announces 
the  approach  of  a  domestic  winter.  Into  one  of  these  re- 
cesses Captain  Wharton  now  threw  himself,  drawing  the 
curtain  before  him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  conceal  most  of 
his  person  from  observation  ;  while  his  younger  sister,  los- 
ing her  natural  frankness  of  manner,  in  an  air  of  artificial 
constraint,  silently  took  possession  of  the  other. 

Harvey  Birch  had  been  a  peddler  from  his  youth  ;  at 

*  The  Americans  changed  the  names  of  many  towns  and  streets  at  the 
revolution,  as  has  since  been  done  in  France.  Thus,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  Crown  Street  has  become  Liberty  Street  ;  King  Street,  Pine  Street ; 
and  Queen  Street,  then  one  of  the  most  fashionable  quarters  of  the  town, 
Pearl  Street.  Pearl  Street  is  now  chiefly  occupied  by  the  auction  dealers 
and  the  wholesale  drygoods  merchants,  for  warehouses  and  counting- 
roo>.ns. 


3o  .  THE   SPY. 

least  so  he  frequently  asserted,  and  his  skill  in  the  occupa- 
tion went  far  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  declaration.  He 
was  a  native  of  one  of  the  eastern  colonies  ;  and,  from 
something  of  superior  intelligence  which  belonged  to  his 
father,  it  was  thought  they  had  known  better  fortunes  in 
the  land  of  their  nativity.  Harvey  possessed,  however, 
the  common  manners  of  the  country,  and  was  in  no  way 
distinguished  from  men  of  his  class,  but  by  his  acuteness 
and  the  mystery  which  enveloped  his  movements.  Ten 
years  before,  they  had  arrived  together  in  the  vale,  and, 
purchasing  the  humble  dwelling  at  which  Harper  had 
made  his  unsuccessful  application,  continued  ever  since 
peaceful  inhabitants,  but  little  noticed  and  but  little  known. 
Until  age  and  infirmities  had  prevented,  the  father  devoted 
himself  to  the  cultivation  of  the  small  spot  of  ground  be- 
longing to  his  purchase,  while  the  son  pursued  with  avid- 
ity his  humble  barter.  Their  orderly  quietude  had  soon 
given  them  so  much  consideration  in  the  neighborhood,  as 
to  induce  a  maiden  of  five-and-thirty  to  forget  the  punc- 
tilio of  her  sex,  and  to  accept  the  office  of  presiding  over 
their  domestic  comforts.  The  roses  had  long  before  van- 
ished from  the  cheeks  of  Katy  Haynes,  and  she  had  seen 
in  succession,  both  her  male  and  female  acquaintances 
forming  the  union  so  desirable  to  her  sex,  with  but  little 
or  no  hope  left  for  herself,  when,  with  views  of  her  own, 
she  entered  the  family  of  the  Birches.  Necessity  is  a  hard 
master,  and,  for  the  want  of  a  better  companion,  the  father 
and  son  were  induced  to  accept  her  services  ;  but  still  Katy 
was  not  wanting  in  some  qualities  which  made  her  a  very 
tolerable  housekeeper.  On  the  one  hand,  she  was  neat, 
industrious,  honest,  and  a  good  manager.  On  the  other, 
she  was  talkative,  selfish,  superstitious,  and  inquisitive. 
By  dint  of  using  the  latter  quality  with  consummate  in- 
dustry, she  had  not  lived  in  the  family  five  years  when  she 
triumphantly  declared  that  she  had  heard,  or  rather  over- 
heard, sufficient  to  enable  her  to  say  what  had  been  the 
former  fate  of  her  associates.  Could  Katy  have  possessed 
enough  of  divination  to  pronounce  upon  their  future  lot, 
her  task  would  have  been  accomplished.  From  the  pri- 
vate conversation  of  the  parent  and  child,  she  learned  that 
a  fire  had  reduced  them  from  competence  to  poverty,  and 
at  the  same  time  diminished  the  number  of  their  family  to 
two.  There  was  atremulousness  in  the  voice  of  the  father, 
as  he  touched  lightly  on  the  event,  which  affected  even  the 
heart  of  Katy  ;  but  no  barrier  is  sufficient  to  repel  vulgar 


THE   SPY.  31 

curiosity.  She  persevered,  until  a  very  direct  intimation 
from  Harvey,  by  threatening  to  supply  her  place  with  a  fe- 
male a  few  years  younger  than  herself,  gave  her  awful  warn- 
ing that  there  were  bounds  beyond  which  she  was  not  to 
pass.  From  that  period  the  curiosity  of  the  housekeeper 
had  been  held  in  such  salutary  restraint,  that,  although  no 
opportunity  of  listening  was  ever  neglected,  she  had  been 
able  to  add  but  little  to  her  stock  of  knowledge.  There 
was,  however,  one  piece  of  intelligence,  and  that  of  no  lit- 
tle interest  to  herself,  which  she  had  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing ;  and  from  the  moment  of  its  acquisition,  she  directed 
her  energies  to  the  accomplishment  of  one  object,  aided 
by  the  double  stimulus  of  love  and  avarice. 

Harvey  was  in  the  frequent  habit  of  paying  mysterious 
visits,  in  the  depth  of  the  night,  to  the  fireplace  of  the 
apartment  that  served  for  both  kitchen  and  parlor.  Here 
he  was  observed  by  Katy  ;  and,  availing  herself  of  his  ab- 
sence, and  the  occupations  of  the  father,  by  removing  one 
of  the  hearthstones,  she  discovered  an  iron  pot,  glittering 
with  a  metal  that  seldom  fails  to  soften  the  hardest  heart. 
Katy  succeeded  in  replacing  the  stone  without  discovery, 
and  never  dared  to  trust  herself  with  another  visit.  From 
that  moment,  however,  the  heart  of  the  virgin  lost  its  ob- 
duracy ;  and  nothing  interposed  between  Harvey  and  his 
happiness  but  his  own  want  of  observation. 

The  war  did  not  interfere  with  the  traffic  of  the  peddler, 
who  seized  on  the  golden  opportunity,  which  the  interrup- 
tion of  the  regular  trade  afforded,  and  appeared  absorbed 
in  the  one  grand  object  of  amassing  money.  For  a  year  or 
two  his  employment  was  uninterrupted,  and  his  success 
proportionate  ;  but,  at  length,  dark  and  threatening  hints 
began'  to  throw  suspicion  around  his  movements,  and  the 
civil  authority  thought  it  incumbent  on  them  to  examine 
narrowly  into  his  mode  of  life.  His  imprisonments,  though 
frequent,  were  not  long,  and  his  escapes  from  the  guard- 
ians of  the  law  easy,  compared  to  what  he  endured  from 
the  persecution  of  the  military.  Still  Birch  survived,  and 
still  he  continued  his  trade,  though  compelled  to  be  very 
guarded  in  his  movements,  especially  whenever  he  ap- 
proached the  northern  boundaries  of  the  county  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  neighborhood  of  the  American  lines.  His 
visits  to  the  Locusts  had  become  less  frequent,  and  his  ap- 
pearance at  his  own  abode  so  seldom,  as  to  draw  forth 
from  the  disappointed  Katy,  in  the  fulness  of  her  heart, 
the  complaint  we  have  related,  in  her  reply  to  Harper. 


32 


THE   SPY. 


Nothing,  however,  seemed  to  interfere  with  the  pursuits 
of  this  indefatigable  trader  ;  who,  with  the  view  to  dispose 
of  certain  articles  for  which  he  could  only  find  purchasers 
in  the  very  wealthiest  families  of  the  county,  had  now 
braved  the  fury  of  the  tempest,  and  ventured  to  cross  the 
half-mile  between  his  own  residence  and  the  house  of  Mr. 
Wharton. 

In  a  few  minutes  after  receiving  the  commands  of  his 
young  mistress,  Caesar  reappeared,  ushering  into  the  apart- 
ment the  subject  of  the  foregoing  digression.  In  person, 
the  peddler  was  a  man  above  the  middle  height,  spare,  but 
full  of  bone  and  muscle.  At  first  sight  his  strength  seemed 
unequal  to  manage  the  unwieldy  burden  of  his  pack  ;  yet 
he  threw  it  on  and  off  with  great  dexterity,  and  with  as 
much  apparent  ease  as  if  it  had  been  filled  with  feathers. 
His  eyes  were  gray,  sunken,  restless,  and,  for  the  flitting 
moments  that  they  dwelt  on  the  countenances  of  those  with 
whom  he  conversed,  they  seemed  to  read  the  very  soul. 
They  possessed,  however,  two  distinct  expressions,  which, 
in  a  great  measure,  characterized  the  whole  man.  When 
engaged  in  traffic,  the  intelligence  of  his  face  appeared 
lively,  active,  and  flexible,  though  uncommonly  acute  ;  if 
the  conversation  turned  on  the  ordinary  transactions  of 
life,  his  air  became  abstracted  and  restless:  but  if,  by 
chance,  the  revolution  and  the  country  were  the  topic,  hi? 
whole  system  seemed  altered — all  his  faculties  were  con- 
centrated ;  he  would  listen  for  a  great  length  of  time  with- 
out speaking,  and  then  would  break  silence  by  some  light 
and  jocular  remark,  that  was  too  much  at  variance  with 
his  former  manner  not  to  be  affectation.  But  of  the  war, 
and  of  his  father,  he  seldom  spoke,  and  always  from  some 
very  obvious  necessity. 

To  a  superficial  observer,  avarice  would  seem  his  ruling 
passion — and,  all  things  considered,  he  was  as  unfit  a  sub- 
ject for  the  plans  of  Katy  Haynes  as  can  be  readily  im- 
agined. On  entering  the  room,  the  peddler  relieved  him- 
self from  his  burden,  which,  as  it  stood  on  the  floor,  reached 
nearly  to  his  shoulders,  and  saluted  the  family  with  modest 
civility.  To  Harper  he  made  a  silent  bow  without  lifting 
his. eyes  from  the  carpet  ;  but  the  curtain  prevented  any 
notice  of  the  presence  of  Captain  Wharton.  Sarah  gave 
but  little  time  for  the  usual  salutations,  before  she  com- 
menced her  survey  of  the  contents  of  the  pack  ;  and,  for 
several  minutes,  the  two  were  engaged  in  bringing  to  light 
the  various  articles  it  contained.  The  tables,  chairs,  and 


33 

floor,  were  soon  covered  with  silks,  crapes,  gloves,  muslins, 
and  all  the  stock  of  an  itinerant  trader.  Caesar  was  em- 
ployed to  hold  open  the  mouth  of  the  pack,  as  its  hoards 
were  discharged,  and  occasionally  he  aided  his  young  lady 
by  directing  her  admiration  to  some  article  of  finery,  which, 
from  its  deeper  contrast  in  colors,  he  thought  more  worthy 
of  her  notice.  At  length,  Sarah,  having  selected  several 
articles,  and  satisfactorily  arranged  the  prices,  observed,  in 
a  cheerful  voice  : 

"  But,  Harvey,  you  have  told  us  no  news.  Has  Lord 
Cornwallis  beaten  the  rebels  again  ? " 

The  question  could  not  have  been  heard  ;  for  the  ped- 
dler, burying  his  body  in  the  pack,  brought  forth  a  quan- 
tity of  lace  of  exquisite  fineness,  and,  holding  it  up  to  view, 
he  required  the  admiration  of  the  young  lady.  Miss  Pey- 
ton dropped  the  cup  she  was  engaged  in  washing,  from  her 
hand  ;  and  Frances  exhibited  the*  whole  of  that  lovely  face 
which  had  hitherto  only  suffered  one  of  its  joyous  eyes  to 
be  seen,  beaming  with  a  color  that  shamed  the  damask 
which  enviously  concealed  her  figure. 

The  aunt  quitted  her  employment  ;  and  Birch  soon  dis- 
posed of  a  large  portion  of  this  valuable  article.  The 
praises  of  the  ladies  had  drawn  the  whole  person  of  the 
younger  sister  into  view  ;  and  Frances  was  slowly  rising 
from  the  window  as  Sarah  repeated  her  question,  with  an 
exultation  in  her  voice  that  proceeded  more  from  pleasure 
in  her  purchase  than  her  political  feelings.  The  younger 
sister  resumed  her  seat,  apparently  examining  the  state  of 
the  clouds,  while  the  peddler,  finding  a  reply  was  expected, 
answered  slowly  : 

"There  is  some  talk,  below,  about  Tarleton  having  de- 
feated General  Sumpter  on  the  Tiger  River." 

Captain  Wharton  now  involuntarily  thrust  his  head  be- 
tween the  opening  of  the  curtains  into  the  room  ;  and 
Frances  turning  her  ear  in  breathless  silence,  noticed  the 
quiet  eyes  of  Harper  looking  at  the  peddler,  over  the  book 
he  was  affecting  to  read,  with  an  expression  that  denoted 
him  to  be  a  listener  of  no  ordinary  interest. 

"  Indeed  !  "  cried  the  exulting  Sarah  ;  "Sumpter — Sump- 
ter— who  is  he  ?  I'll  not  buy  even  a  pin,  until  you  tell  me 
all  the  news,"  she  continued,  laughing,  and  throwing  down 
a  muslin  she  had  been  examining. 

For  a  moment  the  peddler  hesitated  ;  his  eye  glanced 
toward  Harper,  who  was  yet  gazing  at  him  with  settled 
meaning,  and  the  whole  manner  of  Birch  was  altered.  Ap- 


34  THE   SPY. 

preaching  the  fire,  he  took  from  his  mouth  a  large  allow- 
ance of  the  Virginian  weed,  and  depositing  it,  with  the 
superabundance  of  its  juices,  without  mercy  to  Miss  Pey- 
ton's shining  andirons,  he  returned  to  his  goods. 

"  He  lives  somewhere  among  the  niggars  to  the  south," 
answered  the  peddler,  abruptly. 

"  No  more  niggar  than  be  yourself,  Mister  Birch,"  inter- 
rupted Caesar,  tartly,  dropping  at  the  same  time  the  cover- 
ing of  the  goods,  in  high  displeasure. 

"  Hush,  Caesar — hush — never  mind  it  now,"  said  Sarah 
Wharton,  soothingly,  impatient  to  hear  further. 

"A  black  man  so  good  as  white,  Miss  Sally,"  continued 
the  offended  negro,  "  so  long  as  he  behave  heself." 

"And  frequently  he  is  much  better,"  rejoined  his  mis- 
tress ;  "but,  Harvey,  who  is  this  Mr.  Sumpter  ?" 

A  slight  indication  of  humor  showed  itself  on  the  face 
of  the  peddler — but  it  disappeared,  and  he  continued  as  if 
the  discourse  had  met  with  no  interruption  from  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  domestic. 

"As  I  was  saying,  he  lives  among  the  colored  people  in 
the  south  " — Caesar  resumed  his  occupation — "  and  he  has 
lately  had  a  skrimmage  with  this  Colonel  Tarleton " 

"  Who  defeated  him,  of  course,"  cried  Sarah,  with  con- 
fidence. 

"  So  say  the  troops  at  Morrisania." 

"  But  what  do  you  say  ?  "  Mr.  Wharton  ventured  to  in- 
quire, yet  speaking  in  a  low  tone. 

"  I  repeat  but  what  I  hear,"  said  Birch,  offering  a  piece 
of  cloth  to  the  inspection  of  Sarah,  who  rejected  it  in  si- 
lence, evidently  determined  to  hear  more  before  she  made 
another  purchase. 

"  They  say,  however,  at  the  Plains,"  the  peddler  con- 
tinued, first  throwing  his  eyes  again  round  the  room,  and 
letting  them  rest  for  an  instant  on  Harper,  "that  Sumpter 
and  one  or  two  more  were  all  that  were  hurt,  and  that  the 
rig'lars  were  all  cut  to  pieces,  for  the  militia  were  fixed 
snugly  in  a  log  barn." 

"  Not  very  probable,"  said  Sarah,  contemptuously, 
"  though  I  make  no  doubt  the  rebels  got  behind  the  logs." 

"  I  think,"  said  the  peddler,  coolly,  again  offering  the 
silk,  "  it's  quite  ingenious  to  get  a  log  between  one  and  a 
gun,  instead  of  getting  between  a  gun  and  a  log." 

The  eyes  of  Harper  dropped  quietly  on  the  pages  of  the 
volume  in  his  hand,  while  Frances,  rising,  came  forward 
with  a  smile  in  her  face,  as  she  inquired,  in  a  tone  of  affa- 


THE   SPY.  35 

bility  that  the  peddler  had  never  before  witnessed  from 
the  younger  sister : 

"  Have  you  more  of  the  lace,  Mr.  Birch  ? " 

The  desired  article  was  immediately  produced,  and 
Frances  became  a  purchaser  also.  By  her  order  a  glass 
of  liquor  was  offered  to  the  trader,  who  took  it  with 
thanks,  and,  having  paid  his  compliments  to  the  master  of 
the  house  and  the  ladies,  drank  the  beverage. 

"  So,  it  is  thought  that  Colonel  Tarleton  has  worsted 
General  Sumpter  ? "  said  Mr.  Wharton,  affecting  to  be 
employed  in  mending  the  cup  that  was  broken  by  the 
eagerness  of  his  sister-in-law. 

"  I  believe  they  think  so  at  Morrisania,"  answered  Birch, 
dryly. 

"  Have  you  any  other  news,  friend  ? "  asked  Captain 
Wharton,  venturing  to  thrust  his  face  without  the  curtain 
again. 

"  Have  you  heard  that  Major  Andre  has  been  hanged  ?" 

Captain  Wharton  started,  and  for  a  moment  glances  of 
great  significance  were  exchanged  between  him  and  the 
trader,  when  he  observed,  with  affected  indifference,  "that 
must  have  been  some  weeks  ago." 

"Does  his  execution  make  much  noise?"  asked  the 
father,  striving  to  make  the  broken  china  unite. 

"  People  will  talk,  you  know,  'squire." 

"  Is  there  any  probability  of  movements  below,  my  friend, 
that  will  make  travelling  dangerous  ?  "  asked  Harper,  look- 
ing steadily  at  the  other,  in  expectation  of  his  reply. 

Some  bunches  of  ribbons  fell  from  the  hands  of  Birch  ; 
his  countenance  changed  instantly,  losing  its  keen  expres- 
sion in  intent  meaning,  as  he  answered  slowly  :  "  It  is 
some  time  since  the  rig'lar  cavalry  were  out,  and  I  saw 
some  of  De  Lancey's  men  cleaning  their  arms,  as  I  passed 
their  quarters  ;  it  would  be  no  wonder  if  they  took  the 
scent  soon,  for  the  Virginia  Horse  are  low  in  the  county." 

"Are  they  in  much  force?"  asked  Mr.  Wharton,  sus- 
pending all  employment  in  anxiety. 

"  I  did  not  count  them." 

Frances  was  the  only  observer  of  the  change  in  the 
manner  of  Birch,  and  on  turning  to  Harper,  he  had  re- 
sumed his  book  in  silence.  She  took  some  of  the  ribbons 
in  her  hand — laid  them  down  again — and,  bending  over 
the  goods,  so  that  her  hair,  falling  in  rich  curls,  shaded 
her  face,  she  observed,  blushing  with  a  color  that  suffused 
her  neck  : 


36  THE  SPY. 

"  I  thought  the  southern  horse  had  marched  toward  the 
Delaware." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Birch  ;  "I  passed  the  troops  at  a 
distance." 

Caesar  had  now  selected  a  piece  of  calico,  in  which  the 
gaudy  colors  of  yellow  and  red  were  contrasted  on  a  white 
ground,  and,  after  admiring  it  for  several  minutes,  he  laid 
it  down  with  a  sigh,  as  he  exclaimed,  "  Berry  pretty 
calico." 

"  That,"  said  Sarah  ;  "  yes,  that  would  make  a  proper 
gown  for  your  wife,  Caesar." 

"  Yes,  Miss  Sally,"  cried  the  delighted  black,  "it  make 
old  Dinah  heart  leap  for  joy — so  berry  genteel." 

"  Yes,"  added  the  peddler,  quaintly,  "that  is  only  want- 
ing to  make  Dinah  look  like  a  rainbow." 

Caesar  eyed  his  young  mistress  eagerly,  until  she  in- 
quired of  Harvey  the  price  of  the  article. 

"  Why,  much  as  I  light  of  chaps,"  said  the  peddler. 

"  How  much?"  demanded  Sarah,  in  surprise. 

"According  to  my  hick  in  finding  purchasers;  for  my 
friend  Dinah,  you  may  have  it  at  four  shillings." 

"  It  is  too  much,"  said  Sarah,  turning  to  some  goods  for 
herse-lf. 

**  Monstrous  price  for  coarse  calico,  Mister  Birch," 
grumbled  Caesar,  dropping  the  opening  of  the  pack  again. 

"  We  will  say  three,  then,"  added  the  peddler,  "  if  you 
like  that  better." 

"  Be  sure  lie  like  'em  better,"  said  Caesar,  smiling  good- 
humoredly,  and  re-opening  the  pack — "Miss  Sally  like  a 
t'ree  shilling  when  she  gave,  and  a  four  shilling  when  she 
take." 

The  bargain  was  immediately  concluded  ;  but  in  meas- 
uring, the  cloth  wanted  a  little  of  the  well-known  ten 
yards  required  by  the  dimensions  of  Dinah.  By  dint  of  a 
strong  arm,  however,  it  grew  to  the  desired  length,  under 
the  experienced  eye  of  the  peddler,  who  conscientiously 
added  a  ribbon  of  corresponding  brilliancy  with  the  calico  ; 
and  Caesar  hastily  withdrew,  to  communicate  the  joyful 
intelligence  to  his  aged  partner. 

During  the  movements  created  by  the  conclusion  of  the 
purchase,  Captain  Wharton  had  ventured  to  draw  aside  the 
curtain,  so  as  to  admit  a  view  of  his  person,  and  he  now  in- 
quired of  the  peddler,  who  had  begun  to  collect  the  scat- 
tered goods,  at  what  time  he  had  left  the  city. 

"  At  early  twilight,"  was  the  answer. 


37 

"  So  lately  !  "  cried  the  other,  in  surprise  ;  and  then  cor- 
recting his  manner,  by  assuming  a  more  guarded  air,  he 
continued :  "  Could  you  pass  the  pickets  at  so  late  an 
hour  ? " 

"  I  did,"  was  the  laconic  reply. 

''You  must  be  well  known  by  this  time,  Harvey,  to  the 
officers  of  the  British  army,"  cried  Sarah,  smiling  know- 
ingly on  the  peddler. 

"I  know  some  of  them  by  sight,"  said  Birch,  glancing 
his  eyes  round  the  apartment,  taking  in  their  course  Cap- 
tain Wharton,  and  resting  for  an  instant  on  the  counte- 
nance of  Harper. 

Mr.  Wharton  had  listened  intently  to  each  speaker  in 
succession,  and  had  so  far  lost  the  affectation  of  indiffer- 
ence, as  to  be  crushing  in  his  hand  the  pieces  of  china  on 
which  he  had  expended  so  much  labor  in  endeavoring  to 
mend  it  ;  when,  observing  the  peddler  tying  the  last  knot 
in  his  pack,  he  asked,  abruptly  : 

"Are  we  about  to  be  disturbed  again  with  the  enemy  ? " 

"Who  do  you  call  the  enemy  ?"  said  the  peddler,  rais- 
ing himself  erect,  and  giving  the  other  a  look  before 
which  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Wharton  sank  in  instant  confusion. 

"All  are  enemies  who  disturb  our  peace,"  said  Miss 
Peyton,  observing  that  her  brother  was  unable  to  speak. 
"  But  are  the  royal  troops  out  from  below  ?  " 

"  'Tis  quite  likely  they  soon  may  be,"  returned  Birch, 
raising  his  pack  from  the  floor,  and  preparing  to  leave  the 
room. 

"  And  the  continentals,"  continued  Miss  Peyton,  mildly  ; 
"  are  the  continentals  in  the  county  ?  " 

Harvey  was  about  to  utter  something  in  reply,  when 
the  door  opened,  and  Caesar  made  his  appearance,  at- 
tended by  his  delighted  spouse. 

The  race  of  blacks  of  which  Caesar  was  a  favorable 
specimen  is  becoming  very  rare.  The  old  family  servant, 
who,  born  and  reared  in  the  dwelling  of  his  master,  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  welfare  of  those  whom  it  was  his 
lot  to  serve,  is  giving  place  in  every  direction  to  that  va- 
grant class  which  has  sprung  up  within  the  last  thirty 
years,  and  whose  members  roam  through  the  country  un- 
fettered by  principles,  and  uninfluenced  by  attachments. 
For  it  is  one  of  the  curses  of  slavery,  that  its  victims  be- 
come incompetent  to  the  attributes  of  a  freeman.  The 
short  curly  hair  of  Caesar  had  acquired  from  age  a  color- 
ing of  gray,  that  added  greatly  to  the  venerable  cast  of  his 


2  8  THE   SPY. 

appearance.  Long  and  indefatigable  applications  of  the 
comb  had  straightened  the  close  curls  of  his  forehead,  un- 
til they  stood  erect  in  a  stiff  and  formal  brush,  that  gave 
at  least  two  inches  to  his  stature.  The  shining  black  of 
his  youth  had  lost  its  glistening  hue,  and  it  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  a  dingy  brown.  His  eyes,  which  stood  at  a 
most  formidable  distance  from  each  other,  were  small,  and 
characterized  by  an  expression  of  good  feeling,  occasion- 
ally interrupted  by  the  petulance  of  an  indulged  servant  ; 
they,  however,  now  danced  with  inward  delight.  His 
nose  possessed,  in  an  eminent  manner,  all  the  requisites 
for  smelling,  but  with  the  most  modest  unobtrusiveness  ; 
the  nostrils  being  abundantly  capacious,  without  thrusting 
themselves  in  the  way  of  their  neighbors.  His  mouth  was 
capacious  to  a  fault,  and  was  only  tolerated  on  account  of 
the  double  row  of  pearls  it  contained.  In  person,  Caesar 
was  short,  and  we  should  say  square,  had  not  all  the  angles 
and  curves  of  his  figure  bid  defiance  to  anything  like 
mathematical  symmetry.  His  arms  were  long  and  muscu- 
lar, and  terminated  by  two  bony  hands,  that  exhibited  on 
one  side  a  coloring  of  blackish  gray,  and  on  the  other  a 
faded  pink.  But  it  was  in  his  legs  that  nature  had  in- 
dulged her  most  capricious  humor.  There  was  an  abun« 
dance  of  material  injudiciously  used.  The  calves  were 
neither  before  nor  behind,  but  rather  on  the  outer  side  of 
the  limb,  inclining  forward,  and  so  close  to  the  knees  as  to 
render  the  free  use  of  that  joint  a  subject  of  doubt.  In 
the  foot,  considering  it  as  a  base  on  which  the  body  was 
to  rest,  Caesar  had  no  cause  of  complaint,  unless,  indeed, 
it  might  be  that  the  leg  was  placed  so  near  the  centre,  as 
to  make  it  sometimes  a  matter  of  dispute  whether  he  was 
not  walking  backward.  But  whatever  might  be  the  faults 
a  statuary  could  discover  in  his  person,  the  heart  of  Caesar 
Thompson  was  in  the  right  place,  and  we  doubt  not,  of 
very  just  dimensions. 

Accompanied  by  his  ancient  companion,  Caesar  now  ad- 
vanced, and  paid  his  tribute  of  gratitude  in  words.  Sarah 
received  them  with  great  complacency,  and  made  a  few 
compliments  to  the  taste  of  the  husband,  and  the  probable 
appearance  of  the  wife.  Frances,  with  a  face  beaming  with 
a  look  of  pleasure  that  corresponded  to  the  smiling  coun^ 
tenance  of  the  blacks,  offered  the  service  of  her  needle  in 
fitting  the  admired  calico  to  its  future  uses.  The  offer  was 
humbly  and  gratefully  accepted. 

As  Caesar  followed  his  wife  and  the  peddler  from  the 


THE   SPY.  39 

apartment,  and  was  in  the  act  of  closing  the  door,  he  in- 
dulged himself  in  a  grateful  soliloquy,  by  saying  aloud : 

"  Good  little  lady — Miss  Fanny — take- care  of  he  fader 
— love  to  make  a  gown  for  old  Dinah,  too."  What  else  his 
feelings  might  have  induced  him  to  utter  is  unknown,  but 
the  sound  of  his  voice  was  heard  some  time  after  the  dis- 
tance rendered  his  words  indistinct. 

Harper  had  dropped  his  book,  and  he  sat  an  admiring 
witness  of  the  scene  ;  and  Frances  enjoyed  a  double  satis- 
faction, as  she  received  an  approving  smile  from  a  face 
which  concealed,  under  the  traces  of  deep  thought  and  en- 
grossing care,  the  benevolent  expression  which  character- 
izes all  the  best  feelings  of  the  human  heart. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

"It  is  the  form,  the  eye,  the  word, 

The  bearing  of  that  stranger  Lord, 

His  stature,  manly,  bold,  and  tall, 

Built  like  a  castle's  battled  wall, 

Yet  molded  in  such  just  degrees, 

His  giant  strength  seems  lightsome  ease. 

Weather  and  wear  their  rougher  trace 

Have  left  on  that  majestic  face  ; — 

But  'tis  his  dignity  of  eye  ! 

There,  if  a  suppliant,  I  would  fly, 

Secure,  'mid  danger,  wrongs,  and  grief, 

Of  sympathy,  redress,  i-elief — 

That  glance,  if  guilty,  would  I  dread 

More  than  the  doom  that  spoke  me  dead  !  *' 
"Enough,  enough  !  "  the  princess  cried, 
"'Tis  Scotland's  hope,  her  joy,  her  pride  !" 

— WALTER  SCOTT. 

THE  party  sat  in  silence  for  many  minutes  after  the  ped- 
dler had  withdrawn.  Mr.  Wharton  had  heard  enough  to 
increase  his  uneasiness,  without  in  the  least  removing  his 
apprehensions  on  behalf  of  his  son.  The  captain  was  im- 
patiently Wishing  Harper  in  any  other  place  than  the  one 
he  occupied  with  such  apparent  composure,  while  Miss 
Peyton  completed  the  disposal  of  her  breakfast  equipage 
with  the  mild  complacency  of  her  nature,  aided  a  little  by 
an  inward  satisfaction  at  possessing  so  large  a  portion  of 
the  trader's  lace— Sarah  was  busily  occupied  in  arranging 
her  purchases,  and  Frances  was  kindly  assisting  in  the  oc- 


40  THE   SPY. 

cupation,  disregarding  her  own  neglected  bargains,  when 
the  stranger  suddenly  broke  the  silence  by  saying  : 

"  If  any  apprehensions  of  me  induce  Captain  Wharton 
to  maintain  his  disguise,  I  wish  him  to  be  undeceived  ;  had 
I  motives  for  betraying  him,  they  could  not  operate  under 
present  circumstances." 

The  younger  sister  sank  into  her  seat,  colorless  and  as- 
tonished. Miss  Peyton  dropped  the  tea-tray  she  was  lift- 
ing from  the  table,  and  Sarah  sat  with  her  purchases  un- 
heeded in  her  lap,  in  speechless  surprise.  Mr.  Wharton 
wa"s  stupefied  ;  but  the  captain,  hesitating  a  moment  from 
astonishment,  sprang  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  ex- 
claimed, as  he  tore  off  the  instruments  of  his  disguise  : 

"  I  believe  you  from  my  soul,  and  this  tiresome  imposi- 
tion shall  continue  no  longer.  Yet  I  am  at  a  loss  to  con- 
ceive in  what  manner  you  should  know  me." 

"You  really  look  so  much  better  in  your  proper  person, 
Captain  Wharton,"  said  Harper,  with  a  slight  smile,  "  I 
would  advise  you  never  to  conceal  it  in  future.  There  is 
enough  to  betray  you,  if  other  sources  of  detection  were 
wanting."  As  he  spoke,  he  pointed  to  a  picture  suspended 
over  the  mantelpiece,  which  exhibited  the  British  officer  in 
his  regimentals. 

"  I  had  flattered  myself,"  cried  young  Wharton,  with  a 
laugh,  "  that  I  looked  better  on  the  canvas  than  in  a  mas- 
querade. You  must  be  a  close  observer,  sir." 

"  Necessity  has  made  me  one,"  said  Harper,  rising  from 
his  seat. 

Frances  met  him  as  he  was  about  to  withdraw,  and,  tak- 
ing his  hand  between  both  her  own,  said  with  earnestness, 
her  cheeks  mantling  with  their  richest  vermilion  :  "You 
cannot — you  will  not — betray  my  brother." 

For  an'instant  Harper  paused  in  silent  admiration  of  the 
lovely  pleader,  and  then,  folding  her  hands  on  his  breast, 
he  replied,  solemnly:  "  I  cannot,  and  I  will  not  ;"  he  re- 
leased her  hands,  and  laying  his  own  on  her  head  gently, 
continued  :  "  If  the  blessing  of  a  stranger  can  profit  you, 
receive  it."  He  turned,  and,  bowing  low,  retired,  with  a 
delicacy  that  was  duly  appreciated  by  those  he  quitted,  to 
his  own  apartment. 

The  whole  party  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  ingen- 
uous and  solemn  manner  of  the  traveller,  and  all  but  the 
father  found  immediate  relief  in  his  declaration.  Some  of 
the  cast-off  clothes  of  the  captain,  which  had  been  removed 
with  the  goods  from  the  city,  were  produced  ;  and  young 


THE   SPY.  41 

Wharton,  released  from  the  uneasiness  of  his  disguise,  be- 
gan at  last  to  enjoy  a  visit  which  had  been  undertaken  at 
so  much  personal  risk  to  himself.  Mr.  Wharton  retiring 
to  his  apartment,  in  pursuance  of  his  regular  engagements, 
the  ladies,  with  the  young  man,  were  left  to  an  uninter- 
rupted communication  on  such  subjects  as  were  most  agree- 
able. Even  Miss  Peyton  was  affected  with  the  spirits  of  her 
young  relatives  ;  and  they  sat  for  an  hour  enjoying,  in  heed- 
less confidence,  the  pleasure  of  an  unrestrained  conversa- 
tion, without  reflecting  on  any  danger  which  might  be  im- 
pending over  them.  The  city  and  their  acquaintances  were 
not  long  neglected  ;  for  Miss  Peyton,  who  had  never  for- 
gotten the  many  agreeable  hours  of  her  residence  within 
its  boundaries,  soon  inquired,  among  others,  after  their  old 
acquaintance,  Colonel  Wellmere. 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  the  captain,  gayly,  "  he  yet  continues  there, 
as  handsome  and  gallant  as  ever." 

Although  a  woman  be  not  actually  in  love,  she  seldom 
hears  without  a  blush  the  name  of  a  man  whom  she  might 
love,  and  who  has  been  connected  with  herself,  by  idle  gos- 
sips, in  the  amatory  rumor  of  the  day.  Such  had  been  the 
case  with  Sarah,  and  she  dropped  her  eyes  on  the  carpet 
with  a  smile  that,  aided  by  the  blush  which  suffused  her 
cheek,  in  no  degree  detracted  from  her  native  charms. 

Captain  Wharton,  without  heeding  this  display  of  inter- 
est in  his  sister,  immediately  continued  :  "At  times  he  is 
melancholy — we  tell  him  it  must  be  love."  Sarah  raised 
her  eyes  to  the  face  of  her  brother,  and  was  consciously 
turning  them  on  the  rest  of  the  party,  when  she  met  those 
of  her  sister,  laughing  with  good-humor  and  high  spirits, 
as  she  cried,  "  Poor  man,  does  he  despair  ? " 

"Why,  no — one  would  think  he  could  not;  the  eldest 
son  of  a  man  of  wealth,  so  handsome,  and  a  colonel." 

"  Strong  reasons,  indeed,  why  he  should  prevail,"  said 
Sarah,  endeavoring  to  laugh  ;  "  more  particularly  the  lat- 
ter." 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  replied  the  captain,  gravely,  "  a  lieu- 
tenant-colonelcy in  the  Guards  is  a  very  pretty  thing." 

"  And  Colonel  Wellmere  a  very  pretty  man,"  added 
Frances. 

"  Nay,  Frances,"  returned  her  sister,  "  Colonel  Wellmere 
was  never  a  favorite  of  yours  ;  he  is  too  loyal  to  his  king 
to  be  agreeable  to  your  taste  !  " 

Frances  quickly  answered,  "And  is  not  Henry  loyal  to 
his  king  ? " 


42  THE   SPY. 

"  Come,  come,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  "  no  difference  ot 
opinion  about  the  colonel — he  is  a  favorite  of  mine." 

"  Fanny  likes  majors  better,"  cried  the  brother,  pulling 
her  upon  his  knee. 

"Nonsense,"  said  the  blushing  girl,  as  she  endeavored  to 
extricate  herself  from  the  grasp  of  her  laughing  brother. 

"  It  surprises  me,"  continued  the  captain,  "that  Peyton, 
when  he  procured  the  release  of  my  father,  did  not  en- 
deavor to  detain  my  sister  in  the  rebel  camp." 

"That  might  have  endangered  his  own  liberty,"  said  the 
smiling  girl,  resuming  her  seat ;  "  you  know  it  is  liberty 
for  which  Major  Dunwoodie  is  fighting." 

"Liberty!"  exclaimed  Sarah;  "very  pretty  liberty 
which  exchanges  one  master  for  fifty." 

"The  privilege  of  changing  masters  at  all  is  a  liberty." 

"  And  one  you  ladies  would  sometimes  be  glad  to  exer- 
cise," cried  the  captain. 

"  We  like,  I  believe,  to  have  the  liberty  of  choosing  who 
they  shall  be,  in  the  first  place,"  said  the  laughing  girl  ; 
"  don't  we,  Aunt  Jeanette  ?  " 

"  Me  !"  cried  Miss  Peyton,  starting;  "what  do  I  know 
of  such  things,  child  ?  You  must  ask  someone  else,  if  you 
wish  to  learn  such  matters." 

"Ah  !  you  would  have  us  think  you  were  never  young  ; 
£ut  what  am  I  to  believe  of  all  the  tales  I  have  heard  about 
the  handsome  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton  ? " 

"  Nonsense,  my  dear,  nonsense,"  said  the  aunt,  endeav- 
oring to  suppress  a  smile  ;  "it  is  very  silly  to  believe  all 
you  hear." 

"  Nonsense,  do  you  call  it  ?  "  cried  the  captain,  gayly  ; 
"to  this  hour  General  Montrose  toasts  Miss  Peyton;  I 
heard  him  within  the  week  at  Sir  Henry's  table." 

"  Why,  Henry,  you  are  as  saucy  as  your  sister  ;  and  to 
break  in  upon  your  folly,  I  must  take  you  to  see  my  new 
home-made  manufactures,  which  I  will  be  bold  enough  to 
put  in  contrast  with  the  finery  of  Birch." 

The  young  people  rose  to  follow  their  aunt,  in  perfect 
good-humor  with  each  other  and  the  world.  On  ascend- 
ing the  stairs  to  the  place  of  deposit  for  Miss  Peyton's  ar- 
ticles of  domestic  economy,  she  availed  herself,  however, 
of  an  opportunity  to  inquire  of  her  nephew,  whether  Gen- 
eral Montrose  suffered  as  much  from  the  gout  as  he  had 
done  when  she  knew  him. 

It  is  a  painful  discovery  we  make,  as  we  advance  in  life, 
that  even  those  we  most  love  are  not  exempt  from  its  frail' 


THE   SPY.  43 

ties.  When  the  heart  is  fresh,  and  the  view  of  the  future 
unsullied  by  the  blemishes  which  have  been  gathered  from 
the  experience  of  the  past,  our  feelings  are  most  holy  ;  we 
love  to  identify  with  the  persons  of  our  natural  friends  all 
those  qualities  to  which  we  ourselves  aspire,  and  all  those 
virtues  we  have  been  taught  to  revere.  The  confidence 
with  which  we  esteem  seems  a  part  of  our  nature  ;  and 
there  is  a  purity  thrown  around  the  affections  which  tie  us 
to  our  kindred,  that  after-life  can  seldom  hope  to  see  unin- 
jured. The  family  of  Mr.  Wharton  continued  to  enjoy, 
for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  a  happiness  to  which  they 
had  long  been  strangers  ;  and  one  that  sprung,  in  its 
younger  members,  from  the  delights  of  the  most  confident 
affection,  and  the  exchange  of  the  most  disinterested  en- 
dearments. 

Harper  appeared  only  at  the  dinner-table,  and  he  retired 
with  the  cloth,  under  the  pretence  of  some  engagements  in 
his  own  room.  Notwithstanding  the  confidence  created  by 
his  manner,  the  family  felt  his  absence  a  relief  ;  for  the 
visit  of  Captain  Wharton  was  necessarily  to  be  confined  to 
a  very  few  days,  both  from  the  limitation  of  his  leave  of 
absence  and  the  danger  of  a  discovery. 

All  dread  of  consequences,  however,  was  lost  in  the 
pleasure  of  the  meeting.  Once  or  twice  during  the  day, 
Mr.  Wharton  had  suggested  a  doubt  as  to  the  character  of 
his  unknown  guest,  and  the  possibility  of  the  detection  of 
his  son  proceeding  in  some  manner  from  his  information  ; 
but  the  idea  was  earnestly  opposed  by  all  his  children  ; 
even  Sarah  uniting  with  her  brother  and  sister  in  pleading 
warmly  in  favor  of  the  sincerity  expressed  in  the  outward 
appearance  of  the  traveller. 

"  Such  appearances,  my  children,"  replied  the  despond- 
ing parent,  "  are  but  too  often  deceitful  ;  when  men  like 
Major  Andre  lend  themselves  to  the  purposes  of  fraud,  it 
is  idle  to  reason  from  qualities,  much  less  externals." 

"  Fraud  !"  cried  his  son,  quickly  ;  "  surely,  sir,  you  for- 
get that  Major  Andre  was  serving  his  king,  and  that  the 
usages  of  war  justified  the  measure." 

"  And  did  not  the  usages  of  war  justify  his  death, 
Henry  ?"  inquired  Frances,  speaking  in  a  low  voice,  un- 
willing to  abandon  what  she  thought  the  cause  of  her 
country,  and  yet  unable  to  suppress  her  feelings  for  the 
man. 

"Never!"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  springing  from 
his  seat  and  pacing  the  floor  rapidly — <k  Frances,  you 


44  THE   SPY. 

shock  me  ;  suppose  it  should  be  my  fate,  even  now,  to  fall 
into  the  power  of  the  rebels  ;  you  would  vindicate  my 
execution — perhaps  exult  in  the  cruelty  of  Washington." 

"Henry!"  said  Frances,  solemnly,  quivering  with  emo- 
tion, and  with  a  face  pale  as  death,  "  you  little  know  my 
heart." 

"  Pardon  me,  my  sister — my  little  Fanny,"  cried  the  re- 
pentant youth,  pressing  her  to  his  bosom,  and  kissing  off 
the  tears  which  had  burst,  in  spite  of  her  resolution,  from 
her  eyes. 

"  It  is  very  foolish  to  regard  your  hasty  words,  I  know," 
said  Frances,  extricating  herself  from  his  arms,  and  raising 
her  yet  humid  eyes  to  his  face  with  a  smile  ;  "  but  reproach 
from  those  we  love  is  most  severe,  Henry ;  particularly — 
where  we — we  think — we  know" — her  paleness  gradually 
gave  place  to  the  color  of  the  rose,  as  she  concluded  in  a 
low  voice,  with  her  eyes  directed  to  the  carpet,  "  we  are 
undeserving  of  it." 

Miss  Peyton  moved  from  her  owrn  seat  to  the  one  next 
her  niece,  and,  kindly  taking  her  hand,  observed:  "  You 
should  not  suffer  the  impetuosity  of  your  brother  to  affect 
you  so  much  ;  boys,  you  know,  are  proverbially  ungovern- 
able." 

"  And,  from  my  conduct,  you  might  add  cruel,"  said  the 
captain,  seating  himself  on  the  other  side  of  his  sister  ; 
"  but  on  the  subject  of  the  death  of  Andre  we  are  all  of  us 
uncommonly  sensitive.  You  did  not  know  him  ;  he  was 
all  that  was  brave — that  was  accomplished— that  was  esti- 
mable." Frances  smiled  faintly  and  shook  her  head,  but 
made  no  reply.  Her  brother  observing  the  marks  of  in- 
credulity in  her  countenance,  continued  :  "You  doubt  it, 
and  justify  his  death  ?'" 

"  I  do  not  doubt  his  worth,"  replied  the  maid,  mildly, 
"  nor  his  being  deserving  of  a  more  happy  fate  ;  but  I  can- 
not doubt  the  propriety  of  Washington's  conduct.  I  know 
but  little  of  the  customs  of  war,  and  wish  to  know  less; 
but  with  what  hopes  of  success  could  the  Americans  con- 
tend, if  they  yielded  all  the  principles  which  long  usage 
had  established,  to  the  exclusive  purposes  of  the  British  ?" 

"Why  contend  at  all  ?  "  cried  Sarah,  impatiently  ;  "  be- 
sides, being  rebels,  all  their  acts  are  illegal." 

"  Women  are  but  mirrors,  which  reflect  the  images  before 
them,"  cried  the  captain,  good-naturedly.  "In  Frances  I 
see  the  picture  of  Major  Dunwoodie,  and  in  Sarah " 

"  Colonel   Wellmere,"   interrupted   the    younger  sister, 


THE   SPY.  45 

laughing,  and  blushing  crimson.  "  I  must  confess  I  am 
indebted  to  the  major  for  my  reasoning — am  I  not,  aunt 
Jeanette  ?" 

"  I  believe  it  is  something  like  his  logic,  indeed,  child." 

"  I  plead  guilty  ;  and  you,  Sarah,  have  not  forgotten 
the  learned  discussions  of  Colonel  Wellmere." 

"  I  trust  I  never  forget  the  right,"  said  Sarah,  emulating 
her  sister  in  color,  and  rising,  under  the  pretence  of  avoid- 
ing the  heat  of  the  fire. 

Nothing  occurred  of  any  moment  during  the  rest  of  the 
day  ;  but  in  the  evening  Caesar  reported  that  he  had  over- 
heard voices  in  the  room  of  Harper  conversing  in  a  low 
tone.  The  apartment  occupied  by  the  traveller  was  the 
wing  at  the  extremity  of  the  building,  opposite  to  the  par- 
lor in  which  the  family  ordinarily  assembled  ;  and  it  seems 
that  Caesar  had  established  a  regular  system  of  espionage, 
with  a  view  to  the  safety  of  his  young  master.  This  intel- 
ligence gave  some  uneasiness  to  all  the  members  of  the 
family  ;  but  the  entrance  of  Harper  himself,  with  the  air 
of  benevolence  and  sincerity  which  shone  through  his  re- 
serve, soon  removed  the  doubts  from  the  breasts  of  all  but 
Mr.  Wharton.  His  children  and  sister  believed  Caesar  to 
have  been  mistaken,  and  the  evening  passed  off  without 
any  additional  alarm. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  succeeding  day,  the  party  were 
assembled  in  the  parlor  around  the  tea-table  of  Miss  Pey- 
ton, when  a  change  in  the  weather  occurred.  The  thin 
scud,  that  apparently  floated  but  a  short  distance  above 
the  tops  of  the  hills,  began  to  drive  from  the  west  toward 
the  east  with  astonishing  rapidity.  The  rain  yet  contin- 
ued to  beat  against  the  eastern  windows  of  the  house  with 
fury  ;  in  that  direction  the  heavens  were  dark  and  gloomy. 
Frances  was  gazing  at  the  scene  with  the  desire  of  youth 
to  escape  from  the  tedium  of  confinement,  when,  as  if  by 
magic,  all  was  still.  The  rushing  winds  had  ceased,  the 
pelting  of  the  storm  was  over,  and,  springing  to  the  win- 
dow with  delight  pictured  in  her  face,  she  saw  a  glorious 
ray  of  sunshine  lighting  the  opposite  wood.  The  foliage 
glittered  with  the  chequered  beauties  of  the  October  leaf, 
reflecting  back  from  the  moistened  boughs  the  richest  lus- 
tre of  an  American  autumn.  In  an  instant  the  piazza, 
which  opened  to  the  south,  was  thronged  with  the  inmates 
of  the  cottage.  The  air  was  mild,  balmy,  and  refreshing  ; 
in  the  east,  clouds,  whicli  might  be  likened  to  the  retreat- 
ing masses  of  a  discomfited  army,  hung  around  the  horizon 


46  THE   SPY. 

in  awful  and  increasing  darkness.  At  a  little  elevation 
above  the  cottage,  the  thin  vapor  was  still  rushing  toward 
the  east  with  amazing  velocity  ;  while  in  the  west  the  sun 
had  broken  forth  and  shed  his  parting  radiance  on  the 
scene  below,  aided  by  the  fullest  richness  of  a  clear  at- 
mosphere and  a  freshened  herbage.  Such  moments  belong 
only  to  the  climate  of  America,  and  are  enjoyed  in  a  de- 
gree proportioned  to  the  suddenness  of  the  contrast,  and 
the  pleasure  we  experience  in  escaping  from  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  elements  to  the  quiet  of  a  peaceful  evening, 
and  an  air  still  as  the  softest  mornings  in  June. 

"  What  a  magnificent  scene  !  "  said  Harper,  in  a  low 
tone  ;  "  how  grand  !  how  awfully  sublime  ! — May  such  a 
quiet  speedily  await  the  struggle  in  which  my  country  is 
engaged,  and  such  a  glorious  evening  follow  the  day  of  her 
adversity  !  " 

Frances,  who  stood  next  to  him,  alone  heard  the  voice. 
Turning  in  amazement  from  the  view  to  the  speaker,  she 
saw  him  standing  bareheaded,  erect,  and  with  his  eyes 
lifted  to  heaven.  There  was  no  longer  the  quiet  which 
had  seemed  their  characteristic,  but  they  were  lighted  into 
something  like  enthusiasm,  and  a  slight  flush  passed  over 
his  features. 

"There  can  be  no  danger  apprehended  from  such  a  man," 
thought  Frances  ;  "such  feelings  belong  only  to  the  virtu- 
ous." 

The  musings  of  the  party  were  now  interrupted  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  the  peddler.  He  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  first  gleam  of  sunshine  to  hasten  to  the  cottage. 
Heedless  of  wet  or  dry  as  it  lay  in  his  path,  with  arms 
swinging  to  and  fro,  and  with  his  head  bent  forward  of  his 
body  several  inches,  Harvey  Birch  approached  the  piazza, 
with  a  gait  peculiarly  his  own.  It  was  the  quick,  length- 
ened pace  of  an  itinerant  vender  of  goods. 

"Fine  evening,"  said  the  peddler,  saluting  the  party, 
without  raising  his  eyes  ;  "quite  warm  and  agreeable  for 
the  season." 

Mr.  Wharton  assented  to  the  remark,  and  inquired 
kindly  after  the  health  of  his  father.  Harvey  heard  him, 
and  continued  standing  for  some  time  in  moody  silence, 
but  the  question  being  repeated,  he  answered,  with  a  slight 
tremor  in  his  voice  : 

"  He  fails  fast  ;  old  age  and  hardships  wilf  do  their 
work."  The  peddler  turned  his  face  from  the  view  of  most 
of  the  family  ;  but  Frances  noticed  his  glistening  eyes  and 


THE   SPY.  47 

quivering  lip,  and,  for  the  second  time,  Harvey  rose  in 
her  estimation. 

The  valley  in  which  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wharton 
stood  ran  in  a  direction  from  northwest  to  southeast,  and 
the  house  was  placed  on  the  side  of  a  hill  which  terminated 
its  length  in  the  former  direction.  A  small  opening,  occa- 
sioned by  the  receding  of  the  opposite  hill  and  the  fall  of 
the  land  to  the  level  of  the  tide-water,  afforded  a  view  of 
the  Sound  *  over  the  tops  of  the  distant  woods  on  its  mar- 
gin. The  surface  of  the  water,  which  had  so  lately  been 
lashing  the  shores  with  boisterous  fury,  was  already  losing 
its  ruffled  darkness  in  the  long  and  regular  undulations 
that  succeeded  a  tempest,  while  the  light  air  from  the 
southwest  was  gently  touching  their  summits,  lending  its 
feeble  aid  in  stilling  the. waters.  Some  dark  spots  were 
now  to  be  distinguished,  occasionally  rising  into  view,  and 
again  sinking  behind  the  lengthened  waves  which  inter- 
posed themselves  to  the  sight.  They  were  unnoticed  by 
all  but  the  peddler.  He  had  seated  himself  on  the  piazza, 
at  a  distance  from  Harper,  and  appeared  to  have  forgotten 
the  object  of  his  visit.  His  roving  eye,  however,  soon 
caught  a  glimpse  of  these  new  objects  in  the  view,  and  he 
sprang  up  with  alacrity,  gazing  intently  toward  the  water. 
He  changed  his  place,  glanced  his  eye  with  marked  un- 
easiness on  Harper,  and  then  said,  with  great  emphasis : 

"The  rig'lars  must  be  out  from  below." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so  ?  "  inquired  Captain  Wharton, 
eagerly.  "God  send  it  may  be  true  ;  I  want  their  escort 
in  again." 

"Them  ten  whale-boats  would  not  move  so  fast  unless 
they  were  better  manned  than  common." 

"  Perhaps,"  cried  Mr.  Wharton,  in  alarm,  "  they  are — 
they  are  continentals  returning  from  the  island." 

"  They  look  like  rig'lars,"  said  the  peddler,  with  mean- 
ing. 

"  Look  ! "  repeated  the  captain,  "  there  is  nothing  but 
spots  to  be  seen." 

Harvey  disregarded  his  observation,  but  seemed  to  be 
soliloquizing,  as  he  said  in  an  undertone  :  "  They  came 
out  before  the  gale — have  laid  on  the  island  these  two 

*  An  island  more  than  forty  leagues  in  length  lies  opposite  the  coasts  of 
New  York  and  Connecticut.  The  arm  of  the  sea  which  separates  it  from 
the  main,  technically  called  a  sound,  and  in  that  part  of  the  country,  par 
excellence,  The  Sound.  This  sheet  of  water  varies  in  its  breadth  from  five 
to  thirty  miles. 


48  THE   SPY. 

days — horse  are  on  the  road — there  will  soon  be  fighting 
near  us."  During  this  speech,  Birch  several  times  glanced 
his  eye  toward  Harper,  with  evident  uneasiness,  but  no 
corresponding  emotion  betrayed  any  interest  of  that  gen- 
tleman in  the  scene.  He  stood  in  silent  contemplation  of 
the  view,  and  seemed  enjoying  the  change  in  the  air.  As 
Birch  concluded,  however,  Harper  turned  to  his  host,  and 
mentioned  that  his  business  would  not  admit  of  unneces- 
sary delay  ;  he  would,  therefore,  avail  himself  of  the  fine 
evening  to  ride  a  few  miles  on  his  journey.  Mr.  Wharton 
made  many  professions  of  regret  at  losing  so  agreeable  an 
inmate,  but  was  too  mindful  of  his  duty  not  to  speed  the 
parting  guest,  and  orders  were  instantly  given  to  that  ef- 
fect. 

The  uneasiness  of  the  peddler  increased  in  a  manner  for 
which  nothing  apparent  could  account ;  his  eye  was  con- 
stantly wandering  toward  the  lower  end  of  the  vale,  as  if 
in  expectation  of  some  interruption  from  that  quarter.  At 
length  Caesar  appeared,  leading  the  noble  beast  which  was 
to  bear  the  weight  of  the  traveller.  The  peddler  offi- 
ciously assisted  to  tighten  the  girths,  and  fasten  the  blue 
cloak  and  valise  to  the  mail-straps. 

Every  preparation  being  completed,  Harper  proceeded 
to  take  his  leave.  To  Sarah  and  her  aunt  he  paid  his  com- 
pliments with  ease  and  kindness  ;  but  when  he  came  to 
Frances,  he  paused  a  moment,  while  his  face  assumed  an 
expression  of  more  than  ordinary  benignity.  His  eye  re- 
peated the  blessing  which  had  before  fallen  from  his  lips, 
and  the  girl  felt  her  cheeks  glow,  and  her  heart  beat  with 
a  quicker  pulsation,  as  he  spoke  his  adieux.  There  was  a 
mutual  exchange  of  polite  courtesy  between  the  host  and 
his  parting  guest  ;  but  as  Harper  frankly  offered  his  hand 
to  Captain  Wharton,  he  remarked,  in  a  manner  of  great  so- 
lemnity : 

"  The  step  you  have  undertaken  is  one  of  much  danger, 
and  disagreeable  consequences  to  yourself  may  result  from 
it  ;  in  such  a  case,  I  may  have  it  in  my  power  to  prove  the 
gratitude  I  owe  your  family  for  its  kindness." 

"  Surely,  sir,"  cried  the  father,  losing  sight  of  delicacy 
in  apprehension  for  his  child,  "you  will  keep  secret  the 
discovery  which  your  being  in  my  house  has  enabled  you 
to  make." 

Harper  turned  quickly  to  the  speaker,  and  then,  losing 
the  sternness  which  had  begun  to  gather  on  his  counte- 
nance, he  answered,  mildly  :  "I  have  learned  nothing  in 


»        THE   SPY.  49 

your  family,  sir,  of  which  I  was  ignorant  before  ;  but  your 
son  is  safer  from  my  knowledge  of  his  visit  than  he  would 
be  without  it." 

He  bowed  to  the  whole  party,  and  without  taking  any 
notice  of  the  peddler,  other  than  by  simply  thanking  him 
for  his  attentions,  mounted  his  horse,  and,  riding  steadily 
and  gracefully  through  the  little  gate,  was  soon  lost  behind 
the  hill  which  sheltered  the  valley  to  the  northward. 

The  eyes  of 'the  peddler  followed  the  retiring  figure  of 
the  horseman  as  long  as  it  continued  within  view,  and  as  it 
disappeared  from  his  sight  he  drew  a  long  and  heavy  sigh, 
as  if  relieved  from  a  load  of  apprehension.  The  Whartons 
had  meditated  in  silence  on  the  character  and  visit  of  their 
unknown  guest  for  the  same  period,  when  the  father  ap- 
proached Birch,  and  observed  : 

"  I  am  yet  your  debtor,  Harvey,  for  the  tobacco  you 
were  so  kind  as  to  bring  me  from  the  city." 

"  If  it  should  not  prove  as  good  as  the  first,"  replied  the 
peddler,  fixing  a  last  and  lingering  look  in  the  direction  of 
Harper's  route,  "  it  is  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  article." 

"I  like  it  much,"  continued  the  other;  "  but  you  have 
forgotten  to  name  the  price." 

The  countenance  of  the  trader  changed,  and  losing  its  ex- 
pression of  deep  care  in  a  natural  acuteness,  he  answered  : 

"  It  is  hard  to  say  what  ought  to  be  the  price  ;  I  believe 
I  must  leave  it  to  your  own  generosity." 

Mr.  Wharton  had  taken  a  hand  well  filled  with  the 
images  of  Carolus  III.  from  his  pocket,  and  now  extended 
it  toward  Birch  with  three  of  the  pieces  between  his  finger 
and  thumb.  Harvey's  eyes  twinkled  as  he  contemplated 
the  reward  ;  and  rolling  over  in  his  mouth  a  large  quantity 
of  the  article  in  question,  he  coolly  stretched  forth  his  hand, 
into  which  the  dollars  fell  with  a  most  agreeable  sound  ; 
but  not  satisfied  with  the  transient  music  of  their  fall,  the 
peddler  gave  each  piece  in  succession  a  ring  on  the  step- 
ping-stone of  the  piazza,  before  he  consigned  it  to  the  safe 
keeping  of  a  huge  deerskin  purse,  which  vanished  from 
the  sight  of  the  spectators  so  dexterously,  that  not  one  of 
them  could  have  told  about  what  part  of  his  person  it  was 
secreted. 

This  very  material  point  in  his  business  so  satisfactorily 
completed,  the  peddler  rose  from  his  seat  on  the  floor  of  the 
piazza,  and  approached  to  where  Captain  Wharton  stood, 
supporting  his  sisters  on  either  arm  as  they  listened  with 
the  lively  interest  of  affection  to  his  conversation. 


50  THE   SPY. 

The  agitation  of  the  preceding  incidents  had  caused 
such  an  expenditure  of  the  juices  which  had  become  neces- 
sary to  the  mouth  of  the  peddler,  that  a  new  supply  of  the 
weed  was  required  before  he  could  turn  his  attention  to 
business  of  lesser  moment.  This  done  he  asked,  abruptly  : 

"Captain  Wharton,  do  you  go  in  to-night  ? " 

"No  !"  said  the  captain,  laconically,  and  looking  at  his 
lovely  burdens  with  great  affection.  "Mr.  Birch,  would  you 
have  me  leave  such  company  so  soon,  when  I  may  never 
enjoy  it  again  ?" 

"  Brother!"  said  Frances,  "jesting  on  such  a  subject  is 
cruel." 

"  I  rather  guess,"  continued  the  peddler,  coolly,  "  now 
the  storm  is  over  the  Skinners  may  be  moving  ;  you  had 
better  shorten  your  visit,  Captain  Wharton." 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  the  British  officer,  "  a  few  guineas  will  buy 
off  those  rascals  at  any  time,  should  I  meet  them.  No,  no, 
Mr.  Birch,  here  I  stay  until  morning." 

"  Money  could  not  liberate  Major  Andre,"  said  the  ped- 
dler, dryly. 

Both  the  sisters  now  turned  to  the  captain  in  alarm,  and 
the  elder  observed  : 

"  You  had  better  take  the  advice  of  Harvey  ;  rest  as- 
sured, brother,  his  opinion  in  such  matters  ought  not  to  be 
disregarded." 

"Yes,"  added  the  younger,  "if,  as  I  suspect,  Mr.  Birch 
assisted  you  to  come  here,  your  safety,  or  happiness,  dear 
Henry,  requires  you  to  listen  to  him  now." 

"  I  brought  myself  out,  and  can  take  myself  in,"  said  the 
captain,  positively  ;  "  our  bargain  went  no  farther  than  to 
procure  my  disguise,  and  to  let  me  know  when  the  coast 
was  clear  ;  and  in  the  latter  particular  you  were  mistaken, 
Mr.  Birch." 

"  I  was,"  said  the  peddler,  with  some  interest,  "and  the 
greater  is  the  reason  why  you  should  go  back  to-night ;  the 
pass  I  gave  you  will  serve  but  once." 

"Cannot  you  forge  another?" 

The  pale  cheek  of  the  trader  showed  an  unusual  color, 
but  he  continued  silent,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground, 
until  the  young  man  added,  with  great  positiveness  :  "  Here 
I  stay  this  night,  come  what  will  " 

""Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  peddler,  with  great  deliber- 
ation and  marked  emphasis,  "  beware  a  tall  Virginian, 
with  huge  whiskers  !  he  is  below  you  to  my  knowledge', 
the  devil  can't  deceive  him  ;  I  never  could  but  once/1 


THE   SPY.  51 

"Let  him  beware  of  me,"  said  Wharton,  haughtily, 
"but,  Mr.  Birch,  I  exonerate  you  from  further  responsi- 
bility." 

"  Will  you  give  me  that  in  writing  ?  "  asked  the  cautious 
Birch. 

"Oh!  cheerfully,"  cried  the  captain,  with  a  laugh. 
"Caesar  !  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  while  I  write  a  discharge  for 
my  trusty  attendant,  Harvey  Birch,  peddler,  etc.,  etc." 

The  implements  for  writing  were  produced,  and  the 
captain,  with  great  gayety,  wrote  the  desired  acknowl- 
edgment in  language  of  his  own  ;  which  the  peddler  took, 
and  carefully  depositing  it  by  the  side  of  the  images  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty,  made  a  sweeping  bow  to  the  whole 
family,  and  departed  as  he  had  approached.  He  was  soon 
seen  at  a  distance,  stealing  into  the  door  of  his  own  hum- 
ble dwelling. 

The  father  and  sisters  of  the  captain  were  too  much  re- 
joiced in  retaining  the  young  man  to  express,  or  even  en- 
tertain, the  apprehensions  his  situation  might  reason- 
ably excite  ;  but  on  retiring  to  their  evening  repast,  a 
cooler  reflection  induced  the  captain  to  think  of  changing 
his  mind.  Unwilling  to  trust  himself  out  of  the  protection 
of  his  father's  domains,  the  young  man  despatched  Caesar 
to  desire  another  interview  with  Harvey.  The  black  soon 
returned  with  the  unwelcome  intelligence  that  it  was  now 
too  late.  Katy  had  told  him  that  Harvey  must  be  miles 
on  his  road  to  the  northward,  "  having  left  home  at  early 
candlelight  with  his  pack."  Nothing  now  remained  to  the 
captain  but  patience,  until  the  morning  should  afford  fur- 
ther opportunity  of  deciding  on  the  best  course  for  him  to 
pursue. 

"  This  Harvey  Birch,  with  his  knowing  looks  and  por- 
tentous warnings,  gives  me  more  uneasiness  than  I  am 
willing  to  own,"  said  Captain  Wharton,  rousing  himself 
from  a  fit  of  musing  in  which  the  danger  of  his  situation 
made  no  small  part  of  his  meditations. 

"  How  is  it  that  he  is  able  to  travel  to  and  fro,  in  these 
difficult  times,  without  molestation  ?"  inquired  Miss  Pey- 
ton. 

"Why  the  rebels  suffer  him  to  escape  so  easily  is  more 
than  I  can  answer,"  returned  the  other  ;  "  but  Sir  Henry 
would  not  permit  a  hair  of  his  head  to  be  injured."  * 

"Indeed!  "cried  Frances,  with  interest;  "  is  he  then 
known  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  ?" 

"  At  least  he  ought  to  be." 


52  THE   SPY. 

"  Do  you  think,  my  son,"  asked  Mr.  Wharton,  "  there  is 
no  danger  of  his  betraying  you  ?" 

"  Why — no  ;  I  reflected  on  that  before  I  trusted  myself 
to  his  power,"  said  the  captain,  thoughtfully  :  "he  seems 
to  be  faithful  in  matters  of  business.  The  danger  to  him- 
self, should  he  return  to  the  city,  would  prevent  such  an 
act  of  villany." 

"  I  think,"  said  Frances,  adopting  the  manner  of  her 
brother,  "  Harvey  Birch  is  not  without  good  feelings  ;  at 
least,  he  has  the  appearance  of  them  at  times." 

<4Oh!"  cried  his  sister,  exulting,  "  he  has  loyalty,  and 
that  with  me  is  a  cardinal  virtue." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  her  brother,  laughing,  "  love  of 
money  is  a  stronger  passion  than  love  of  his  king." 

"Then,"  said  the  father,  "you  cannot  be  safe  while  in  his 
power — for  no  love  will  withstand  the  temptation  of  money, 
when  offered  to  avarice." 

"  Surely,  sir,"  cried  the  youth,  recovering  his  gayety, 
"  there  must  be  one  love  that  can  resist  anything — is  there 
not,  Fanny  ? " 

"  Here  is  your  candle,  you  keep  your  father  up  beyond 
his  usual  hour." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Through  Solway  sands,  through  Taross  moss 

Blindfold,  he  knew  the  paths  to  cross  ; 

By  wily  turns,  by  desperate  bounds, 

Had  baffled  Percy's  best  bloodhounds. 

In  Esk,  or  Liddel,  fords  were  none, 

But  he  would  ride  them,  one  by  one  ; 

Alike  to  him  was  time,  or  tide, 

December  snow,  or  July's  pride  ; 

Alike  to  him  was  tide  or  time, 

Moonless  midnight,  or  matin  prime. — WALTER  SCOTT. 

ALL  the  members  of  the  Wharton  family  laid  their  heads 
on  their  pillows  that  night  with  a  foreboding  of  some  in- 
terruption to  their  ordinary  quiet.  Uneasiness  kept  the 
sisters  from  enjoying  their  usual  repose,  and  they  rose  from 
their  beds,  on  the  following  morning,  unrefreshed  and  al- 
most without  having  closed  their  eyes. 

On  taking  an  eager  and  hasty  survey  of  the  valley  from 
the  windows  of  their  room,  nothing,  however,  but  its  usual 
serenity  was  to  be  seen.  It  was  glittering  with  the  open- 


THE  SPY.  53 

ing  brilliancy  of  one  of  those  lovely,  mild  days,  which 
occur  about  the  time  of  the  falling  of  the  leaf  ;  and  which, 
by  their  frequency,  class  the  American  autumn  with  the 
most  delightful  seasons  of  other  countries.  We  have  no 
spring  ;  vegetation  seems  to  leap  into  existence,  instead  of 
creeping  as  in  the  same  latitudes  of  the  old  world  ;  but  how 
gracefully  it  retires  !  September,  October,  even  November 
and  December,  compose  the  season  for  enjoyment  in  the 
open  air  ;  they  have  their  storms,  but  they  are  distinct  and 
not  of  long  continuance,  leaving  a  clear  atmosphere  and  a 
cloudless  sky. 

As  nothing  could  be  seen  likely  to  interrupt  the  enjoy- 
ments and  harmony  of  such  a  day,  the  sisters  descended 
to  the  parlor  with  a  returning  confidence  in  their  brother's 
security,  and  their  own  happiness. 

The  family  were  early  in  assembling  around  the  break- 
fast  table  ;  and  Miss  Peyton,  with  a  little  of  that  minute 
precision  which  creeps  into  the  habit  of  single  life,  had 
pleasantly  insisted  that  the  absence  of  her  nephew  should 
in  no  manner  interfere  with  the  regular  .hours  she  had  es- 
tablished ;  consequently,  the  party  were  already  seated 
when  the  captain  made  his  appearance  ;  though  the  un- 
tasted  coffee  sufficiently  proved  that  by  none  of  his  rela- 
tives was  his  absence  disregarded. 

"  I  think  I  did  much  better,"  he  cried,  taking  a  chair 
between  his  sisters  and  receiving  their  offered  salutes,  "  to 
secure  a  good  bed  and  such  a  plentiful  breakfast,  instead 
of  trusting  to  the  hospitality  of  that  renowned  corps,  the 
Cowboys." 

"  If  you  could  sleep,"  said  Sarah,  "  you  were  more  for- 
tunate than  Frances  and  myself  ;  every  murmur  of  the 
night  air  sounded  to  me  like  the  approach  of  the  rebel 
army." 

"  Why,"  said  the  captain,  laughing,  "  I  do  acknowledge 
a  little  inquietude  myself — but  how  was  it  with  you  ? " 
turning  to  his  younger  and  evidently  favorite  sister,  and 
tapping  her  cheek  ;  "  did  you  see  banners  in  the  clouds, 
and  mistake  Miss  Peyton's  ^Eolian  harp  for  rebellious 
music  ?" 

"Nay,  Henry,"  rejoined  the  maid,  looking  at  him  affec- 
tionately, "much  as  I  love  my  own  country,  the  approach 
of  her  troops  just  now  would  give  me  great  pain." 

The  brother  made  no  reply  ;  but  returning  the  fondness 
expressed  in  her  eye  by  a  look  of  fraternal  tenderness,  he 
gently  pressed  her  hand  in  silence  ;  when  Caesar,  who  had 


54  THE   SPY. 

participated  largely  in  the  anxiety  of  the  family,  and  who 
had  risen  with  the  dawn,  and  kept  a  vigilant  watch  on  the 
surrounding  objects  as  he  stood  gazing  from  one  of  the 
windows,  exclaimed,  with  a  face  that  approached  to  some- 
thing like  the  hues  of  a  white  man  : 

"Run — massa— Harry — run — if  he  love  old  Csesar,  run 
— here  come  a  rebel  horse." 

"Run!"  repeated  the  British  officer,  gathering  himself 
up  in  military  pride  ;  "  no,  Mr.  Caesar,  running  is  not  my 
trade."  While  speaking,  he  walked  deliberately  to  the 
window,  where  the  family  were  already  collected  in  the 
greatest  consternation. 

At  the  distance  of  more  than  a  mile,  about  fifty  dragoons 
were  to  be  seen  winding  down  one  of  the  lateral  entrances 
of  the  valley.  In  advance  with  an  officer,  was  a  man  at- 
tired in  the  dress  of  a  countryman,  who  pointed  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  cottage.  A  small  party  now  left  the  main 
body,  and  moved  rapidly  toward  the  object  of  their  des- 
tination. 

On  reaching  the  road  which  led  through  the  bottom  of 
the  valley,  they  turned  their  horses'  heads  to  the  north. 
The  Whartons  continued  chained  in  breathless  silence  to 
the  spot,  watching  their  movements,  when  the  party,  hav- 
ing reached  the  dwelling  of  Birch,  made  a  rapid  circle 
around  his  grounds,  and  in  an  instant  his  house  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  dozen  sentinels. 

Two  or  three  of  the  dragoons  now  dismounted  and  dis- 
appeared ;  in  a  few  minutes,  however,  they  returned  to  the 
yard  followed  by  Katy,  from  whose  violent  gesticulations 
it  was  evident  that  matters  of  no  trifling  concern  were  on 
the  carpet.  A  short  communication  with  the  loquacious 
housekeeper  followed  the  arrival  of  the  main  body  of  the 
troop,  and  the  advanced  party  remounting,  the  whole 
moved  toward  the  Locusts  with  great  speed. 

As  yet  none  of  the  family  had  sufficient  presence  of  mind 
to  devise  any  means  of  security  for  Captain  Wharton  ;  but 
the  danger  now  became  too  pressing  to  admit  of  longer 
delay,  and  various  means  of  secreting  him  were  hastily 
proposed  ;  but  they  were  all  haughtily  rejected  by  the 
young  man,  as  unworthy  of  his  character.  It  was  too  late 
to  retreat  to  the  woods  in  the  rear  of  the  cottage,  for  he 
would  unavoidably  be  seen,  and,  followed  by  a  troop  of 
horse,  as  inevitably  taken. 

At  length,  his  sisters,  with  trembling  hands,  replaced  his 
original  disguise,  the  instruments  of  which  had  been  care- 


THE  SPY.  55 

fully  kept  at  hand  by  Caesar,  in  expectation  of  some  sud- 
den emergency. 

This  arrangement  was  hastily  and  imperfectly  com- 
pleted, as  the  dragoons  entered  the  lawn  and  orchard  of 
the  Locusts,  riding  with  the  rapidity  of  the  wind  ;  and  in 
their  turn  the  Whartons  were  surrounded. 

Nothing  remained  now  but  to  meet  the  impending  ex- 
amination with  as  much  indifference  as  the  family  could 
assume.  The  leader  of  the  horse  dismounted,  and,  fol- 
lowed by  a  couple  of  his  men,  he  approached  the  outer 
door  of  the  building,  which  was  slowly  and  reluctantly 
opened  for  his  admission  by  Caesar.  The  heavy  tread  of 
the  trooper,  as  he  followed  the  black  to  the  door  of  the 
parlor,  rang  in  the  ears  of  the  females  as  it  approached 
nearer  and  nearer,  and  drove  the  blood  from  their  faces  to 
their  hearts  with  a  chill  that  nearly  annihilated  feeling. 

A  man,  whose  colossal  stature  manifested  the  possession 
of  vast  strength,  entered  the  room,  and  removing  his  cap, 
he  saluted  the  family  with  a  mildness  his  appearance  did 
not  indicate  as  belonging  to  his  nature.  His  dark  hair 
.hung  around  his  brow  in  profusion,  though  stained  with 
the  powder  which  was  worn  at  that  day,  and  his  face  was 
nearly  hid  in  the  whiskers  by  which  it  was  disfigured. 
Still,  the  expression  of  his  eye,  though  piercing,  was  not 
bad,  and  his  voice,  though  deep  and  powerful,  was  far 
from  unpleasant.  Frances  ventured  to  throw  a  timid 
glance  at  his  figure  as  he  entered,  and  saw  at  once  the  man 
from  whose  scrutiny  Harvey  Birch  had  warned  them  there 
was  so  much  to  be  apprehended. 

"  You  have  no  cause  for  alarm,  ladies,"  said  the  officer, 
pausing  a  moment,  and  contemplating  the  pale  faces 
around  him  ;  "  my  business  will  be  confined  to  a  few  ques- 
tions, which,  if  freely  answered,  will  instantly  remove  us 
from  your  dwelling." 

"And  what  may  they  be,  sir?"  stammered  Mr.  Whar- 
ton,  rising  from  his  chair  and  waiting  anxiously  for  the 
reply. 

"  Has  there  been  a  strange  gentleman  staying  with  you 
during  the  storm  ? "  continued  the  dragoon,  speaking  with 
interest,  and  in  some  degree  sharing  in  the  evident  anxiety 
of  the  father. 

"This  gentleman — here — favored  us  with  his  company 
during  the  rain,  and  has  not  yet  departed." 

"This  gentleman  ! "  repeated  the  other,  turning  to  Cap- 
tain Wharton,  and  contemplating  his  figure  for  a  mament, 


56  THE   SPY. 

until  the  anxiety  of  his  countenance  gave  place  to  a  lurk- 
ing smile.  He  approached  the  youth  with  an  air  of  comic 
gravity,  and  with  a  low  bow,  continued — "  I  am  sorry  for 
the  severe  cold  you  have  in  your  head,  sir." 

"  I  ! "  exclaimed  the  captain,  in  surprise  ;  "  I  have  no 
cold  in  my  head." 

"  I  fancied  it  then,  from  seeing  you  had  covered  such 
handsome  black  locks  with  that  ugly  old  wig  ;  it  was  my 
mistake,  you  will  please  to  pardon  it." 

Mr.  Wharton  groaned  aloud  ;  but  the  ladies,  ignorant 
of  the  extent  of  their  visitor's  knowledge,  remained  in 
trembling  yet  rigid  silence.  The  captain  himself  moved 
his  hand  involuntarily  to  his  head,  and  discovered  that  the 
trepidation  of  his  sisters  had  left  some  of  his  natural  hair 
exposed.  The  dragoon  watched  the  movement  with  a  con- 
tinued smile,  when,  seeming  to  recollect  himself,  turning 
to  the  father,  he  proceeded  : 

"  Then,  sir,  I  am  to  understand  there  has  not  been  a 
Mr.  Harper  here,  within  the  week." 

"  Mr.  Harper,"  echoed  the  other,  feeling  a  load  removed 
from  his  heart — "yes — I  had  forgotten;  but  he  is  gone, 
and  if  there  be  anything  wrong  in  his  character,  we  are  in 
entire  ignorance  of  it — to  me  he  was  a  total  stranger." 

"  You  have  but  little  to  apprehend  from  his  character," 
answered  the  dragoon,  dryly  ;  "  but  he  is  gone — how — 
when  and  whither  ?  " 

"  He  departed  as  he  arrived,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  gather- 
ing renewed  confidence  from  the  manner  of  the  trooper  ; 
"  on  horseback,  last  evening,  and  he  took  the  northern 
road." 

The  officer  listened  to  him  with  intense  interest,  his  coun- 
tenance gradually  lighting  into  a  smile  of  pleasure  ;  and 
the  instant  Mr.  Wharton  concluded  his  laconic  reply,  he 
turned  on  his  heel  and  left  the  apartment.  The  Whar- 
tons,  judging  from  his  manner,  thought  he  was  about  to 
proceed  in  quest  of  the  object  of  his  inquiries.  They  ob- 
served the  dragoon,  on  gaining  the  lawn,  in  earnest,  and 
apparently  pleased,  conversation  with  his  two  subalterns. 
In  a  few  moments  orders  were  given  to  some  of  the  troop, 
and  horsemen  left  the  valley,  at  full  speed,  by  various 
roads. 

The  suspense  of  the  party  within,  who  were  all  highly 
interested  witnesses  of  the  scene,  was  shortly  terminated  ; 
for  the  heavy  tread  of  the  dragoon  soon  announced  his 
second  approach.  He  bowed  again  politely  as  he  re-entered 


THE   SPY.  57 

the  room,  and  walking  up  to  Captain  Wharton,  said,  with 
comic  gravity : 

"Now,  sir,  my  principal  business  being  done,  may  I  beg 
to  examine  the  quality  of  that  wig  ? " 

The  British  officer  imitated  the  manner  of  the  other,  as 
he  deliberately  uncovered  his  head  and,  handing  him  the 
wig,  observed,  "  I  hope,  sir,  it  is  to  your  liking." 

"  I  cannot,  without  violating  the  truth,  say  it  is,"  re- 
turned the  dragoon  ;  <k  I  prefer  your  ebony  hair,  from 
which  you  seem  to  have  .combed  the  powder  with  great 
industry.  But  that  must  have  been  a  sad  hurt  you  have 
received  under  this  enormous  black  patch." 

"  You  appear  so  close  an  observer  of  things,  I  should 
like  your  opinion  of  it,  sir,"  said  Henry,  removing  the  silk, 
and  exhibiting  the  cheek  free  from  blemish. 

"  Upon  my  word,  you  improve  most  rapidly  in  exter- 
nals," added  the  trooper,  preserving  his  muscles  in  inflex- 
ible gravity:  "  if  I  could  but  persuade  you  to  exchange  this 
old  surtout  for  that  handsome  blue  coat  byyourside,  I  think 
I  never  could  witness  a  more  agreeable  metamorphosis, 
since  I  was  changed  myself  from  a  lieutenant  to  a  captain. 

Young  Wharton  very  composedly  did  as  was  required; 
and  stood  an  extremely  handsome,  well-dressed  young  man. 
The  dragoon  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  with  the  drollery 
that  characterized  his  manner,  and  then  continued  : 

"This  is  a  new-comer  in  the  scene;  it  is  usual,  you 
know,  for  strangers  to  be  introduced;  I  am  Captain  Law- 
ton,  of  the  Virginia  Horse." 

"  And  I,  sir,  am  Captain  Wharton,  of  his  Majesty's  6oth 
Regiment  of  Foot,"  returned  Henry,  bowing  stiffly,  and  re- 
covering his  natural  manner. 

The  countenance  of  Lawton  changed  instantly,  and  his 
assumed  quaintness  vanished.  He  viewed  the  figure  of 
Captain  Wharton,  as  he  stood  proudly  swelling  with  a  pride 
that  disdained  further  concealment,  and  exclaimed,  with 
great  earnestness  : 

"  Captain  Wharton,  from  my  soul  I  pity  you  !  " 

"  Oh,  then,"  cried  the  father  in  agony,  "  if  you  pity  him, 
dear  sir,  why  molest  him  ?  He  is  not  a  spy  ;  nothing  but  a 
desire  to  see  his  friends  prompted  him  to  venture  so  far 
from  the  regular  army  in  disguise.  Leave  him  with  us  ; 
there  is  no  reward,  no  sum,  which  I  will  not  cheerfully 
pay." 

''Sir,  your  anxiety  for  your  friend  excuses  your  lan- 
guage," said  Lawton,  haughtily  ;  "but  you  forget  I  am  a 


5 8  THE   STY. 

Virginian,  and  a  gentleman."  Turning  to  the  young  man, 
he  continued  :  "  Were  you  ignorant,  Captain  Wharton, 
that  our  pickets  have  been  below  you  for  several  days  ?" 

"  I  did  not  know  it  until  I  reached  them,  and  it  was  then 
too  late  to  retreat,"  said  Wharton,  sullenly.  "  I  came  out, 
as  my  father  has  mentioned,  to  see  my  friends,  understand- 
ing your  parties  to  be  at  Peekskill,  and  near  the  Highlands, 
or  surely  I  would  not  have  ventured." 

"All  this  may  be  very  true  ;  but  the  affair  of  Andre  has 
made  us  on  the  alert.  When  treason  reaches  the  grade  of 
general  officers,  Captain  Wharton,  it  behooves  the  friends 
of  liberty  to  be  vigilant." 

Henry  bowed  to  this  remark  in  distant  silence,  but  Sarah 
ventured  to  urge  something  in  behalf  of  her  brother.  The 
dragoon  heard  her  politely  and  apparently  with  commisera- 
tion ;  but,  willing  to  avoid  useless  and  embarrassing  peti- 
tions, he  answered,  mildly  : 

"I  am  not  the  commander  of  the  party,  madam;  Major 
Dunwoodie  will  decide  what  must  be  done  with  your 
brother  ;  at  all  events,  he  will  receive  nothing  but  kind 
and  gentle  treatment." 

"  Dunwoodie  ! "  exclaimed  Frances,  with  a  face  in 
which  the  roses  contended  for  the  mastery  with  the  pale- 
ness of  apprehension  ;  "thank  God  !  then  Henry  is  safe  !  " 

Lawton  regarded  her  with  a  mingled  expression  of  pity 
and  admiration  ;  then  shaking  his  head  doubtingly,  he 
continued  : 

"  I  hope  so  ;  and,  with  your  permission,  we  will  leave 
the  matter  for  hi£  decision." 

The  color  of  Frances  changed  from  the  paleness  of  fear 
to  the  glow  of  hope.  Her  dread  on  behalf  of  her  brother 
was  certainly  greatly  diminished  ;  yet  her  form  shook,  her 
breathing  became  short  and  irregular,  and  her  whole 
frame  gave  tokens  of  extraordinary  agitation.  Her  eyes 
rose  from  the  floor  to  the  dragoon,  and  were  again  fixed 
immovably  on  the  carpet — she  evidently  wished  to  utter 
something,  but  was  unequal  to  the  effort.  Miss  Peyton 
was  a  close  observer  of  these  movements  of  her  niece,  and, 
advancing  with  an  air  of  feminine  dignity  inquired  : 

"  Then,  sir,  we  may  expect  the  pleasure  of  Major  Dun- 
woodie's  company  shortly  ?  " 

"Immediately,  madam,"  answered  the  dragoon,  with- 
drawing his  admiring  gaze  from  the  person  of  Frances  ; 
"expresses  are  already  on  the  road  to  announce  to  him 
our  situation,  and  the  intelligence  will  speedily  bring  him 


THE   SPY.  59 

to  this  valley  ;  unless,  indeed,  some  private  reasons  may 
exist  to  make  a  visit  particularly  unpleasant." 

"We  shall  always  be  happy  to  see  Major  Dunwoodie." 

"Oh  !  doubtless  ;  he  is  a  general  favorite.  May  I  pre- 
sume on  it  so  far  as  to  ask  leave  to  dismount  and  refresh 
my  men,  who  compose  a  part  of  his  squadron  ?" 

There  was  a  manner  about  the  trooper  that  would  have 
made  the  omission  of  such  a  request  easily  forgiven  by 
Mr.  Wharton,  but  he  was  fairly  entrapped  by  his  own 
eagerness  to  conciliate,  and  it  was  useless  to  withhold  a 
consent  which  he  thought  would  probably  be  extorted  ; 
he  therefore  made  the  most  of  necessity,  nnd  gave  such 
orders  as  would  facilitate  the  wishes  of  Captain  Lawton. 

The  officers  were  invited  to  take  their  morning's  repast 
at  the  breakfast-table,  and,  havirrg  made  their  arrange- 
ments without,  the  invitation  was  frankly  accepted.  None 
of  the  watchfulness  which  was  so  necessary  to  their  situ- 
ation was  neglected  by  the  wary  partisan.  Patrols  were 
seen  on  the  distant  hills,  taking  their  protecting  circuit 
around  their  comrades,  who  were  enjoying,  in  the  midst  of 
dangers,  a  security  that  can  only  spring  from  the  watch- 
fulness of  discipline  and  the  indifference  of  habit. 

The  addition  to  the  party  at  Mr.  Wharton's  table  was 
only  three,  and  they  were  all  of  them  men  who,  under  the 
rough  exterior  induced  by  actual  and  arduous  service,  con- 
cealed the  manners  of  gentlemen.  Consequently,  the  in- 
terruption to  the  domestic  privacy  of  the  family  was 
marked  by  the  observance  of  strict  decorum.  The  ladies 
left  the  table  to  their  guests,  who  proceeded,  without  much 
superfluous  diffidence,  to  do  proper  honors  to  the  hospital- 
ity of  Mr.  Wharton. 

At  length,  Captain  Lawton  suspended  for  a  moment 
his  violent  attacks  on  the  buckwheat  cakes,  to  inquire  of 
the  master  of  the  house  if  there  wras  not  a  peddler  of  the 
name  of  Birch  who  lived  in  the  valley  at  times. 

"At  times  only,  I  believe,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Wharton,  cau- 
tiously ;  "  he  is  seldom  here  ;  I  may  say  I  never  see  him." 

"That  is  strange,  too,"  said  the  trooper,  looking  at  the 
disconcerted  host  intently,  "  considering  he  is  your  next 
neighbor ;  he  must  be  quite  domestic,  sir ;  and  to  the 
ladies  it  must  be  somewhat  inconvenient.  I  doubt  not 
that  that  muslin  in  the  window-seat  cost  twice  as  much  as 
he  would  have  asked  them  for  it." 

Mr.  Wharton  turned  in  consternation,^  and  saw  some  of 
the  recent  purchases  scattered  about  the  room. 


6o  7 HE   SPY. 

The  two  subalterns  struggled  to  conceal  their  smiles  ; 
but  the  captain  resumed  his  breakfast  with  an  eagerness 
that  created  a  doubt  whether  he  ever  expected  to  enjoy 
another.  The  necessity  of  a  supply  from  the  dominion  of 
Dinah  soon,  however,  afforded  another  respite,  of  which 
Lavvton  availed  himself. 

"I  had  a  wish  to  break  this  Mr.  Birch  of  his  unsocial 
habits,  and  gave  him  a  call  this  morning,"  he  said  ;  "  had 
I  found  him  within,  I  should  have  placed  him  where  he 
would  enjoy  life  in  the  midst  of  society,  for  a  short  time  at 
least." 

"And  where  might  that  be,  sir?"  asked  Mr.  Wharton, 
conceiving  it  necessary  to  say  something. 

"  The  guard-room,"  said  the  trooper,  dryly. 

"  What  is  the  offence.of  poor  Birch  ?  "  asked  Miss  Pey~ 
ton,  handing  the  dragoon  a  fourth  dish  of  coffee. 

"  Poor  !  "  cried  the  captain  ;  "  if  he  is  poor,  King  George 
is  a  bad  paymaster." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  one  of  the  subalterns  ;  "  his  Majesty 
owes  him  a  dukedom." 

"And  Congress  a  halter,"  continued  the  commanding 
officer,  commencing  anew  on  a  fresh  supply  of  the  cakes. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  Mr.  Wharton,  "  that  any  neighbor  of 
mine  should  incur  the  displeasure  of  our  rulers." 

"  If  I  catch  him,"  cried  the  dragoon,  while  buttering 
another  cake,  "  he  will  dangle  from  the  limbs  of  one  of  his 
namesakes." 

"  He  would  make  no  bad  ornament,  suspended  from  one 
of  those  locusts  before  his  own  door,"  added  the  lieutenant. 

"  Never  mind,"  continued  the  captain  ;  "  I  will  have 
him  yet  before  I'm  a  major." 

As  the  language  of  these  officers  appeared  to  be  sincere, 
and  such  as  disappointed  men  in  their  rough  occupations 
are  but  too  apt  to  use,  the  Whartons  thought  it  prudent  to 
discontinue  the  subject.  It  was  no  new  intelligence  to 
any  of  the  family,  that  Harvey  Birch  was  distrusted,  and 
greatly  harassed,  by  the  American  Army.  His  escapes 
from  their  hands,  no  less  than  his  imprisonments,  had 
been  the  conversation  of  the  country  in  too  many  in- 
stances, and  under  circumstances  of  too  great  mystery,  to 
be  easily  forgotten.  In  fact,  no  small  part  of  the  bitter- 
ness expressed  by  Captain  Lawton  against  the  peddler 
arose  from  the  unaccountable  disappearance  of  the  latter, 
when  intrusted  to  the  custody  of  two  of  his  most  faithful 
dragoons. 


THE   SPY.  6 1 

A  twelvemonth  had  not  yet  elapsed  since  Birch  had 
been  seen  lingering  near  the  headquarters  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  at  a  time  when  important  movements 
were  expected  hourly  to  occur.  So  soon  as  the  informa- 
tion of  this  fact  was  communicated  to  the  officer  whose 
duty  it  was  to  guard  the  avenues  of  the  American  camp, 
he  despatched  Captain  Lawton  in  pursuit  of  the  peddler. 

Acquainted  with  all  the  passes  of  the  hills,  and  indefati- 
gable in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  the  trooper  had,  with 
much  trouble  and  toil,  succeeded  in  effecting  his  object. 
The  party  had  halted  at  a  farm-house  for  the  purposes  of 
refreshment,  and  the  prisoner  was  placed  in  a  room  by 
himself,  but  under  the  keeping  of  the  two  men  before  men- 
tioned ;  all  that  was  known  subsequently  is,  that  a  woman 
was  seen  busily  engaged  in  the  employments  of  the  house- 
hold near  the  sentinels,  and  was  particularly  attentive  to 
the  wants  of  the  captain,  until  he  was  deeply  engaged  in 
the  employments  of  the  supper-table. 

Afterward,  neither  woman  nor  peddler  was  to  be  found. 
The  pack,  indeed,  was  discovered  open,  and  nearly  empty, 
and  a  small  door,  communicating  with  a  room  adjoining 
to  the  one  in  which  the  peddler  had  been  secured,  was 
ajar. 

Captain  Lawton  never  could  forgive  the  deception  ;  his 
antipathies  to  his  enemies  were  not  very  moderate,  but 
this  was  adding  an  insult  to  his  penetration  that  rankled 
deeply.  He  sat  in  portentous  silence,  brooding  over  the 
exploit  of  his  prisoner,  yet  mechanically  pursuing  the 
business  before  him,  until,  after  sufficient  time  had  passed 
to  make  a  very  comfortable  meal,  a  trumpet  suddenly 
broke  on  the  ears  of  the  party,  sending  its  martial  tones 
up  the  valley,  in  startling  melody.  The  trooper  rose  in- 
stantly from  the  table,  exclaiming  : 

"  Quick,  gentlemen,  to  your  horses  ;  there  comes  Dun- 
woodie  ; "  and,  followed  by  his  officers,  he  precipitately 
left  the  room. 

With  the  exception  of  the  sentinels  left  to  guard  Cap- 
tain Wharton,  the  dragoons  mounted,  and  marched  out  to 
meet  their  comrades. 

None  of  the  watchfulness  necessary  in  war,  in  which 
similarity  of  language,  appearance,  and  customs  render 
prudence  doubly  necessary,  was  omitted  by  the  cautious 
leader.  On  getting  sufficiently  near,  however,  to  a  body 
of  horse  of  more  than  double  his  own  number,  to  distin- 
guish countenances,  Lawton  plunged  his  rowels  into  his 


62  THE   SPY. 

charger,  and  in  a  moment  he  was  by  the  side  of  his  com- 
mander. 

The  ground  in  front  of  the  cottage  was  again  occupied 
by  the  horse  ;  and,  observing  the  same  precautions  as  be- 
fore, the  newly  arrived  troops  hastened  to  participate  in 
the  cheer  prepared  for  their  comrades. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

and  let  conquerors  boast 

Their  fields  of  fame — he  who  in  virtue  arms 
A  young,  warm  spirit  against  beauty's  charms, 
Who  feels  her  brightness,  yet  defies  her  thrall, 
Is  the  best,  bravest  conqueror  of  them  all. 

THE  ladies  of  the  Wharton  family  had  collected  about  a 
window,  deeply  interested  in  the  scene  we  have  related. 

Sarah  viewed  the  approach  of  her  countrymen  with  a 
smile  of  contemptuous  indifference,  for  she  even  under- 
valued the  personal  appearance  of  men,  whom  she  thought 
arrayed  in  the  unholy  cause  of  rebellion.  Miss  Peyton 
looked  on  the  gallant  show  with  an  exulting  pride,  which 
arose  in  the  reflection  that  the  warriors  before  her  were 
the  chosen  troops  of  her  native  colony  ;  while  Frances 
gazed  with  a  singleness  of  interest  that  absorbed  all  other 
considerations. 

The  two  parties  had  not  yet  joined,  before  her  quick 
eye  distinguished  one  horseman  in  particular  from  those 
around  him.  To  her  it  appeared  that  even  the  steed  of 
this  youthful  soldier  seemed  to  be  conscious  that  he  sus- 
tained the  weight  of  no  common  man — his  hoofs  but 
lightly  touched  the  earth,  and  his  airy  tread  was  the  curbed 
motion  of  a  blooded  charger. 

The  dragoon  sat  in  the  saddle  with  a  firmness  and  ease 
that  showed  him  master  of  himself  and  horse — his  figure 
uniting  the  just  proportions  of  strength  and  activity,  being 
tall,  round,  and  muscular.  To  his  officer  Lawton  made  his 
report,  and,  side  by  side,  they  rode  into  the  field  opposite 
to  the  cottage. 

The  heart  of  Frances  beat  with  a  pulsation  nearly  sti- 
fling as  he  paused  for  a  moment  and  took  a  survey  of  the 
building,  with  an  eye  whose  dark  and  sparkling  glance 
could  be  seen,  notwithstanding  the  distance  ;  her  color 
changed  and  for  an  instant,  as  she  saw  the  youth  throw 


THE   SPY.  63 

himself  from  the  saddle,  she  was  compelled  to  seek  relief 
for  her  trembling  limbs  in  a  chair. 

The  officer  gave  a  few  hasty  orders  to  his  second  in  com- 
mand, walked  rapidly  into  the  lawn,  and  approached  the 
cottage.  Frances  rose  from  her  seat,  and  vanished  from 
the  apartment.  The  dragoon  ascended  the  steps  of  the 
piazza,  and  had  barely  time  to  touch  the  outer  door,  when 
it  opened  to  his  admission. 

The  youth  of  Frances,  when  she  left  the  city,  had  pre- 
vented her  sacrificing,  in  conformity  to  the  customs  of  that 
day,  all  her  native  beauties  on  the  altar  of  fashion.  Her 
hair,  which  was  of  a  golden  richness  of  color,  was  left,  un- 
tortured,  to  fall  in  the  natural  ringlets  of  infancy,  and  it 
shaded  a  face  which  was  glowing  with  the  united  charms 
of  health,  youth,  and  artlessness — her  eyes  spoke  volumes, 
but  her  tongue  was  silent  ;  her  hands  were  interlocked  be- 
fore her,  and,  aided  by  her  taper  form,  bending  forward 
in  an  attitude  of  expectation,  gave  a  loveliness  and  an  in- 
terest to  her  appearance  that  for  a  moment  chained  her 
lover  in  silence  to  the  spot. 

Frances  silently  led  the  way  into  a  vacant  parlor,  oppo- 
site to  the  one  in  which  the  family  were  assembled,  and, 
turning  to  the  soldier,  frankly  placing  both  her  hands  in 
his  own,  exclaimed  : 

"  Ah,  Dunwoodie  !  how  happy,  on  many  accounts,  I  am 
to  see  you  !  I  have  brought  you  in  here,  to  prepare  you 
to  meet  an  unexpected  friend  in  the  opposite  room." 

"To  whatever  cause  it  may  be  owing,"  cried  the  youth, 
pressing  her  hands  to  his  lips,  "  I,  too,  am  happy  in  being 
able  to  see  you  alone.  Frances,  the  probation  you  have  de- 
creed is  cruel ;  war  and  distance  may  shortly  separate  us 
forever." 

"  We  must  submit  to  the  necessity  which  governs  us. 
But  it  is  not  love-speeches  I  would  hear  now  ;  I  have  other 
and  more  important  matters  for  your  attention." 

"What  can  be  of  more  importance  than  to  make  you 
mine  by  a  tie  that  will  be  indissoluble  !  Frances,  you  are 
cold  to  me — me — from  whose  mind  days  of  service  and 
nights  of  alarm  have  never  been  able  to  banish  your  image 
for  a  single  moment." 

"  Dear  Dunwoodie,"  said  Frances,  softening  nearly  to 
tears,  and  again  extending  herhand  to  him,  as  the  richness 
of  her  color  gradually  returned,  "  you  know  my  sentiments 
1 — this  war  once  ended,  and  you  may  take  that  hand  forever 
— but  I  can  never  consent  to  tie  myself  to  you  by  any 


64  THE   SPY. 

closer  union  than  already  exists,  so  long  as  you  are  ar- 
rayed in  arms  against  my  only  brother.  Even  now,  that 
brother  is  awaiting  your  decision  to  restore  him  to  liberty, 
or  to  conduct  him  to  a  probable  death." 

"  Your  brother  ?  "  cried  Dunwoodie,  starting  and  turn- 
ing pale;  "your  brother!  explain  yourself — what  dread- 
ful meaning  is  concealed  in  your  words  ?" 

"  Has  not  Captain  Lawton  told  you  of  the  arrest  of 
Henry  by  himself  this  very  morning  ? "  continued  Fran- 
ces, in  a  voice  barely  audible,  and  fixing  on  her  lover  a 
look  of  the  deepest  concern. 

"  He  told  me  of  arresting  a  captain  of  the  6oth  in  dis- 
guise, but  without  mentioning  where  or  whom,"  replied 
the  major  in  a  similar  tone  ;  and  dropping  his  head  be- 
tween his  hands,  he  endeavored  to  conceal  his  feelings 
from  his  companion. 

"  Dunwoodie  !  Dunwoodie  !  "  exclaimed  Frances,  losing 
all  her  former  confidence  in  the  most  fearful  apprehen- 
sions, "what  means  this  agitation  ?"  As  the  major  slowly 
raised  his  face,  in  which  was  pictured  the  most  expressive 
concern,  she  continued,  "  Surely,  surely,  you  will  not  be- 
tray your  friend,  my  brother — your  brother — to  an  igno- 
minious death  ?" 

"  Frances  !  "  exclaimed  the  young  man  in  agony,  "  what 
can  I  do  ? " 

"Do!"  she  repeated,  gazing  at  him  wildly;  "would 
Major  Dunwoodie  yield  his  friend  to  his  enemies — the 
brother  of  "his  betrothed  wife  ?" 

"  Oh,  speak  not  so  unkindly  to  me,  dearest  Miss  Whar- 
ton — my  own  Frances.  I  would  this  moment  die  for  you 
— for  Henry — but  I  cannot  forget  my  duty — cannot  forfeit 
my  honor;  you  yourself  would  be  the  first  to  despise  me 
if  I  did." 

"  Peyton  Dunwoodie  !"  said  Frances,  solemnly,  and  with 
a  face  of  ashy  paleness,  "you  have  told  me — you  have 
sworn,  that  you  loved  me " 

"  I  do,"  interrupted  the  soldier,  with  fervor — but,  mo- 
tioning for  silence,  she  continued,  in  a  voice  that  trembled 
with  her  fears  : 

"  Do  you  think  I  can  throw  myself  into  the  arms  of  a 
man  whose  hands  are  stained  with  the  blood  of  my  only 
brother? " 

"Frances!  you  wring  my  very  heart;"  then  pausing, 
to  struggle  with  his  feelings,  he  endeavored  to  force  a 
smile,  as  he  added,  "but,  after  all,  we  may  be  torturing 


THE   SPY.  65 

ourselves  with  unnecessary  fears,  and  Henry,  when  I  know 
the  circumstances,  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  prisoner 
of  war  ;  in  which  case,  I  can  liberate  him  on  parole." 

There  is  no  more  delusive  passion  than  hope  ;  and  it 
seems  to  be  the  happy  privilege  of  youth  to  cull  all  the 
pleasure  that  can  be  gathered  from  its  indulgence.  It  is 
when  we  are  most  worthy  of  confidence  ourselves  that  we 
are  least  apt  to  distrust  others ;  and  what  we  think  ought 
to  be,  we  are  prone  to  think  will  be. 

The  half-formed  expectations  of  the  young  soldier  were 
communicated  to  the  desponding  sister,  more  by  the  eye 
than  the  voice,  and  the  bl-ood  rushed  again  to  her  cheek, 
as  she  cried  : 

"  Oh  !  there  can  be  no  just  grounds  to  doubt  it  ;  I  knew 
— I  knew — Dunwoodie,  you  would  never  desert  us  in  the 
hour  of  our  greatest  need  !  "  The  violence  of  her  feelings 
prevailed,  and  the  agitated  girl  found  relief  in  a  flood  of 
tears. 

The  office  of  consoling  those  we  love  is  one  of  the  dear- 
est prerogatives  of  affection ;  and  Major  Duawoodie,  al- 
though but  little  encouraged  by  his  own  momentary  sug- 
gestion of  relief,  could  not  undeceive  the  lovely  girl,  who 
leaned  on  his  shoulder,  as  he  wiped  the  traces  of  her  feel- 
ing from  her  face,  with  a  trembling,  but  reviving  confi- 
dence, in  the  safety  of  her  brother  and  the  protection  of 
her  lover. 

Frances  having  sufficiently  recovered  her  recollection  to 
command  herself,  now  eagerly  led  the  way  into  the  oppo- 
site room,  to  communicate  to  her  family  the  pleasing  in- 
telligence which  she  already  conceived  so  certain. 

Dunwoodie  followed  her  reluctantly,  and  with  forebod- 
ings of  the  result  ;  but  a  few  moments  brought  him  into 
the  presence  of  his  relatives,  and  he  summoned  all  his  res- 
olution to  meet  the  trial  with  firmness. 

The  salutations  of  the  young  men  were  cordial  and 
frank,  and,  on  the  part  of  Henry  Wharton,  as  collected  as 
if  nothing  had  occurred  to  disturb  his  self-possession. 

The  abhorrence  of  being,  in  any  manner,  auxiliary  to 
the  arrest  of  his  friend  ;  the  danger  to  the  life  of  Captain 
Wharton  ;  and  the  heart-breaking  declaration  of  Frances, 
had,  however,  created  an  uneasiness  in  the  bosom  of  Major 
Dunwoodie  which  all  his  efforts  could  not  conceal.  His 
reception  by  the  rest  of  the  family  was  kind  and  sincere, 
both  from  old  regard  and  remembrance  of  former  obliga- 
tions, heightened  by  the  anticipations  they  could  not  fa.il 

5 


66  THE   SPY. 

to  read  in  the  expressive  eyes  of  the  blushing  girl  by  his 
side.  After  exchanging  greetings  with  every  member  of 
the  family,  Major  Dunwoodie  beckoned  to  the  sentinel, 
whom  the  wary  prudence  of  Captain  Lawton  had  left  in 
charge  of  the  prisoner,  to  leave  the  room.  Turning  to 
Captain  Wharton,  he  inquired,  mildly : 

"  Tell  me,  Henry,  the  circumstances  of  this  disguise,  in 
which  Captain  Lawton  reports  you  to  have  been  found,  and 
remember — remember — Captain  Wharton — your  answers 
are  entirely  voluntary." 

"  The  disguise  was  used  by  me,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  re- 
plied the  English  officer,  gravely,  "  to  enable  me  to  visit 
my  friends,  without  incurring  the  danger  of  becoming  a 
prisoner  of  war." 

"  But  you  did  not  wear  it  until  you  saw  the  troop  of 
Lawton  approaching  ?"  . 

"Oh!  no,"  interrupted  Frances,  eagerly,  forgetting  all 
the  circumstances  in  her  anxiety  for  her  brother  ;  "  Sarah 
and  myself  placed  them  on  him  when  the  dragoons  ap- 
peared ;  it  was  our  awkwardness  that  led  to  the  discovery." 

The  countenance  of  Dunwoodie  brightened,  as,  turning 
his  eyes  in  fondness  on  the  speaker,  he  listened  to  her  ex- 
planation. 

"  Probably  some  articles  of  your  own,"  he  continued, 
"  which  were  at  hand,  and  were  used  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment." 

"  No,"  said  Wharton,  with  dignity  ;  "  the  clothes  were 
worn  by  me  from  the  city,  they  were  procured  for  the  pur- 
pose to  which  they  were  applied,  and  I  intended  to  use 
them  in  my  return  this  very  day." 

The  appalled  Frances  shrank  back  from  between  her 
brother  and  lover,  where  her  ardent  feelings  had  carried 
her,  as  the  whole  truth  glanced  over  her  mind,  and  she 
sank  into  her  seat,  gazing  wildly  on  the  young  men. 

"  But  the  pickets — the  party  at  the  Plains  ?  "  added  Dun- 
woodie, turning  pale. 

"  I  passed  them,  too,  in  disguise.  I  made  use  of  this 
pass,  for  which  I  paid  ;  and,  as  it  bears  the  name  of  Wash- 
ington, I  presume  is  forged." 

Dunwoodie  caught  the  paper  from  his  hand,  eagerly,  and 
stood  gazing  on  the  signature  for  some  time  in  silence,  dur- 
ing which  the  soldier  gradually  prevailed  over  the  man  ; 
when  he  turned  to  the  prisoner,  with  a  searching  look,  as 
he  asked  : 

"  Captain  Wharton,  whence  did  you  procure  this  paper  ?  " 


THE   SPY.  67 

"  That  is  a  question,  I  conceive,  Major  Dimwoodie  lias 
no  right  to  ask." 

"  Your  pardon,  sir,  my  feelings  may  have  led  me  into  an 
impropriety." 

"  Mr.  Wharton,  who  had  been  a  deeply  interested  audi- 
tor, now  so  far  conquered  his  feelings  as  to  say,  "  Surely, 
Major  Dunwoodie,  the  paper  cannot  be  material  ;  such 
artifices  are  used  daily  in  war." 

"This  name  is  no  counterfeit,"  said  the  dragoon,  study- 
ing the  characters  and  speaking  in  a  low  voice  ;  "  is  trea- 
son yet  among  us  undiscovered  ?  The  confidence  of  Wash- 
ington has  been  abused,  for  the  fictitious  name  is  in  a 
different  hand  from  the  pass.  Captain  Wharton,  my  duty 
will  not  suffer  me  to  grant  you  a  parole  ;  you  must  accom- 
pany me  to  the  Highlands." 

"  I  did  not  expect  otherwise,  Major  Dunwoodie." 

Dunwoodie  turned  slowly  toward  the  sisters,  when  the 
figure  of  Frances  once  more  arrested  his  gaze.  She  had 
risen  from  her  seat,  and  stood  again  with  her  hands  clasped 
before  him  in  an  attitude  of  petition  ;  feeling  himself  un- 
able to  contend  longer  with  his  feelings,  he  made  a  hurried 
excuse  for  a  temporary  absence,  and  left  the  room.  Fran- 
ces followed  him,  and,  obedient  to  the  direction  of  the  eye, 
the  soldier  re-entered  the  apartment  in  which  had  been 
their  first  interview. 

" Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  Frances,  in  a  voice  barely 
audible,  as  she  beckoned  to  him  to  be  seated  ;  her  cheek, 
which  had  been  of  a  chilling  whiteness,  was  flushed  with  a 
suffusion  that  crimsoned  her  whole  countenance  ;  she 
struggled  with  herself  for  a  moment,  and  continued — "  I 
have  already  acknowledged  to  you  my  esteem  ;  even  now, 
when  you  most  painfully  distress  me,  I  wish  not  to  conceal 
it.  Believe  me,  Henry  is  innocent  of  everything  but  im- 
prudence. Our  country  can  sustain  no  wrong."  Again 
she  paused,  and  almost  gasped  for  breath ;  her  color 
changed  rapidly  from  red  to  white,  until  the  blood  rushed 
into  her  face,  covering  her  features  with  the  brightest  ver- 
milion ;  and  she  added  hastily,  in  an  undertone,  "  I  have 
promised,  Dimwoodie,  when  peace  shall  be  restored  to  our 
country,  to  become  your  wife-;  give  to  my  brother  his  lib- 
erty on  parole,  and  I  will  this  day  go  with  you  to  the  altar, 
follow  you  to  the  camp,  and,  in  becoming  a  soldier's  bride, 
learn  to  endure  a  soldier's  privations." 

Dunwoodie  seized  the  hand  which  the  blushing  girl,  in 
her  ardor,  had  extended  toward  him,  and  pressed  it  for  a 


68  THE   SPY. 

moment  to  his  bosom  ;  then  rising  from  his  seat,  he  paced 
the  room  in  excessive  agitation. 

"  Frances,  say  no  more,  I  conjure  you,  unless  you  wish 
to  break  my  heart." 

"  You  then  reject  my  offered  hand  ? "  she  said,  rising 
with  dignity,  though  her  pale  cheek  and  quivering  lip 
plainly  showed  the  conflicting  passions  within. 

"  Reject  it !  Have  I  not  sought  it  with  entreaties — with 
tears  ?  Has  it  not  been  the  goal  of  all  my  earthly  wishes  ? 
But  to  take  it  under  such  conditions  would  be  to  dishonor 
both.  We  will  hope  for  better  things.  Henry  must  be 
acquitted  ;  perhaps  not  tried.  No  intercession  of  mine 
shall  be  wanting,  you  must  well  know  ;  and  believe  me, 
Frances,  I  am  not  without  favor  with  Washington." 

"  That  very  paper,  that  abuse  of  his  confidence  to  which 
you  allude,  will  steel  him  to  my  brother's  case.  If  threats 
or  entreaties  could  move  his  stern  sense  of  justice,  would 
Andre  have  suffered  ?"  As  Frances  uttered  these  words, 
she  fled  from  the  room  in  despair. 

Dunwoodie  remained  for  a  minute  nearly  stupefied  ; 
and  then  he  followed  with  a  view  to  vindicate  himself,  and 
to  relieve  her  apprehensions.  On  entering  the  hall  that 
divided  the  two  parlors,  he  was  met  by  a  small  ragged  boy, 
who  looked  one  moment  at  his  dress,  and  placing  a  piece 
of  paper  in  his  hands,  immediately  vanished  through  the 
outer  door  of  the  building.  The  bewildered  state  of  his 
mind,  and  the  suddenness  of  the  occurrence,  gave  the  major 
barely  time  to  observe  the  messenger  to  be  a  country  lad, 
meanly  attired,  and  that  he  held  in  his  hand  one  of  those 
toys  which  are  to  be  bought  in  cities,  and  which  he  now 
apparently  contemplated  with  the  conscious  pleasure  of 
having  fairly  purchased,  by  the  performance  of  the  service 
required.  The  soldier  turned  his  eyes  to  the  subject  of  the 
note.  It  was  written  on  a  piece  of  torn  and  soiled  paper, 
and  in  a  hand  barely  legible  ;  but,  after  some  little  labor, 
he  was  able  to  make  out  as  follows  : 

"  The  rig'lars  are  at  hand,  horse  and  foot."  * 

*  There  died  a  few  years  since,  in  Bedford,  Westchester,  a  yeoman  named 

Elisha  H .     This  person  was  employed  by  Washington  as  one  of  his 

most  confidential  spies.     By  the  conditions  of  their  bargain,   H was 

never  to  be  required  to  deal  with  third  parties,  since  his  risks  were  too 
imminent.  He  was  allowed  to  enter  also  into  the  service  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  ;  and  so  much  confidence  had  Washington  in  his  love  of  country 
and  discretion,  that  he  was  often  intrusted  with  the  minor  military  move- 
ments, in  order  that  he  might  enhance  his  value  with  the  English  general 


THE   SPY.  69 

Dunwoodie  started  ;  and,  forgetting  everything  but  the 
duties  of  a  soldier,  he  precipitately  left  the  house.  While 
walking  rapidly  toward  the  troops,  he  noticed  on  a  distant 
hill  a  vedette  riding  with  speed  ;  several  pistols  were  fired 
in  quick  succession  ;  and  the  next  instant  the  trumpets  of 
the  corps  rang  in  his  ears  with  the  enlivening  strain  of 
"  To  arms  !  "  By  the  time  he  had  reached  the  ground  oc- 
cupied by  his  squadron,  the  major  saw  that  every  man 
was  in  active  motion.  Lawton  was  already  in  the  saddle, 
eying  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  valley  with  the  eager- 
ness of  expectation,  and  crying  to  the  musicians,  in  tones 
but  little  lower  than  their  own  : 

by  communicating  them.  In  this  manner,  H had  continued  to  serve 

for  a  long  period,  when  chance  brought  him  into  the  city  {then  held  by  the 
British)  at  a  moment  when  an  expedition  was  about  to  quit  it,  to  go  against 
a  small  post  established  at  Bedford,  his  native  village,  where  the  Americans 
had  a  depot  of  provisions.  H easily  ascertained  the  force  and  destina- 
tion of  the  detachment  ordered  on  this  service,  but  he  was  at  a  loss  in 
what  manner  to  communicate  his  information  to  the  officer  in  command  at 
Bedford,  without  betraying  his  own  true  character  to  a  third  person. 
There  was  no  time  to  reach  Washington,  and  under  the  circumstances,  he 
finally  resolved  to  hazard  a  short  note  to  the  American  commandant, 
stating  the  danger,  and  naming  the  time  when  the  attack  might  be  ex- 
pected. To  this  note  he  even  ventured  to  affix  his  own  initials  E.  H., 
though  he  had  disguised  the  hand,  under  abelief  that,  as  he  knew  himself 
to  be  suspected  by  his  countrymen,  it  might  serve  to  give  more  weight  to 
his  warning.  His  family  being  at  Bedford,  the  note  was  transmitted  with 

facility,  and  arrived  in  good  season,  H himself  remaining  in  New 

York. 

The  American  commandant  did  what  every  sensible  officer,  in  a  similar 
case,  would  have  done.  He  sent  a  courier  with  the  note  to  Washington, 
demanding  orders,  while  he  prepared  his  little  party  to  make  the  best  de- 
fence in  his  power. 

The  headquarters  of  the  American  army  were,  at  that  time,  in  the  High- 
lands. Fortunately,  the  express  met  Washington,  on  a  tour  of  observation 
near  their  entrance.  The  note  was  given  to  him,  and  he  read  it  in  the 
saddle  ;  adding,  in  pencil,  "  Believe  all  that  E.  H.  tells  you.  George 
Washington."  He  returned  it  to  the  courier,  with  an  injunction  to  ride 
for  life  or  death. 

The  courier  reached  Bedford  after  the  British  had  made  their  attack. 
The  commandant  read  the  reply,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  The  Amer- 
icans were  defeated,  and  their  leader  killed.  The  note  of  H ,  with 

the  line  written  on  it  by  Washington,  was  found  on  his  person. 

The  following  day  H was  summoned  to  the  presence  of  Sir  Henry 

Clinton.  After  the  latter  had  put  several  general  questions,  he  suddenly 
gave  the  note  to  the  spy,  and  asked  if  he  knew  the  handwriting,  and  de- 
manding who  the  E.  H.  was.  "  It  is  Elijah  Hadden,  the  spy  you  hanged 
yesterday  at  Powles  Hook."  The  readiness  of  this  answer,  connected  with 
the  fact  that  a  spy  having  the  same  initials  had  been  executed  the  day  be- 
fore, and  the  coolness  of  H ,  saved  him.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  allowed  him 

to  quit  his  presence,  and  he  never  saw  him  afterward. 


70  THE  SPY. 

"Sound  away,  my  lads,  and  let  these  Englishmen  know 
that  the  Virginia  Horse  are  between  them  arid  the  end  of 
their  journey." 

The  vedettes  and  patrols  now  came  pouring  in,  each 
making  in  succession  his  hasty  report  to  the  commanding 
officer,  who  gave  his  orders  coolly,  and  with  a  promptitude 
that  made  obedience  certain.  Once  only,  as  he  wheeled 
his  horse  to  ride  over  the  ground  in  front,  did  Dunwoodie 
trust  himself  with  a  look  at  the  cottage,  and  his  heart  beat 
with  unusual  rapidity  as  he  saw  a  female  figure  standing, 
with  clasped  hands,  at  a  window  of  the  room  in  whicli  he 
had  met  Frances.  The  distance  was  too  great  to  distin- 
guish her  features,  but  the  soldier  could  not  doubt  that  it 
was  his  mistress.  The  paleness  of  his  cheek  and  the  lan- 
guor of  his  eye  endured  but  for  a  moment  longer.  As  lie 
rode  toward  the  intended  battle-ground  a  flush  of  ardor 
began  to  show  itself  on  his  sunburnt  features  ;  and  his 
dragoons,  who  studied  the  face  of  their  leader  as  the  best 
index  to  their  own  fate,  saw  again  the  wonted  flashing  of 
the  eyes,  and  the  cheerful  animation,  which  they  had  so 
often  witnessed  on  the  eve  of  a  battle.  By  the  additions 
of  the  vedettes  and  parties  that  had  been  out,  and  whicli 
now  had  all  joined,  the  whole  number  of  the  horse  was  in- 
creased to  nearly  two  hundred.  There  was  also  a  small 
body  of  men,  whose  ordinary  duties  were  those  of  guides, 
but  who,  in  cases  of  emergency,  were  embodied  and  did 
duty  as  foot  soldiers  ;  these  were  dismounted,  and  pro- 
ceeded, by  the  order  of  Dunwoodie,  to  level  the  few  fences 
which  might  interfere  with  the  intended  movements  of  the 
cavalry.  The  neglect  of  husbandry,  which  had  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  war,  left  this  task  comparatively  easy. 
Those  long  lines  of  heavy  and  durable  walls,  which  now 
sweep  through  every  part  of  the  county,  forty  years  ago 
were  unknown.  The  slight  and  tottering  fences  of  stone 
were  then  used  more  to  clear  the  land  for  the  purposes  of 
cultivation  than  as  permanent  barriers,  and  required  the 
constant  attention  of  the  husbandman,  to  preserve  them 
against  the  fury  of  the  tempests  and  the  frosts  of  winter. 
Some  few  of  them  had  been  built  with  more  care  imme- 
diately around  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Wharton  ;  but  those 
which  had  intersected  the  vale  below  were  now  generally 
a  pile  of  ruins,  over  which  the  horses  of  the  Virginians 
would  bound  with  the  fleetness  of  the  wind.  Occasionally 
a  short  line  yet  preserved  its  erect  appearance  ;  but  as 
none  of  these  crossed  the  ground  on  which  Dunwoodie 


THE   SPY.  71 

intended  to  act,  there  remained  only  the  slighter  fences  of 
rails  to  be  thrown  down.  Their  duty  was  hastily,  but  ef- 
fectually, performed  ;  and  the  guides  withdrew  to  the  post 
assigned  to  them  for  the  approaching  fight. 

Major  Dunwoodie  had  received  from  his  scouts  all  the 
intelligence  concerning  his  foe  which  was  necessary  to 
enable  him  to  make  his  arrangements.  The  bottom  of  the 
valley  was  an  even  plain,  that  fell  with  a  slight  inclination 
from  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  either  side,  to  the  level  of  a 
natural  meadow  that  wound  through  the  country  on  the 
banks  of  a  small  stream,  by  whose  waters  it  was  often  in- 
undated and  fertilized.  This  brook  was  easily  forded  in 
any  part  of  its  course  ;  and  the  only  impediment  it  offered 
to  the  movements  of  the  horse  was  in  a  place  where  it 
changed  its  bed  from  the  western  to  the  eastern  side  of  the 
valley,  and  where  its  banks  were  more  steep  and  difficult 
of  access  than  common.  Here  the  highway  crossed  it  ,by 
a  rough  wooden  bridge,  as  it  did  again  at  the  distance  of 
half  a  mile  above  the  Locusts. 

The  hills  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  were  abrupt, 
and  frequently  obtruded  themselves  in  rocky  prominences 
into  its  bosom,  lessening  the  width  to  half  the  usual  dimen- 
sions. One  of  these  projections  was  but  a  short  distance 
in  the  rear  of  the  squadron  of  dragoons,  and  Dunwoodie 
directed  Captain  Lawton  to  withdraw,  with  two  troops, 
behind  its  cover.  The  officer  obeyed  with  a  kind  of  surly 
reluctance,  that  was,  ho\vever,  somewhat  lessened  by  the 
anticipations  of  the  effect  his  sudden  appearance  would 
make  on  the  enemy.  Dunwoodie  knew  his  man,  and  had 
selected  the  captain  for  this  service  both  because  he  feared 
his  precipitation  in  the  field,  and  knew,  when  needed,  his 
support  would  never  fail  to  appear.  It  was  only  in  front 
of  the  enemy  that  Captain  Lawton  was  hasty  ;  at  all  other 
times  his  discernment  and  self-possession  were  consum- 
mately preserved  ;  but  he  sometimes  forgot  them  in  his 
eagerness  to  engage.  On  the  left  of  the  ground  on  which 
Dunwoodie  intended  to  meet  his  foe,  was  a  close  wood 
which  skirted  that  side  of  the  valley  for  the  distance  of  a 
mile.  Into  this,  then,  the  guides  retired  and  took  their 
station  near  its  edge,  in  such  a  manner  as  would  enable 
them  to  maintain  a  scattering  but  effectual  fire  on  the 
advancing  columns  of  the  enemy. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  all  these  preparations  were 
made  unheeded  by  the  inmates  of  the  cottage  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, every  feeling  which  can  agitate  the  human  breast,  in 


72  THE   SPY. 

witnessing  such  a  scene,  was  actively  alive.  Mr.  Wharton 
alone  saw  no  hopes  to  himself  in  the  termination  of  the 
conflict.  If  the  British  should  prevail,  his  son  would  be 
liberated  ;  but  what  then  would  be  his  own  fate  !  He  had 
hitherto  preserved  his  neutral  character  in  the  midst  of 
trying  circumstances.  The  fact  of  his  having  a  son  in  the 
royal,  or,  as  it  was  called,  the  regular  army,  had  very  nearly 
brought  his  estates  to  the  hammer.  Nothing  had  obviated 
this  result  but  the  powerful  interest  of  the  relation,  who 
held  a  high  political  rank  in  the  state,  and  his  own  vigilant 
prudence.  In  his  heart  he  was  a  devoted  loyalist  ;  and 
when  the  blushing  Frances  had  communicated  to  him  the 
wishes  of  her  lover,  on  their  return  from  the  American 
camp  the  preceding  spring,  the  consent  he  had  given  to 
her  future  union  with  a  rebel,  was  as  much  extracted  by 
the  increasing  necessity  which  existed  for  his  obtaining  re- 
publican support,  as  by  any  considerations  for  the  happi- 
ness of  his  child.  Should  his  son  now  be  rescued,  he 
would,  in  the  public  mind,  be  united  with  him  as  a  plotter 
against  the  freedom  of  the  States  ;  and  should  he  remain 
a  captive  and  undergo  the  impending  trial,  the  conse- 
quences might  be  still  more  dreadful.  Much  as  he  loved 
his  wealth,  Mr.  Wharton  loved  his  children  better ;  and  he 
sat  gazing  on  the  movements  without  with  a  listless  va- 
cancy in  his  countenance  that  fully  denoted  his  imbecility 
of  character. 

Far  different  were  the  feelings  of  the  son.  Captain 
Wharton  had  been  left  in  the  keeping  of  two  dragoons, 
one  of  whom  marched  to  and  fro  on  the  piazza  with  a 
measured  tread,  and  the  other  had  been  directed  to  con- 
tinue in  the  same  apartment  with  the  prisoner.  The  young 
man  had  witnessed  all  the  movements  of  Dunwoodie  wTith 
admiration,  mingled  with  fearful  anticipations  of  the  con- 
sequences to  his  friends.  He  particularly  disliked  the  am- 
bush of  the  detachment  under  Lawton,  who  could  be  dis- 
tinctly seen  from  the  windows  of  the  cottage,  cooling  his 
impatience  by  pacing  on  foot  the  ground  in  front  of  his 
men.  Henry  Wharton  threw  several  hasty  and  inquiring 
glances  around,  to  see  if  no  means  of  liberation  would 
offer,  but  invariably  found  the  eyes  of  his  sentinel  fixed  on 
him  with  the  watchfulness  of  an  Argus.  He  longed,  witli 
the  ardor  of  youth,  to  join  in  the  glorious  fray,  but  was 
compelled  to  remain  a  dissatisfied  spectator  of  a  scene  in 
which  he  would  so  cheerfully  have  been  an  actor.  Miss 
Peyton  and  Sarah  continued  gazing  on  the  preparations 


THE   SPY. 


73 


with  varied  emotions,  in  which  concern  for  the  fate  of  the 
captain  formed  the  most  prominent  feeling,  until  the 
moment  the  shedding  of  blood  seemed  approaching,  when, 
with  the  timidity  of  their  sex,  they  sought  the  retirement 
of  an  inner  room.  Not  so  Frances  ;  she  returned  to  tlie 
apartment  where  she  had  left  Dunwoodie,  and,  from  one  of 
its  windows,  had  been  a  deeply  interested  spectator  of  all 
his  movements.  The  wheelings  of  the  troops,  the  deadly 
preparations,  had  all  been  unnoticed  ;  she  saw  her  lover 
only,  and  with  mingled  emotions  of  admiration  and  dread 
that  nearly  chilled  her.  At  one  moment  the  blood  rushed 
to  her  heart,  as  she  saw  the  young  warrior  riding  through 
his  ranks,  giving  life  and  courage  to  all  whom  he  addressed  ; 
and  the  next,  it  curdled  with  the  thought  that  the  very 
gallantry  she  so  much  valued  might  prove  the  means  of 
placing  the  grave  between  her  and  the  object  of  her  regard. 
Frances  gazed  until  she  could  look  no  longer. 

In  a  field  on  the  left  of  the  cottage,  and  at  a  short  dis- 
tance in  the  rear  of  the  troops,  was  a  small  group,  whose 
occupation  seemed'to  differ  from  that  of  all  around  them. 
They  were  in  number  only  three,  being  two  men  and  a 
mulatto  boy.  The  principal  personage  of  this  party  was  a 
man  whose  leanness  made  his  really  tall  stature  appear  ex- 
cessive. He  wore  spectacles — was  unarmed,  had  dis- 
mounted, and  seemed  to  be  dividing  his  attention  between 
a  cigar,  a  book,  and  the  incidents  of  the  field  before  him. 
To  this  party  Frances  determined  to  send  a  note,  directed 
to  Dunwoodie.  She  wrote  hastily,  with  a  pencil,  "  Come 
to  me,  Peyton,  if  it  be  but  for  a  moment"  and  Caesar  emerged 
from  the  cellar-kitchen,  taking  the  precaution  to  go  by  the 
rear  of  the  building,  to  avoid  the  sentinel  on  the  piazza, 
who  had  very  cavalierly  ordered  all  the  family  to  remain 
housed.  The  black  delivered  the  note  to  the  gentleman, 
with  a  request  that  it  might  be  forwarded  to  Major  Dun- 
woodie. It  was  the  surgeon  of  the  horse  to  whom  Caesar 
addressed  himself  ;  and  the  teeth  of  the  African  chattered 
as  he  saw  displayed  upon  the  ground  the  several  instru- 
ments which  were  in  preparation  for  the  anticipated  op- 
erations. The  doctor  himself  seemed  to  view  the  arrange- 
ment with  great  satisfaction,  as  he  deliberately  raised  his 
eyes  from  his  book  to  order  the  boy  to  convey  the  note  to 
his  commanding  officer,  and  then  dropping  them  quietly 
on  the  page,  he  continued  his  occupation.  Caesar  was 
slowly  retiring,  as  the  third  personage,  who  by  his  dress 
might  be  an  inferior  assistant  of  the  surgical  department, 


s 

74  THE   57*  r. 

coolly  inquired,  "  if  he  would  have  a  leg  taken  off  ?  "  This 
question  seemed  to  remind  the  black  of  the  existence  of 
those  limbs  ;  for  he  made  such  use  of  them  as  to  reach  the 
piazza  at  the  same  instant  that  Major  Dunwoodie  rode  up, 
at  half-speed.  The  brawny  sentinel  squared  himself,  and 
poised  his  sword  with  military  precision,  as  he  stood  on 
his  post  while  his  officer  passed  ;  but  no  sooner  had  the 
door  closed  than,  turning  to  the  negro,  he  said,  sharply  : 

"  Harkee,  blackey,  if  you  quit  the  house  again  without 
my  knowledge,  I  shall  turn  barber,  and  shave  off  one  of 
those  ebony  ears  with  this  razor." 

Thus  assailed  in  another  member,  Caesar  hastily  retreated 
into  his  kitchen,  muttering  something  in  which  the  words 
"  Skinner,  and  rebel  rascal,"  formed  a  principal  part  of  his 
speech. 

"  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  Frances  to  her  lover  as  he 
entered,  "  I  may  have  done  you  injustice  ;  if  I  have  ap- 
peared harsh " 

The  emotions  of  the  agitated  girl  prevailed,  and  she 
burst,  into  tears. 

"  Frances,"  cried  the  soldier,  with  warmth,  "  you  are 
never  harsh,  never  unjust,  but  when  you  doubt  my  love." 

"Ah!  Dunwoodie,"  added  the  sobbing  girl,  "you  are 
about  to  risk  your  life  in  battle  ;  remember  that  there  is 
one  heart  whose  happiness  is  built  on  your  safety  ;  brave 
I  know  you  are  ;  be  prudent " 

"  For  your  sake  ?"  inquired  the  delighted  youth. 

"  For  my  sake,"  replied  Frances,  in  a  voice  barely  audi- 
ble, and  dropping  on  his  bosom. 

Dunwoodie  folded  her  to  his  heart,  and  was  about  to 
speak,  as  a  trumpet  sounded  in  the  southern  end  of  the 
vale.  Imprinting  one  long  kiss  of  affection  on  her  unre- 
sisting lips,  the  soldier  tore  himself  from  his  mistress  and 
hastened  to  the  scene  of  strife. 

Frances  threw  herself  on  a  sofa,  buried  her  head  under 
its  cushion,  and  with  her  shawl  drawn  over  her  face,  to 
exclude  as  much  of  sound  as  possible,  continued  there 
until  the  shouts  of  the  combatants,  the  rattling  of  the 
firearms,  and  the  thundering  tread  of  the  horses  had 
ceased. 


THE  SPY.  75 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  game's  afoot  j 

Follow  your  spirit. — Shakespeare. 

THE  rough  and  unimproved  face  of  the  country,  the  fre- 
quency of  covers,  together  with  the  great  distance  from 
their  own  country,  and  the  facilities  afforded  them  for 
rapid  movements  to  the  diiferent  points  of  the  war  by  the 
undisputed  command  of  the  ocean,  had  united  to  deter 
the  English  from  employing  a  heavy  force  in  cavalry,  in 
their  early  efforts  to  subdue  the  revolted  colonies. 

Only  one  regiment  of  regular  horse  was  sent  from  the 
mother-country  during  the  struggle.  But  legions  and 
independent  corps  were  formed  in  different  places,  as  it 
best  accorded  with  the  views  of  the  royal  commanders,  or 
suited  the  exigency  of  the  times.  These  were  not  infre- 
quently composed  of  men  raised  in  the  colonies,  and  at 
other  times  drafts  were  had  from  the  regiments  of  the 
line,  and  the  soldier  was  made  to  lay  aside  the  musket 
and  bayonet,  and  taught  to  wield  the  sabre  and  carbine. 
One  particular  body  of  the  subsidiary  troops  was  included 
in  this  arrangement,  and  the  Hessian  yagers  were  trans- 
formed into  a  corps  of  heavy  and  inactive  horse. 

Opposed  to  them  were  the  hardiest  spirits  of  America. 
Most  of  the  cavalry  regiments  of  the  continental  army 
were  led  and  officered  by  gentlemen  from  the  south.  The 
high  and  haughty  courage  of  the  commanders  had  com- 
municated itself  to  the  privates,  who  were  men  selected 
with  care  and  great  attention  to  the  service  they  were  in- 
tended to  perform. 

While  the  British  were  confined  to  their  empty  con- 
quests in  the  possession  of  a  few  of  the  larger  towns,  or 
marched  through  counties  that  were  swept  of  everything 
like  military  supplies,  the  light  troops  of  their  enemies 
had  the  range  of  the  whole  interior. 

The  sufferings  of  the  line  of  the  American  army  were 
great  beyond  example  ;  but  possessing  the  power,  and 
feeling  themselves  engaged  in  a  cause  which  justified 
severity,  the  cavalry  officers  were  vigilant  in  providing  for 
their  wants,  and  the  horse  were  well  mounted,  well  fed, 
and  consequently  eminently  effective.  Perhaps  the  world 
could  not  furnish  more  brave,  enterprising,  and  resistlesi 


76  THE   SPY. 

corps  of  light  cavalry  than  a  few  that  were  in  the  conti- 
nental service  at  the  time  of  which  we  write. 

Dunwoodie's  men  had  often  tried  their  prowess  against 
the  enemy,  and  they  now  sat  panting  to  be  led  once  more 
against  foes  who  they  seldom  charged  in  vain.  Their 
wishes  were  soon  to  be  gratified  ;  for  their  commander 
had  scarcely  time  to  regain  his  seat  in  the  saddle,  before 
a  body  of  the  enemy  came  sweeping  round  the  base  of 
the  hill  which  intersected  the  view  to  the  south.  A  few 
minutes  enabled  the  major  to  distinguish  their  character. 
In  one  troop  he  saw  the  green  coats  of  the  Cow-boys,  and 
in  the  other  the  leathern  helmets  and  wooden  saddles  of 
the  yagers.  Their  numbers  were  about  equal  to  the  body 
under  his  immediate  orders. 

On  reaching  the  open  space  near  the  cottage  of  Harvey 
Birch,  the  enemy  halted  and  drew  up  his  men  in  line, 
evidently  making  preparations  for  a  charge.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  column  of  foot  appeared  in  the  vale,  and  pressed 
forward  to  the  bank  of  the  brook  we  have  already  men- 
tioned. 

Major  Dunwoodie  was  not  less  distinguished  by  cool- 
ness and  judgment  than,  where  occasion  offered,  by  his 
dauntless  intrepidity.  He  at  once  saw  his  advantage,  and 
determined  to  profit  by  it.  The  column  he  led  began 
slowly  to  retire  from  the  field,  when  the  youthful  German, 
who  commanded  the  enemy's  horse,  fearful  of  missing  an 
easy  conquest,  gave  the  word  to  charge.  Few  troopers 
were  more  hardy  than  the  Cow-boys  ;  they  sprang  eagerly 
forward  in  the  pursuit,  with  a  confidence  created  by  the 
retiring  foe  and  the  column  in  their  rear  ;  the  Hessians 
followed  more  slowly,  but  in  better  order.  The  trumpets 
of  the  Virginians  now  sounded  long  and  lively  ;  they  were 
answered  by  a  strain  from  the  party  in  ambush  that  went 
to  the  hearts  of  their  enemies.  The  column  of  Dunwoodie 
wheeled  in  perfect  order,  opened,  and,  as  the  word  charge 
was  given,  the  troops  of  Lavvton  emerged  from  their  cover, 
with  their  leader  in  advance,  waving  his  sabre  over  his 
head  and  shouting,  in  a  voice  that  was  heard  above  the 
clangor  of  the  martial  music. 

The  charge  threatened  too  much  for  the  refugee  troop. 
They  scattered  in  every  direction,  flying  from  the  field  as 
fast  as  their  horses,  the  chosen  beasts  of  Westchestcr, 
could  carry  them.  Only  a  few  were  hurt ;  but  such  as  did 
meet  the  arms  of  their  avenging  countrymen  never  sur- 
vived the  blow  to  tell  who  struck  it.  It  was  upon  the 


THE  SPY.  77 

poor  vassals  of  the  German  tyrant  that  the  shock  fell. 
Disciplined  to  the  most  exact  obedience,  these  ill-fated 
men  met  the  charge  bravely,  but  they  were  swept  before 
the  mettled  horses  and  nervous  arms  of  their  antagonists 
like  chaff  before  the  wind.  Many  of  them  were  literally 
ridden  down,  and  Dunwoodie  soon  saw  the  field  without 
an  opposing  foe.  The  proximity  of  the  infantry  prevented 
pursuit,  and  behind  its  column  the  few  Hessians  who  es- 
caped unhurt  sought  protection. 

The  more  cunning  refugees  dispersed  in  small  bands, 
taking  various  and  devious  routes  back  to  their  old  station 
in  front  of  Harlem.  Many  were  the  sufferers  in  cattle, 
furniture,  and  person,  that  were  created  by  this  rout  ;  for 
the  dispersion  of  a  troop  of  Cow-boys  was  only  the  exten- 
sion of  an  evil. 

Such  a  scene  could  not  be  expected  to  be  acted  so  near 
them,  and  the  inmates  of  the  cottage  take  no  interest  in  the 
result.  In  truth,  the  feelings  it  excited  pervaded  every 
bosom,  from  the  kitchen  to  the  parlor.  Terror  and  horror 
had  prevented  the  ladies  from  being  spectators,  but  they 
did  not  feel  the  less.  Frances  continued  lying  in  the  pos- 
ture we  have  mentioned,  offering  up  fervent  and  incoher- 
ent petitions  for  the  safety  of  her  countrymen,  although 
in  her  inmost  heart  she  had  personified  her  nation  by  the 
graceful  image  of  Peyton  Dunwoodie.  Her  aunt  and  sis- 
ter were  less  exclusive  in  their  devotions  ;  but  Sarah  be- 
gan to  feel,  as  the  horrors  of  war  were  thus  brought  home 
to  her  senses,  less  pleasure  in  her  anticipated  triumphs. 

The  inmates  of  Mr.  Wharton's  kitchen  were  four — 
namely,  Caesar  and  his  spouse,  their  granddaughter,  a  jet- 
black  damsel  of  twenty,  and  the  boy  before  alluded  to. 
The  blacks- were  the  remnants  of  a  race  of  negroes  which 
had  been  entailed  on  his  estate  from  Mr.  Wharton's  ma- 
ternal ancestors,  who  were  descended  from  the  early  Dutch 
colonists.  Time,  depravity,  and  death  had  reduced  them 
to  this  small  number  ;  and  the  boy,  who  was  white,  had 
been  added  by  Miss  Peyton  to  the  establishment,  as  an  as- 
sistant, to  perform  the  ordinary  services  of  a  footman. 
Caesar,  after  first  using  the  precaution  to  place  himself 
under  the  cover  of  an  angle  in  the  wall,  for  a  screen 
against  any  roving  bullet  which  might  be  traversing  the 
air,  became  an  amused  spectator  of  the  skirmish.  The 
sentinel  on  the  piazza  was  at  the  distance  of  but  a  few  feet 
from  him,  and  he  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  chase  with 
all  the  ardor  of  a  tried  bloodhound  ;  he  noticed  the  ap- 


78  THE   SPY. 

proach  of  the  black,  and  his  judicious  position,  with  a 
smile  of  contempt,  as  he  squared  himself  toward  the 
enemy,  offering  his  unprotected  breast  to  any  dangers 
which  might  come. 

After  considering  the  arrangement  of  Caesar  for  a  mo- 
ment, with  ineffable  disdain,  the  dragoon  said,  with  great 
coolness  : 

*'  You  seem  very  careful  of  that  beautiful  person  of 
yours,  Mr.  Blueskin." 

"  A  bullet  hurt  a  colored  man  as  much  as  a  white,"  mut- 
tered the  black,  surlily,  casting  a  glance  of  much  satisfac- 
tion at  his  rampart. 

"  Suppose  I  make  the  experiment,"  returned  the  senti- 
nel ;  as  he  spoke  he  deliberately  drew  a  pistol  from  his 
belt  and  levelled  it  at  the  black.  Caesar's  teeth  chattered 
at  the  appearance  of  the  dragoon,  although  he  believed 
nothing  serious  was  intended.  At  this  moment  the  column 
of  Dunvvoodie  began  to  retire,  and  the  royal  cavalry  com- 
menced their  charge. 

"  There,  Mister  Light-Horseman,"  said  Caesar,  eagerly, 
who  believed  the  Americans  were  retiring  in  earnest ; 
'*  why  you  rebels  don't  fight — see — see  how  King  George's 
men  make  Major  Dunwoodie  run  !  Good  gentleman,  too, 
but  he  don't  like  to  fight  a  rig'lar." 

"Damn  your  regulars,"  cried  the  other,  fiercely  ;  "wait 
a  minute,  blackey,  and  you'll  see  Captain  Jack  Lavvton 
come  out  from  behind  yonder  hill,  and  scatter  these  Cow- 
boys like  wild  geese  who've  lost  their  leader." 

Caesar  supposed  the  party  under  Lawton  to  have  sought 
the  shelter  of  the  hill  from  motives  similar  to  that  which 
had  induced  him  to  place  the  wall  between  himself  and  the 
battle-ground  ;  but  the  fact  soon  verified  the  trooper's  pro- 
phecy, and  the  black  witnessed  with  consternation  the 
total  rout  of  the  royal  horse. 

The  sentinel  manifested  his  exultation  at  the  success  of 
his  comrades  with  loud  shouts,  which  soon  brought  his 
companion,  who  had  been  left  in  the  more  immediate 
charge  of  Henry  Wharton,  to  the  open  window  of  the  par- 
lor. 

"  See,  Tom,  see,"  cried  the  delighted  trooper,  "  how 
Captain  Lavvton  makes  that  Hessian's  leather  cap  fly  ;  and 
now  the  major  has  killed  the  officer's  horse — zounds,  why 
didn't  he  kill  the  Dutchman,  and  save  the  horse  ?" 

A  few  pistols  were  discharged  at  the  flying  Cow-boys, 
an/,  a  spent  bullet  broke  a  pane  of  glass  within  a  few  feet 


THE   SPY.  79 

of  Caesar.  Imitating  the  posture  of  the  great  tempter  of 
our  race,  the  black  sought  the  protection  of  the  inside  of 
the  building,  and  immediately  ascended  to  the  parlor. 

The  lawn  in  front  of  the  Locusts  was  hidden  from  the 
view  of  the  road  by  a  close  line  of  shrubbery,  and  the 
horses  of  the  two  dragoons  had  been  left,  linked  together, 
under  its  shelter  to  await  the  movements  of  their  masters. 

At  this  moment  two  Cow-boys,  who  had  been  cut  off  from 
a  retreat  to  their  own  party,  rode  furiously  through  the 
gate,  with  an  intention  of  escaping  to  the  open  wood  in  the 
rear  of  the  cottage. 

The  victorious  Americans  pressed  the  retreating  Ger- 
mans until  they  had  driven  them  under  the  protection  of  the 
fire  of  the  infantry  ;  and  feeling  themselves,  in  the  privacy 
of  the  lawn,  relieved  from  any  immediate  danger,  the  pred- 
atory warriors  yielded  to  a  temptation  that  few  of  the  corps 
were  ever  known  to  resist — opportunity  and  horseflesh. 
With  a  hardihood  and  presence  of  mind  that  could  only 
exist  from  long  practice  in  similar  scenes,  they  made  to- 
ward their  intended  prizes,  by  an  almost  spontaneous 
movement.  They  were  busily  engaged  in  separating  the 
fastenings  of  the  horses,  when  the  trooper  on  the  piazza 
discharged  his  pistols,  and  rushed,  sword  in  hand,  to  the 
rescue. 

The  entrance  of  Caesar  into  the  parlor  had  induced  the 
wary  dragoon  within  to  turn  his  attention  more  closely  on 
his  prisoner ;  but  this  new  interruption  drew  him  again  to 
the  window.  He  threw  his  body  out  of  the  building,  and 
with  dreadful  imprecations  endeavored  by  his  threats  and 
appearance' to  frighten  the  marauders  from  their  prey. 
The  moment  was  enticing.  Three  hundred  of  his  comrades 
were  within  a  mile  of  the  cottage;  unridden  horses  were 
running  at  large  in  every  direction,  and  Henry  Wharton 
seized  the  unconscious  sentinel  by  the  legs,  and  threw  him 
headlong  into  the  lawn.  Caesar  vanished  from  the  room, 
and  drew  a  bolt  of  the  outer  door. 

The  fall  of  the  soldier  was  not  great,  and  recovering  his 
feet,  he  turned  his  fury  for  a  moment  on  his  prisoner.  To 
scale  the  window 'in  the  face  of  such  an  enemy,  was,  how- 
ever, impossible,  and  on  trial  he  found  the  main  entrance 
barred. 

His  comrade  now  called  loudly  on  him  for  aid,  and  for- 
getful of  everything  else,  the  discomfited  trooper  rushed  to 
his  assistance.  One  horse  was  instantly  liberated,  but  the 
other  was  already  fastened  to  the  saddle  of  a  Cow-boy,  and 


8o  THE   SPY. 

the  four  retired  behind  the  building,  cutting1  furiously  at 
each  other  with  their  sabres,  and  making  the  air  resound 
with  their  imprecations.  Caesar  threw  the  outer  door  open, 
and  pointing  to  the  remaining  horse,  that  was  quietly  bit- 
ing the  faded  herbage  of  the  lawn,  he  exclaimed : 

"Run — now — run — Massa  Harry,  run." 

"Yes,"  cried  the  youth,  as  he  vaulted  into  the  saddle, 
"now,  indeed,  my  honest  fellow,  is  the  time  to  run."  He 
beckoned  hastily  to  his  father,  who  stood  at  the  window  in 
speechless  anxiety,  with  his  hands  extended  toward  his 
child  in  the  attitude  of  benediction,  and  adding,  "God 
bless  you,  Caesar,  salute  the  girls,"  he  dashed  through  the 
gate  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 

The  African  watched  him  with  anxiety  as  he  gained  the 
highway,  saw  him  incline  to  the  right,  and  riding  furiously 
under  the  brow  of  some  rocks,  which  on  that  side  rose  per- 
pendicularly, disappear  behind  a  projection,  which  soon 
hid  him  from  view. 

The  delighted  Caesar  closed  the  door,  pushing  bolt  af- 
ter bolt,  and  turning  the  key  until  it  would  turn  no  more, 
soliloquizing  the  whole  time  on  the  happy  escape  of  his 
young  master. 

"  How  well  he  ride — teach  him  a  good  deal  myself — sa- 
lute a  young  lady — Miss  Fanny  wouldn't  let  old  colored 
man  kiss  a  red  cheek." 

When  the  fortune  of  the  day  was  decided,  and  the  time 
arrived  for  the  burial  of  the  dead,  two  Cow-boys  and  a 
Virginian  were  found  in  the  rear  of  the  Locusts,  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  number. 

Happily  for  Henry  Wharton,  the  searching  eyes  of  his 
captor  were  examining,  through  a  pocket-glass,  the  column 
of  infantry  that  still  held  its  position  on  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  while  the  remnants  of  the  Hessian  yagers  were 
seeking  its  friendly  protection.  His  horse  was  of  the  best 
blood  of  Virginia,  and  carried  him  with  the  swiftness  of 
the  wind  along  the  valley  ;  and  the  heart  of  the  youth  was 
already  beating  tumultuously  with  pleasure  at  his  deliver- 
ance, when  a  well-known  voice  reached  his  startled  ear, 
crying  aloud  : 

"  Bravely  done,  captain  !  Don't  spare  the  whip,  and 
turn  to  your  left  before  you  cross  the  brook." 

Wharton  turned  his  head  in  surprise,  and  saw,  sitting  on 
the  point  of  a  jutting  rock  that  commanded  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  valley,  his  former  guide,  Harvey  Birch.  His 
pack,  much  diminished  in  size,  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  ped- 


THE   SPY.  8 1 

dler,  who  waved  his  hat  to  the  youth,  exultingly,  as  the 
latter  flew  by  him.  The  English  captain  took  the  advice 
of  the  mysterious  being,  and  finding  a  good  road  which 
led  to  the  highway  that  intersected  the  valley,  turned  down 
its  direction,  and  was  soon  opposite  to  his  friends.  The 
next  minute  he  crossed  the  bridge  and  stopped  his 
charger  before  his  old  acquaintance,  Colonel  Well  mere. 

"  Captain  Wharton  !  "  exclaimed  the  astonished  com- 
mander of  the  English  troops,  "  dressed  in  mohair,  and 
mounted  on  a  rebel  dragoon  horse  !  Are  you  from  the 
clouds  in  this  attire,  and  in  such  a  style  ? " 

"  Thank  God  !  "  cried  the  youth,  recovering  his  breath, 
"  I  am  safe,  and  have  escaped  from  the  hands  of  my  ene- 
mies ;  but  five  minutes  since  and  I  was  a  prisoner,  and 
threatened  with  the  gallows." 

"The  gallows,  Captain  Wharton!  Surely  those  traitors 
to  the  king  would  never  dare  to  commit  another  murder 
in  cold  blood  ;  is  it  not  enough  that  they  took  the  life  of 
Andre  ?  Wherefore  did  they  threaten  you  with  a  similar 
fate  ? " 

"  Under  the  pretence  of  a  similar  offence,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, briefly  explaining  the  manner  of  his  capture,  the 
grounds  of  his  personal  apprehensions,  and  the  method  of 
his  escape.  By  the  time  he  had  concluded  his  narration, 
the  fugitive  Germans  were  collected  in  the  rear  of  the  col- 
umn of  infantry,  and  Colonel  Wellmere  cried  aloud  : 

"  From  my  soul  I  congratulate  you,  my  brave  friend  ; 
mercy  is  a  quality  with  which  these  traitors  are  unac- 
quainted, and  you  are  doubly  fortunate  in  escaping  from 
their  hands  uninjured.  Prepare  yourself  to  grant  me  your 
assistance,  and  I  will  soon  afford  you  a  noble  revenge." 

"  I  do  not  think  there  was  danger  of  personal  outrage  to 
any  man,  Colonel  Wellmere,  from  a  party  that  Major  Dun- 
woodie  commands,"  returned  young  Wharton,  with  a 
slight  glow  on  his  face  ;  "his  character  is  above  the  impu- 
tation of  such  an  offence  ;  neither  do  I  think  it  altogether 
prudent  to  cross  this  brook  into  the  open  plain,  in  the  face 
of  those  Virginian  Horse,  flushed  as  they  must  be  with  the 
success  they  have  just  obtained." 

"  Do  you  call  the  rout  of  those  irregulars  and  these  slug- 
gish Hessians  a  deed  to  boast  of?"  said  the  other,  with  a 
contemptuous  smile;  "you  speak  of  the  affair,  Captain 
Wharton,  as  if  your  boasted  Mr.  Dunwoodie,  for  major  he 
is  none,  had  discomfited  the  body-guards  of  your  king." 

"  And  I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  Colonel  Wellmere,  that 
6 


82  THE  SPY. 

if  the  body-guards  of  my  king  were  in  yon  field,  they  would 
meet  a  foe  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  despise.  Sir,  my 
boasted  Mr.  Dunwoodie  is  the  pride  of  Washington's  army 
as  a  cavalry  officer,"  cried  Henry,  with  warmth. 

"  Dunwoodie — Dunwoodie!"  repeated  the  colonel, 
slowly  ;  "surely  I  have  met  the  gentleman  before." 

"  I  have  been  told  you  once  saw  him  for  a  moment  at  the 
town  residence  of  my  sisters,"  replied  Wharton,  with  a 
lurking  smile. 

"Ah!  I  do  remember  me  of  such  a  youth  ;  and  does 
the  most  potent  congress  of  these  rebellious  colonies  in- 
trust their  soldiers  to  the  leading  of  such  a  warrior  ?" 

"Ask  the  commander  of  yon  Hessian  horse,  whether  he 
thinks  Major  Dunwoodie  worthy  of  the  confidence." 

Colonel  Wellmere  was  far  from  wanting  that  pride  which 
makes  a  man  bear  himself  bravely  in  the  presence  of  his 
enemies.  He  had  served  in  America  a  long  time,  without 
ever  meeting  with  any  but  new-raised  levies,  or  the  militia 
of  the  country.  These  would  sometimes  fight,  and  that 
fearlessly,  but  they  as  often  chose  to  run  away  without 
pulling  a  trigger.  He  was  too  apt  to  judge  from  exter- 
nals, and  thought  it  impossible  for  men  whose  gaiters  were 
so  clean,  whose  tread  so  regular,  and  who  wheeled  with  so 
much  accuracy,  to  be  beaten.  In  addition  to  all  these, 
they  were  Englishmen,  and  their  success  was  certain. 
Colonel  Wellmere  had  never  been  kept  much  in  the  field, 
or  these  notions,  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
home,  and  which  had  been  greatly  increased  by  the  vapor- 
ings  of  a  garrisoned  town,  would  have  long  since  vanished. 
He  listened  to  the  warm  reply  of  Captain  Wharton  with  a 
supercilious  smile,  and  then  inquired  : 

"  You  would  not  have  us  retire,  sir,  before  these  boasted 
horsemen,  without  doing  something  that  may  deprive  them 
of  part  of  the  glory  which  you  appear  to  think  they  have 
gained  ? " 

"I  would  have  you  advised,  Colonel  Wellmere,  of  the 
danger  you  are  about  to  encounter." 

"Danger  is  but  an  unseemly  word  for  a  soldier,"  con- 
tinued the  British  commander,  with  a  sneer. 

"  And  one  as  little  dreaded  by  the  6oth  as  any  corps  who 
wear  the  royal  livery,"  cried  Henry  Wharton,  fiercely  ; 
"give  but  the  word  to  charge,  and  let  our  actions  speak." 

"Now  again  I  know  my  young  friend,"  said  Wellmere, 
soothingly  ;  "  but  if  you  have  anything  to  say  before  we 
fight,  that  can  in  any  manner  help  us  in  our  attack,  we'll 


THE   SPY.  83 

listen.  You  know  the  force  of  the  rebels  :  are  there  more 
of  them  in  ambush  ? " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  youth,  chafing  still  with  the  other's 
sneers,  "in  the  skirt  of  this  wood  on  our  right  are  a  small 
party  of  foot  ;  their  horse  are  all  before  you." 

u  Where  they  will  not  continue  long,"  cried  Wellmere, 
turning  to  the  new  officers  around  him.  "  Gentlemen,  we 
will  cross  the  stream  in  column,  and  display  on  the  plain 
beyond,  or  else  we  shall  not  be  able  to  entice  these  valiant 
Yankees  within  the  reach  of  our  muskets.  Captain  Whar- 
ton,  I  claim  your  assistance  as  an  aid-de-camp." 

The  youth  shook  his  head  in  disapprobation  of  a  move; 
ment  which  his  good  sense  taught  him  was  rash,  but  pre- 
pared with  alacrity  to  perform  his  duty  in  the  impending 
trial. 

During  this  conversation,  which  was  held  at  a  small  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  the  British  column,  and  in  full  view 
of  the  Americans,  Dunwoodie  had  been  collecting  his  scat- 
tered troops,  securing  his  few  prisoners,  and  retiring  to  the 
ground  where  he  had  been  posted  at  the  first  appearance 
of  his  enemy.  Satisfied  with  the  success  he  had  already 
obtained,  and  believing  the  English  too  wary  to  give  him 
an  opportunity  of  harassing  them  farther,  he  was  about  to 
withdraw  the  guides,  and,  leaving  a  strong  party  on  the 
ground  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  regulars,  to  fall 
back  a  few  miles,  to  a  favorable  place  for  taking  up  his 
quarters  for  the  night.  Captain  Lawton  was  reluctantly 
listening  to -the  reasoning  of  his  commander,  and  had 
brought  out  his  favorite  glass  to  see  if  no  opening  could 
be  found  for  an  advantageous  attack,  when  he  suddenly 
exclaimed  : 

"  How's  this  ?  a  blue  coat  among  those  scarlet  gentry  ! 
As  I  hope  to  live  to  see  old  Virginia,  it  is  my  masquerading 
friend  of  the  6oth,  the  handsome  Captain  Wharton,  escaped 
from  two  of  my  best  men  !  " 

He  had  not  done  speaking  when  the  survivor  of  these 
heroes  joined  his  troop,  bringing  with  him  his  own  horse 
and  those  of  the  Cow-boys  ;  he  reported  the  death  of  his 
comrade  and  the  escape  of  his  prisoner.  As  the  deceased 
was  the  immediate  sentinel  over  the  person  of  young  Whar- 
ton, and  the  other  was  not  to  be  blamed  for  defending  the 
horses,  which  were  more  particularly  under  his  care,  his 
captain  heard  him  with  uneasiness,  but  without  anger. 

This  intelligence  made  an  entire  change  in  the  views  of 
Major  Dunwoodie.  He  saw  at  once  that  his  own  reputa- 


84  THE   SPY. 

tion  was  involved  in  the  escape  of  his  prisoner.  The  order 
to  recall  the  guides  was  countermanded,  and  he  now  joined 
his  second  in  command,  watching,  as  eagerly  as  the  impetu- 
ous Lawton  himself,  for  some  opening  to  assail  his  foe  to 
advantage. 

But  two  hours  before,  and  Dunwoodie  had  felt  the  chance 
which  made  Henry  Wharton  his  captive,  as  the  severest 
blow  he  had  ever  sustained.  Now  he  panted  for  an  oppor- 
tunity in  which,  by  risking  his  own  life,  he  might  recapture 
his  friend.  All  other  considerations  were  lost  in  the  goad- 
ings  of  a  wounded  spirit,  and  he  might  have  soon  emulated 
Lawton  in  hardihood,  had  not  Wellmere  and  his  troops  at 
this  moment  crossed  the  brook  into  the  open  plain. 

"  There,"  cried  the  delighted  captain,  as  he  pointed  out 
the  movement  with  his  finger,  "  there  comes  John  Bull 
into  the  mouse-trap,  and  with  eyes  wide  open." 

"  Surely,"  said  Dunwoodie,  eagerly,  "  he  will  not  display 
his  column  in  that  flat.  Wharton  must  tell  him  of  the 
ambush.  But  if  he  does " 

"  We  will  not  leave  him  a  dozen  sound  skins  in  his  bat- 
talion," interrupted  the  other,  springing  into  his  saddle. 

The  truth  was  soon  apparent  ;  for  the  English  column, 
after  advancing  for  a  short  distance  on  the  level  land,  dis- 
played with  an  accuracy  that  would  have  done  them  honor 
on  a  field-day  in  their  own  Hyde  Park. 

"  Prepare  to  mount — mount  !  "  cried  Dunwoodie  ;  the 
last  word  being  repeated  by  Lawton  in  a  tone  that  rang  in 
the  ears  of  Caesar,  who  stood  at  the  open  window  of  the 
cottage.  The  black  recoiled  in  dismay,  having  lost  all  his 
confidence  in  Captain  Lawton's  timidity  ;  for  he  thought 
he  yet  saw  him  emerging  from  his  cover  and  waving  his 
sword  on  high. 

As  the  British  line  advanced  slowly  and  in  exact  order, 
the  guides  opened  a  galling  fire.  It  began  to  annoy  that 
part  of  the  royal  troops  which  was  nearest  to  them.  Well- 
mere  listened  to  the  advice  of  the  veteran  who  was  next  to 
him  in  rank,  and  ordered  two  companies  to  dislodge  the 
American  foot  from  their  hiding-place.  The  movement 
created  a  slight  confusion,  and  Dunwoodie  seized  the  op- 
portunity to  charge.  No  ground  could  be  more  favorable 
for  the  manoeuvres  of  horse,  and  the  attack  of  the  Virgin- 
ians was  irresistible.  It  was  aimed  chiefly  at  the  bank  op- 
posite to  the  wood,  in  order  to  clear  the  Americans  from 
the  fire  of  their  friends  who  were  concealed,  and  it  was 
completely  successful.  Wellmere,  who  was  on  the  left  of 


THE   SPY.  85 

his  line,  was  overthrown  by  the  impetuous  fury  of  his  as- 
sailants. Dunwoodie  was  in  time  to  save  him  from  the 
impending  blow  of  one  of  his  men,  and  raised  him  from 
the  ground,  had  him  placed  on  a  horse,  and  delivered  to 
the  custody  of  his  orderly.  The  officer  who  had  suggested 
the  attack  upon  the  guides  had  been  intrusted  with  its  exe- 
cution, but  the  menace  was  sufficient  for  these  irregulars. 
In  fact,  their  duty  was  performed,  and  they  retired  along 
the  skirt  of  the  wood,  with  intent  to  regain  their  horses, 
which  had  been  left  under  a  guide  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
valley. 

The  left  of  the  British  line  was  outflanked  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, who  doubled  in  their  rear,  and  thus  made  the  rout 
in  that  quarter  total.  But  the  second  in  command,  per- 
ceiving how  the  battle  went,  promptly  wheeled  his  party, 
and  threw  in  a  heavy  fire  on  the  dragoons,  as  they  passed 
him  to  the  charge  ;  with  this  party  was  Henry  Wharton, 
who  had  volunteered  to  assist  in  dispersing  the  guides  ;  a 
ball  struck  his  bridle-arm,  and  compelled  him  to  change 
hands.  As  the  dragoons  dashed  by  them,  rending  the  air 
with  their  shouts,  and  with  trumpets  sounding  a  lively 
strain,  the  charger  ridden  by  the  youth  became  ungovern- 
able— he  plunged,  reared,  and  his  rider  being  unable,  with 
his  wounded  arm,  to  manage  the  impatient  animal,  Henry 
Wharton  found  himself,  in  less  than  a  minute,  unwillingly 
riding  by  the  side  of  Captain  Lawton.  The  dragoon  com- 
prehended at  a  glance  the  ludicrous  situation  of  his  new 
comrade,  but  had  only  time  to  cry  aloud,  before  they 
plunged  into  the  English  line  : 

"  The  horse  knows  the  righteous  cause  better  than  his 
rider.  Captain  Wharton,  you  are  welcome  to  the  ranks  of 
freedom." 

No  time  was  lost,  however,  by  Lawton,  after  the  charge 
was  completed,  in  securing  his  prisoner  again  ;  and,  per- 
ceiving him  to  be  hurt,  he  directed  him  to  be  conveyed  to 
the  rear. 

The  Virginian  troopers  dealt  out  their  favors  with  no 
gentle  hands,  on  that  part  of  the  royal  foot  who  were  thus 
left,  in  a  great  measure,  at  their  mercy.  Dunwoodie,  ob- 
serving that  the  remnant  of  the  Hessians  had  again  vent- 
ured on  the  plain,  led  on  in  pursuit,  and  easily  overtaking 
their  light  and  half-fed  horses,  soon  destroyed  the  remain- 
der of  the  detachment. 

In  the  meanwhile,  great  numbers  of  the  English,  taking 
advantage  of  the  smoke  in  the  field,  were  enabled  to  get 


86  THE   SPY. 

in  the  rear  of  the  body  of  their  countrymen  which  still  pre- 
served its  order  in  a  line  parallel  to  the  wood,  but  which 
had  been  obliged  to  hold  its  fire  from  the  fear  of  injuring 
friends  as  well  as  foes.  The  fugitives  were  directed  to 
form  a  second  line  within  the  wood  itself,  and  under  cover 
of  the  trees.  This  arrangement  was  not  yet  completed, 
when  Captain  Lawton  called  to  a  youth,  who  commanded 
the  other  troop  left  with  that  part  of  the  force  which  re- 
mained on  the  ground,  and  proposed  charging  the  un- 
broken line  of  the  British.  The  proposal  was  as  promptly 
accepted  as  it  had  been  made,  and  the  troops  were  arrayed 
for  the  purpose.  The  eagerness  of  their  leader  prevented 
the  preparations  necessary  to  insure  success,  and  the  horse, 
receiving  a  destructive  fire  as  they  advanced,  were  thrown 
into  additional  confusion.  Both  Lawton  and  his  more 
juvenile  comrade  fell  at  this  discharge.  Fortunately  for 
the  credit  of  the  Virginians,  Major  Dunwoodie  re-entered 
the  field  at  this  critical  instant  ;  he  saw  his  troops  in  dis- 
order ;  at  his  feet  lay  weltering  in  blood  George  Singleton, 
a  youth  endeared  to  him  by  numberless  virtues,  and  Law- 
ton  was  unhorsed  and  stretched  on  the  plain.  The  eye  of 
the  youthful  warrior  flashed  fire.  Riding  between  this 
squadron  and  the  enemy,  in  a  voice  that  reached  the  hearts 
of  his  dragoons,  he  recalled  them  to  their  duty.  His  pres- 
ence and  words  acted  like  magic.  The  clamor  of  voices 
ceased  ;  the  line  was  formed  promptly  and  with  exacti- 
tude ;  the  charge  sounded  ;  and,  led  on  by  their  com- 
mander, the  Virginians  swept  across  the  plain  with  an  im- 
petuosity that  nothing  could  withstand,  and  the  field  was 
instantly  cleared  of  the  enemy  :  those  who  were  not  de- 
stroyed sought  a  shelter  in  the  woods.  Dunwoodie  slowly 
withdrew  from  the  fire  of  the  English  who  were  covered 
by  the  trees,  and  commenced  the  painful  duty  of  collect- 
ing his  dead  and  wounded. 

The  sergeant  charged  with  conducting  Henry  Wharton 
to  a  place  where  he  might  procure  surgical  aid,  set  about 
performing  his  duty  with  alacrity,  in  order  to  return  as  soon 
as  possible  to  the  scene  of  strife.  They  had  not  reached 
the  middle  of  the  plain,  before  the  captain  noticed  a  man 
whose  appearance  and  occupation  forcibly  arrested  his  at- 
tention. His  head  was  bald  and  bare,  but  a  well-powdered 
wig  was  to  be  seen,  half-concealed,  in  the  pocket  of  his 
breeches.  His  coat  was  off,  and  his  arms  were  naked  to 
the  elbow  ;  blood  had  disfigured  much  of  his  dress,  and  his 
hands,  and  even  his  face,  bore  this  mark  of  his  profession ; 


THE   SPY.  87 

in  his  mouth  was  a  cigar,  in  his  right  hand  some  instru- 
ments of  strange  formation,  and  in  his  left  the  remnants 
of  an  apple,  with  which  he  occasionally  relieved  the  duty 
of  the  before-mentioned  cigar.  He  was  standing,  lost  in 
the  contemplation  of  a  Hessian  who  lay  breathless  before 
him.  At  a  little  distance  were  three  or  four  of  the  guides, 
leaning  on  their  muskets,  and  straining  their  eyes  in  the 
direction  of  the  combatants,  and  at  his  elbow  stood  a  man 
who,  from  the  implements  in  his  hand  and  his  bloody  vest- 
merits,  seemed  an  assistant. 

41  There,  sir,  is  the  doctor,"  said  the  attendant  of  Henry, 
Very  coolly  ;  "  he  will  patch  up  your  arm  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  ;"  and  beckoning  to  the  guides  to  approach,  he 
whispered  and  pointed  to  his  prisoner,  and  then  galloped 
furiously  toward  his  comrades. 

Wharton  advanced  to  the  side  of  this  strange  figure,  and 
observing  himself  to  be  unnoticed,  was  about  to  request 
his  assistance,  when  the  other  broke  silence  in  a  solil- 
oquy— 

"  Now,  I  know  this  man  to  have  been  killed  by  Captain 
Lawton,  as  well  as  if  I  had  seen  him  strike  the  blow.  How 
often  have  I  strove  to  teach  him  the  manner  in  which  he 
can  disable  his  adversary  without  destroying  life.  It  is 
cruel  thus  unnecessarily  to  cut  off  the  human  race,  and 
furthermore,  such  blows  as  these  render  professional  assist- 
ance unnecessary  ;  it  is,  in  a  measure,  treating  the  lights  of 
science  with  disrespect." 

"  If,  sir,  your  leisure  will  admit,"  said  Henry  Wharton, 
"  I  must  beg  your  attention  to  a  slight  hurt." 

"  Ah  ! "  cried  the  other,  starting,  and  examining  him  from 
head  to  foot,  "  you  are  from  the  field  below  ;  is  there  much 
business  there,  sir?" 

"  Indeed,"  answered  Henry,  accepting  the  offer  of  the 
surgeon  to  assist  in  removing  his  coat,  "  'tis  a  stirring  time, 
I  can  assure  you." 

"  Stirring  !  "  repeated  the  surgeon,  busily  employed  with 
his  dressings.  "You  give  me  great  pleasure,  sir;  for  so 
long  as  they  can  stir  there  must  be  life ;  and  while  there  is 
life,  you  know,  there  is  hope  ;  but  here  my  art  is  of  no 
use.  I  did  put  in  the  brains  of  one  patient,  but  I  rather 
think  the  man  must  have  been  dead  before  I  saw  him.  It 
is  a  curious  case,  sir  ;  I  will  take  you  to  see  it — only  across 
the  fence  there,  where  you  may  perceive  so  many  bodies 
together.  Ah  !  the  ball  has  glanced  around  the  bone  with- 
put  shattering  it ;  you  are  fortunate  in  falling  into  the 


88  THE   SPY. 

hands  of  an  old  practitioner,  or  you  might  have  lost  this 
limb." 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  Henry,  with  a  slight  uneasiness  ;  "  I 
did  not  apprehend  the  injury  to  be  so  serious."  . 

"Oh  !  the  hurt  is  not  bad,  but  you  have  such  a  pretty 
arm  for  an  operation  ;  the  pleasure  of  the  thing  might 
have  tempted  a  novice." 

"The  devil!"  cried  the  captain;  "can  there  be  any 
pleasure  in  mutilating  a  fellow-creature?" 

"  Sir,"  said  the  surgeon,  with  gravity,  "  a  scientific  am- 
putation is  a  very  pretty  operation,  and  doubtless  might 
tempt  a  younger  man,  in  the  hurry  of  business,  to  over- 
look all  the  particulars  of  the  case." 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  dragoons,  slowly  marching  toward  their 
former  halting-place,  and  new  applications  from  the 
slightly  wounded  soldiers,  who  now  came  riding  in,  mak- 
ing hasty  demands  on  the  skill  of  the  doctor. 

The  guides  took  charge  of  Wharton,  and,  with  a  heavy 
heart,  the  young  man  retraced  his  steps  to  his  father's 
cottage. 

The  English  had  lost  in  the  several  charges  about  one- 
third  of  their  foot,  but  the  remainder  were  rallied  in  the 
wood  ;  and  Dunwoodie,  perceiving  them  to  be  too  strongly 
posted  to  assail,  had  left  a  strong  party  with  Captain 
Lawton,  with  orders  to  watch  their  motions,  and  to  seize 
every  opportunity  to  harass  them  before  they  re-em- 
barked. 

Intelligence  had  reached  the  major  of  another  party  be- 
ing out,  by  the  way  of  the  Hudson,  and  his  duty  required 
that  he  should  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  defeat  the  in- 
tentions of  these  also.  Captain  Lawton  received  his 
orders,  with  strong  injunctions  to  make  no  assault  on  the 
foe,  unless  a  favorable  chance  should  offer.  The  injury 
received  by  this  officer  was  in  the  head,  being  stunned  by 
a  glancing  bullet  ;  and  parting  with  a  laughing  declara- 
tion frojn  the  major,  that  if  he  again  forgot  himself,  they 
should  all  think  him  more  materially  hurt,  each  took  his 
own  course. 

The  British  were  a  light  party  without  baggage,  that 
had  been  sent  out  to  destroy  certain  stores  understood  to 
be  collecting  for  the  use  of  the  American  army.  They 
now  retired  through  the  woods  to  the  heights,  and,  keep- 
ing the  route  along  their  summits,  in  places  unassailable 
by  cavalry,  commenced  a  retreat  to  their  boats. 


THE   SPY.  89 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"With  fire  and  sword  the  country  round 

Was  wasted  far  and  wide  ; 
And  many  a  childing  mother  then, 

And  new-born  infant,  died  ; 
But  things  like  these,  you  know,  must  be 
At  every  famous  victory." 

THE  last  sounds  of  the  combat  died  on  the  ears  of  the 
anxious  listeners  in  the  cottage,  and  were  succeeded  by 
the  stillness  of  suspense.  Frances  had  continued  by  her- 
self, striving  to  exclude  the  uproar,  and  vainly  endeavor- 
ing to  summon  resolution  to  meet  the  dreaded  result. 
The  ground  where  the  charge  on  the  foot  had  taken  place 
was  but  a  short  mile  from  the  Locusts,  and,  in  the  inter- 
vals of  the  musketry  the  cries  of  the  soldiers  had  even 
reached  the  ears  of  its  inhabitants.  After  witnessing  the 
escape  of  his  son,  Mr.  Wharton  had  joined  his  sister  and 
eldest  daughter  in  their  retreat,  and  the  three  continued 
fearfully  waiting  for  news  from  the  field.  Unable  longer 
to  remain  under  the  painful  uncertainty  of  her  situation, 
Frances  soon  added  herself  to  the  uneasy  group,  and 
Caesar  was  directed  to  examine  into  the  state  of  things 
without,  and  report  on  whose  banners  victory  had  alighted. 
The  father  now  briefly  related  to  his  astonished  children 
the  circumstance  and  manner  of  their  brother's  escape. 
They  were  yet  in  the  freshness  of  their  surprise,  when  the 
door  opened,  and  Captain  Wharton,  attended  by  a  couple 
of  the  guides  and  followed  by  the  black,  stood  before  them. 

"  Henry — my  son,  my  son,"  cried  the  agitated  parent, 
stretching  out  his  arms,  yet  unable  to  rise  from  his  seat  ; 
"  what  is  it  I  see  ?  are  you  again  a  captive,  and  in  danger 
of  your  life  ?" 

"  The  better  fortune  of  these  rebels  has  prevailed,"  said 
the  youth,  endeavoring  to  force  a  cheerful  smile,  and  tak- 
ing a  hand  of  each  of  his  distressed  sisters.  "  I  strove 
nobly  for  my  liberty  ;  but  the  perverse  spirit  of  rebellion 
has  even  lighted  on  their  horses.  The  steed  I  mounted 
carried  me,  greatly  against  my  will,  I  acknowledge,  into 
the  very  centre  of  Dunwoodie's  men." 

"  And  you  were  again  captured,"  continued  the  father, 
casting  a  fearful  glance  on  the  armed  attendants  who  had 
entered  the  room. 


90  THE   SPY. 

"That,  sir,  you  may  safely  say;  this  Mr.  Lawton,  who 
sees  so  far,  had  me  in  custody  again  immediately." 

"  Why  you  no  hold  'em  in,  Massa  Harry?  "  cried  Caesar, 
pettishly. 

"  That,"  said  Wharton,  smiling,  "  was  a  thing  easier  said 
than  done,  Mr.  Caesar,  especially  as  these  gentlemen " 
(glancing  his  eyes  at  the  guides)  "had  seen  proper  to  de- 
prive me  of  the  use  of  my  better  arm." 

"  Wounded  !  "  exclaimed  both  sisters  in  a  breath. 

"  A  mere  scratch,  but  disabling  me  at  a  most  critical 
moment,"  continued  the  brother,  kindly,  and  stretching 
out  the  injured  limb  to  manifest  the  truth  of  his  declara- 
tion. Caesar  threw  a  look  of  bitter  animosity  on  the  irreg- 
ular warriors  who  were  thought  to  have  had  an  agency  in 
the  deed,  and  left  the  room.  A  few  more  words  sufficed 
to  explain  all  that  Captain  Wharton  knew  relative  to  the 
fortune  of  the  day.  The  result  he  thought  yet  doubtful, 
for,  when  he  left  the  ground,  the  Virginians  were  retiring 
from  the  field  of  battle. 

"  They  had  treed  the  squirrel,"  said  one  of  the  sentinels, 
abruptly,  "  and  didn't  quit  the  ground  without  leaving  a 
good  hound  for  the  chase,  when  he  comes  down." 

"  Ay,"  added  his  comrade,  dryly,  "  I'm  thinking  Captain 
Lawton  will  count  the  noses  of  what  are  left  before  they 
see  their  whale-boats." 

Frances  had  stood  supporting  herself  by  the  back  of  a 
chair,  during  this  dialogue,  catching  in  breathless  anxiety 
every  syllable  as  it  was  uttered  ;  her  color  changed  rap- 
idly ;  her  limbs  shook  under  her,  until,  with  desperate 
resolution,  she  inquired  : 

"  Is  any  officer  hurt  on — the — on  either  side  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  man,  cavalierly,  "  these  Southern 
youths  are  so  full  of  mettle  that  it's  seldom  we  fight  but 
one  or  two  gets  knocked  over  ;  one  of  the  wounded,  who 
came  up  before  the  troops,  told  me  that  Captain  Singleton 
was  killed,  and  Major  Dunwoodie " 

Frances  heard  no  more,  but  fell  lifeless  in  the  chair  be- 
hind her.  The  attention  of  her  friends  roon  revived  her, 
when  the  captain,  turning  to  the  man,  said,  fearfully  : 

"  Surely  Major  Dunwoodie  is  unhurt  ?" 

"Never  fear  him,"  added  the  guide,  disregarding  the 
agitation  of  the  family  ;  "they  say  a  man  who  is  born  to 
be  hanged  will  never  be  drowned  ;  if  a  bullet  could  kill 
the  major,  he  would  have  been  dead  long  ago.  I  was  go- 
ing to  say  that  the  major  is  in  a  sad  taking  because  of  the 


THE   SPY.  91 

captain's  being  killed  ;  but  had  I  known  how  much  store 
the  lady  set  by  him,  I  wouldn't  have  been  so  plain- 
spoken." 

Frances  now  rose  quickly  from  her  seat,  with  cheeks 
glowing  with  confusion,  and,  leaning  on  her  aunt,  was 
about  to  retire,  when  Dunwoodie  himself  appeared.  The 
first  emotion  of  the  agitated  girl  was  unalloyed  happiness  ; 
in  the  next  instant  she  shrank  back  appalled  from  the  un- 
usual expression  that  reigned  in  his  countenance.  The 
sternness  of  battle  yet  sat  on  his  brow  ;  his  eye  was 
fixed  and  severe.  The  smile  of  affection  that  used  to 
lighten  his  dark  features  on  meeting  his  mistress  was  sup- 
planted by  the  lowering  look  of  care  ;  his  whole  soul 
seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  one  engrossing  emotion,  and  he 
proceeded  at  once  to  his  object. 

"  Mr.  Wharton,"  he  earnestly  began,  "  in  times  like 
these,  we  need  not  stand  on  idle  ceremony  ;  one  of  my 
officers,  I  am  afraid,  is  hurt  mortally,  and,  presuming  on 
your  hospitality,  I  have  brought  him  to  your  door." 

"  I  am  happy,  sir,  that  you  have  done  so,"  said  Mr. 
Wharton,  at  once  perceiving  the  importance  of  conciliat- 
ing the  American  troops  ;  "  the  necessitous  are  always 
welcome,  and  doubly  so,  in  being  the  friend  of  Major 
Dunwoodie." 

"  Sir,  I  thank  you  for  myself,  and  in  behalf  of  him  who 
is  unable  to  render  you  his  thanks,"  returned  the  other, 
hastily  ;  "  if  you  please,  we  will  have  him  conducted  where 
the  surgeon  may  see  and  report  upon  his  case,  without  de- 
lay." To  this  there  could  be  no  objection  ;  and  Frances 
felt  a  chill  at  her  heart,  as  her  lover  withdrew,  without 
casting  a  solitary  look  on  herself. 

Tiiere  is  a  devotedness  in  female  love  that  admits  of  no 
rivalry.  All  the  tenderness  of  the  heart,  all  the  powers  of 
the  imagination,  are  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  tyrant  pas- 
sion ;  and  where  all  is  given,  much  is  looked  for  in  return. 
Frances  had  spent  hours  of  anguish,  of  torture,  on  account 
of  Dunwoodie,  and  he  now  met  her  without  a  smile,  and 
left  her  without  a  greeting.  The  ardor  of  her  feelings  was 
unabated,  but  the  elasticity  of  her  hopes  was  weakened. 
As  the  supporters  of  the  nearly  lifeless  body  of  Dun- 
woodie's  friend  passed  her,  in  their  way  to  the  apartment 
prepared  for  his  reception,  she  caught  a  view  of  this  seem- 
ing rival. 

His  pale  and  ghastly  countenance,  sunken  eye,  and  diffi- 
cult breathing  gave  her  a  glimpse  of  death  in  its  most  fear- 


92  THE   SPY. 

ful  form.  Dunwoodie  was  by  his  side,  and  held  his  hand, 
giving  frequent  and  stern  injunctions  to  the  men  to  proceed 
with  care,  and,  in  short,  manifesting  all  the  solicitude  that 
the  most  tender  friendship  could,  on  such  an  occasion,  in- 
spire. Frances  moved  lightly  before  them,  and,  with  an 
averted  face,  she  held  open  the  door  for  their  passage  to  the 
bed  ;  it  was  only  as  the  major  touched  her  garments,  on  en- 
tering the  room,  that  she  ventured  to  raise  her  mild  blue 
eyes  to  his  face.  But  the  glance  was  unreturned,  and 
Frances  unconsciously  sighed  as  she  sought  the  solitude  of 
her  own  apartment. 

Captain  Wharton  voluntarily  gave  a  pledge  to  his 
keepers  not  to  attempt  again  escaping,  and  then  proceeded 
to  execute  those  duties,  on  behalf  of  his  father,  which  were 
thought  necessary  in  a  host.  On  entering  the  passage  for 
that  purpose,  he  met  the  operator  who  had  so  dexterously 
dressed  his  arm,  advancing  to  the  room  of  the  wounded 
officer. 

"  Ah  ! "  cried  the  disciple  of  ^Esculapius,  "  I  see  you  are 
doing  well ;  but  stop — have  you  a  pin  ?  No  !  here,  I  have 
one  ;  you  must  keep  the  cold  air  from  your  hurt,  or  some 
of  the  youngsters  will  be  at  wrork  at  you  yet." 

"  God  forbid,"  muttered  the  captain,  in  an  undertone, 
attentively  adjusting  the  bandages,  when  Dunwoodie  ap- 
peared at  the  door,  impatiently  crying  aloud : 

4<  Hasten,  Sitgreaves,  hasten  ;  or  George  Singleton  will 
die  from  loss  of  blood." 

"  What  !  Singleton  !  God  forbid  !  Bless  me— is  it 
George — poor  little  George  !"  exclaimed  the  surgeon,  as 
he  quickened  his  pace,  with  evident  concern,  and  hastened 
to  the  side  of  the  bed  ;  "  he  is  alive,  though,  and  while 
there  is  life  there  is  hope.  This  is  the  first  serious  case  I 
have  had  to-day,  where  the  patient  was  not  already  dead. 
Captain  Lawton  teaches  his  men  to  strike  with  so  little 
discretion — poor  George — bless  me,  it  is  a  musket-bullet." 

The  youthful  sufferer  turned  his  eyes  on  the  man  of 
science,  and  with  a  faint  smile  endeavored  to  stretch  forth 
his  hand.  There  was  an  appeal  in  the  look  and  action  that 
touched  the  heart  of  the  operator.  The  surgeon  removed 
his  spectacles  to  wipe  an  unusual  moisture  from  his  eyes, 
and  proceeded  carefully  to  the  discharge  of  his  duty. 
While  the  previous  arrangements  were,  however,  making, 
he  gave  vent  in  some  measure  to  his  feelings,  by  saying  : 

"When  it  is  only  a  bullet,  I  have  always  some  hopes- 
there  is  a  chance  that  it  hits  nothing  vital  ;  but,  bless  me, 


THE  SPY.  93 

Captain  Lawton's  men  cut  so  at  random — generally  sever 
the  jugular  or  the  carotid  artery,  or  let  out  the  brains,  and 
all  are°so  difficult  to  remedy — the  patient  mostly  dying  be- 
fore one  can  get  at  him.  I  never  had  success  but  once  in 
replacing  a  man's  brains,  although  I.  have  tried  three  this 
very  day.  It  is  easy  to  tell  where  Lawton's  troops  charge 
in  a  battle,  they  cut  so  at  random." 

The  group  around  the  bed  of  Captain  Singleton  were 
too  much  accustomed  to  the  manner  of  their  surgeon  to 
regard  or  to  reply  to  his  soliloquy ;  but  they  quietly 
awaited  the  moment  when  he  was  to  commence  his  exam- 
ination. This  now  took  place,  and  Dunwoodie  stood 
looking  the  operator  in  the  face,  with  an  expression  that 
seemed  to  read  his  soul.  The  patient  shrank  from  the  ap- 
plication of  the  probe,  and  a  smile  stole  over  the  features 
of  the  surgeon,  as  he  muttered  : 

"  There  has  been  nothing  before  it  in  that  quarter." 
He  now  applied  himself  in  earnest  to  his  work,  took  off  his 
spectacles,  and  threw  aside  his  wig.  All  this  time  Dun- 
woodie stood  in  feverish  silence,  holding  one  of  the  hands 
of  the  sufferer  in  both  his  own,  watching  the  countenance 
of  Dr.  Sitgreaves.  At  length  Singleton  gave  a  slight 
groan,  and  the  surgeon  rose  with  alacrity,  and  said  aloud  : 

"Ah!  there  is  some  pleasure  in  following  a  bullet  ;  it 
may  be  said  to  meander  through  the  human  body,  injur- 
ing nothing  vital ;  but  as  for  Captain  Lawton's  men " 

'.'Speak,"  interrupted  Dunwoodie;  "is  there  hope? — 
can  you  find  the  ball  ? " 

"  It's  no  difficult  matter  to  find  that  which  one  has  in 
his  hand,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  replied  the  surgeon,  coolly, 
preparing  his  dressings ;  "  it  took  what  that  literal  fellow, 
Captain  Lawton,  calls  a  circumbendibus,  a  route  never 
taken  by  the  swords  of  his  men,  notwithstanding  the  mul- 
tiplied pains  I  have  been  at  to  teach  him  how  to  cut  scien- 
tifically. Now,  I  saw  a  horse  this  day  with  his  head  half 
severed  from  his  body." 

"That,"  said  Dunwoodie,  as  the  blood  rushed  to  his 
cheeks  again,  and  his  dark  eyes  sparkled  with  the  rays  of 
hope,  "  was  some  of  my  handiwork  ;  I  killed  that  horse 
myself." 

"You!"  exclaimed  the  surgeon,  dropping  his  dressing 
in  surprise,  "  you  !  but  you  knew  it  was  a  horse  !  " 

'•  I  had  such  suspicions,  I  own,"  said  the  major,  smiling, 
and  holding  a  beverage  to  the  lips  of  his  friend. 

4<  Such  blows  alighting  on  the  human  frame  are  fatal," 


94  THE   SPY. 

continued  the  doctor,  pursuing  his  business  ;  "they  set  at 
naught  the  benefits  which  flow  from  the  lights  of  science, 
they  are  useless  in  a  battle,  for  disabling  your  foe  is  all 
that  is  required.  I  have  sat,  Major  Dunvvoodie,  many  a 
cold  hour,  while  Captain  Lawton  has  been  engaged,  and 
after  all  my  expectation,  not  a  single  case  worth  record- 
ing has  occurred — all  scratches  or  death-wounds  ;  ah  !  the 
sabre  is  a  sad  weapon  in  unskilful  hands  !  Yes,  Major 
Dunwoodie,  many  are  the  hours  I  have  thrown  away  in 
endeavoring  to  impress  this  truth  on  Captain  John  Law- 
ton." 

The  impatient  major  pointed  silently  to  his  friend,  and 
the  surgeon  quickened  his  movements. 

"  Ah  !  poor  George,  it  is  a  narrow  chance  ;  but — "  he 
was  interrupted  by  a  messenger  requiring  the  presence  of 
the'commanding  officer  in  the  field.  Dunwoodie  pressed 
the  hand  of  his  friend,  and  beckoned  the  doctor  to  follow 
him,  as  he  withdrew. 

"  What  think  you  ? "  he  whispered,  on  reaching  the 
passage  ;  "  will  he  live  ? " 

"  He  will." 

"  Thank  God  !  "  cried  the  youth,  hastening  below. 

Dunwoodie  for  a  moment  joined  the  family,  who  were 
now  collecting  in  the  ordinary  parlor.  His  face  was  no 
longer  wanting  in  smiles,  and  his  salutations,  though  hasty, 
were  cordial.  He  took  no  notice  of  the  escape  and  recapt- 
ure of  Henry  Wharton,  but  seemed  to  think  the  young 
man  had  continued  where  he  had  left  him  before  the  en- 
counter. On  the  ground  they  had  not  met.  The  English 
officer  withdrew  in  haughty  silence  to  a  window,  leaving 
the  major  uninterrupted  to  make  his  communications. 

The  excitement  produced  by  the  events  of  the  day  in 
the  youthful  feelings  of  the  sisters  had  been  succeeded 
by  a  languor  that  kept  them  both  silent,  and  Dunwoodie 
held  his  discourse  with  Miss  Peyton. 

"  Is  there  any  hope,  my  cousin,  that  your  friend  can 
survive  his  wound?"  said  the  lady,  advancing  toward  her 
kinsman,  with  a  smile  of  benevolent  regard. 

"  Everything,  my  dear  madam,  everything,"  answered 
the  soldier,  cheerfully.  "  Sitgreaves  says  he  will  live,  and 
he  has  never  deceived  me." 

"Your  pleasure  is  not  much  greater  than  my  own  at 
this  intelligence.  One  so  dear  to  Major  Dunwoodie  can- 
not fail  to  excite  an  interest  in  the  bosom  of  his  friends." 

"  Say  one   so  deservedly  dear,   madam,"   returned  the 


THE   SPY. 


95 


major,  with  warmth  ;  "  he  is  the  beneficent  spirit  of  the 
corps,  equally  beloved  by  us  all  ;  so  mild,  so  equal,  so  just, 
so  generous,  with  the  meekness  of  a  lamb  and  the  fond- 
ness of  a  dove — it  is  only  in  the  hour  of  battle  that  Sin- 
gleton is  a  lion." 

"  You  speak  of  him  as  if  he  were  your  mistress,  Major 
Dunwoodie,"  observed  the  smiling  spinster,  glancing  her 
eye  at  her  niece,  who  sat  pale  and  listening,  in  a  corner  of 
the  room. 

"  I  love  him  as  one,"  cried  the  excited  youth  ;  "  but  he 
requires  care  arid  nursing  ;  all  now  depends  on  the  atten- 
tion he  receives." 

"Trust  me,  sir,  he  will  want  for  nothing  under  this 
roof." 

"  Pardon  me,  dear  madam  ;  you  are  all  that  is  benevo- 
lent, but  Singleton  requires  a  care  which  many  men  would 
feel  to  be  irksome.  It  is  at  moments  like  these,  and  in 
sufferings  like  this,  that  the  soldier  most  finds  the  want  of 
female  tenderness."  As  he  spoke,  he  turned  his  eyes  on 
Frances  with  an  expression  that  again  thrilled  to  the 
heart  of  his  mistress  ;  she  rose  from  her  seat  with  burn- 
ing cheeks,  and  said  : 

"  All  the  attention  that  can  with  propriety  be  given  to  a 
stranger  will  be  cheerfully  bestowed  on  your  friend." 

"Ah!"  cried  the  major,  shaking  his  head,  "that  cold 
word  propriety  will  kill  him  ;  he  must  be  fostered,  cher- 
ished, soothed." 

"  These  are  offices  for  a  sister  or  a  wife." 

"  A  sister  !  "  repeated  the  soldier,  the  blood  rushing  to 
his  own  face  tumultuously  ;  "  a  sister  !  he  has  a  sister  ;  and 
one  that  might  be  here  with  to-morrow's  sun."  He 
paused,  mused  in  silence,  glanced  his  eyes  uneasily  at 
Frances,  and  muttered  in  an  undertone — "  Singleton  re- 
quires it,  and  it  must  be  done." 

The  ladies  had  watched  his  varying  countenance  in 
some  surprise,  and  Miss  Peyton  now  observed  that  : 

11  If  there  were  a  sister  of  Captain  Singleton  near  them, 
her  presence  would  be  gladly  requested  both  by  herself 
and  nieces." 

"  It  must  be,  madam  ;  it  cannot  well  be  otherwise,"  re- 
plied Dunwoodie,  with  a  hesitation  that  but  ill  agreed  with 
his  former  declarations  ;  "  she  shall  be  sent  for  express 
this  very  night."  And  then,  as  if  willing  to  change  the 
subject,  he  approached  Captain  Wharton,  and  continued, 
mildly  : 


96  THE   SPY. 

"  Henry  Wharton,  to  me  honor  is  dearer  than  life,  but 
in  your  hands  I  know  it  can  safely  be  confided  ;  remain 
here  un watched,  until  we  leave  the  county,  which  will  not 
be  for  some  days." 

The  distance  in  the  manner  of  the  English  officer  van- 
ished, and,  taking  the  offered  hand  of  the  other,  he  replied, 
with  warmth:  "Your  generous  confidence,  Peyton,  will 
not  be  abused,  even  though  the  gibbet  on  which  your 
Washington  hung  Andr<§  be  ready  for  my  own  execu- 
tion." 

"  Henry — Henry  Wharton,"  said  Dunwoodie,  reproach- 
fully, "  you  little  know  the  man  who  leads  our  armies,  or 
you  would  have  spared  him  that  reproach  ;  but  duty  calls 
me  without.  I  leave  you  where  I  could  wish  to  stay  my- 
self, and  where  you  cannot  be  wholly  unhappy." 

In  passing  Frances,  she  received  another  of  those  smil- 
ing looks  of  affection  she  so  much  prized,  and  for  a  season 
the  impression  made  by  his  appearance  after  the  battle 
was  forgotten. 

Among  the  veterans  that  had  been  impelled  by  the 
times  to  abandon  the  quiet  of  age  for  the  service  of  their 
country  was  Colonel  Singleton.  He  was  a  native  of 
Georgia,  and  had  been  for  the  earlier  years  of  his  life  a 
soldier  by  profession.  When  the  struggle  for  liberty  com- 
menced, he  offered  his  services  to  his  country,  and  from 
respect  ti>  his  character  they  had  been  accepted.  His 
years  and  health  had,  however,  prevented  his  discharging 
the  active  duties  of  the  field,  and  he  had  been  kept  in 
command  of  different  posts  of  trust,  where  his  country 
might  receive  the  benefits  of  his  vigilance  and  fidelity 
without  inconvenience  to  himself.  For  the  last  year  he 
had  been  intrusted  with  the  passes  into  the  Highlands, 
and  was  now  quartered,  with  his  daughter,  but  a  short 
day's  march  above  the  valley  where  Dunwoodie  had  met 
the  enemy.  His  only  other  child  was  the  wounded  officer 
we  have  mentioned.  Thither,  then,  the  major  prepared 
to  despatch  a  messenger  with  the  unhappy  news  of  the 
captain's  situation,  and  charged  with  such  an  invitation 
from  the  ladies  as  he  did  not  doubt  would  speedily  bring 
the  sister  to  the  couch  of  the  brother. 

This  duty  performed,  though  with  an  unwillingness 
that  could  only  make  his  former  anxiety  more  perplexing, 
Dunwoodie  proceeded  to  the  field  where  bis  troops  had 
halted.  The  remnant  of  the  English  were  already  to  be 
seen,  over  the  tops  of  the  trees,  marching  along  the 


THE  SPY.  97 

heights  toward  their  boats,  in  compact  order  and  with 
great  watchfulness.  The  detachment  of  the  dragoons 
under  Lavvton  were  a  short  distance  on  their  flank, 
eagerly  awaiting  a  favorable  moment  to  strike  a  blow. 
In  this  manner  both  parties  were  soon  lost  to  view. 

A  short  distance  above  the  Locusts  was  a  small  hamlet, 
where  several  roads  intersected  each  other,  and  from  which, 
consequently,  access  to  the  surrounding  country  was  easy. 
It  was  a  favorite  halting-place  of  the  horse,  and  frequently 
held  by  the  light  parties  of  the  American  army  during  their 
excursions  below.  Dunwoodie  had  been  the  first  to  dis- 
cover its  advantages,  and  as  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  re- 
main in  the  county  until  further  orders  from  above,  it  can- 
not be  supposed  he  overlooked  them  now.  To  this  place 
the  troops  were  directed  to  retire,  carrying  with  them  their 
wounded  ;  parties  were  already  employed  in  the  sad  duty 
of  interring  the  dead.  In  making  these  arrangements,  a 
new  object  of  embarrassment  presented  itself  to  our  young 
soldier.  In  moving  through  the  field,  he  was  struck  with 
the  appearance  of  Colonel  Wellmere,  seated  by  himself, 
brooding  over  his  misfortunes,  uninterrupted  by  anything 
but  the  passing  civilities  of  the  American  officers.  His 
anxiety  on  behalf  of  Singleton  had  hitherto  banished  the 
recollection  of  his  captive  from  the  mind  of  Dunwoodie, 
and  he  now  approached  him  with  apologies  for  his  neglect. 
The  Englishman  received  his  courtesies  with  coolness,  and 
complained  of  being  injured  by  what  he  affected  to  think 
was  the  accidental  stumbling  of  his  horse.  Dunwoodie, 
who  had  seen  one  of  his  own  men  ride  him  down,  and  that 
with  very  little  ceremony,  slightly  smiled,  as  he  offered  him 
surgical  assistance.  This  could  only  be  procured  at  the 
cottage,  and  thither  they  both  proceeded. 

"  Colonel  Wellmere!"  cried  young  Wharton  in  aston- 
ishment, as  they  entered,  "  has  the  fortune  of  war  been 
thus  cruel  to  you  also  ? — but  you  are  welcome  to  the  house 
of  my  father,  although  I  could  wish  the  introduction  to 
have  taken  place  under  more  happy  circumstances." 

Mr.  Wharton  received  this  new  guest  with  the  guarded 
caution  that  distinguished  his  manner,  and  Dunwoodie  left 
the  room  to  seek  the  bedside  of  his  friend.  Everything 
here  looked  propitious,  and  he  acquainted  the  surgeon  that 
another  patient  waited  his  skill  in  the  room  below.  The 
sound  of  the  word  was  enough  to  set  the  doctor  in  motion, 
and,  seizing  his  implements  of  office,  he  went  in  quest  of 
this  new  applicant.  At  the  door  of  the  parlor  he  was  met 


98  THE   SPY. 

by  the  ladies,  who  were  retiring.  Miss  Peyton  detained 
him  for  a  moment,  to  inquire  into  the  welfare  of  Captain 
Singleton.  Frances  smiled,  with  something  of  her  natural 
archness  of  manner,  as  she  contemplated  the  grotesque  ap- 
pearance of  the  bald-headed  practitioner  ;  but  Sarah  was 
too  much  agitated,  with  the  surprise  of  the  unexpected  in- 
terview with  the  British  colonel,  to  observe  him.  It  has 
already  been  intimated  that  Colonel  Wellmere  was  an  old 
acquaintance  of  the  family.  Sarah  had  been  so  long  ab- 
sent from  the  city  that  she  had,  in  some  measure,  been  ban- 
ished from  the  remembrance  of  the  gentleman  ;  but  the 
recollections  of  Sarah  were  more  vivid.  There  is  a  period 
in  the  life  of  every  woman  when  she  maybe  said  to  be  pre- 
disposed to  love  ;  it  is  at  the  happy  age  when  infancy  is 
lost  in  opening  maturity — when  the  guileless  heart  beats 
with  those  anticipations  of  the  life  which  the  truth  can 
never  realize — and  when  the  imagination  forms  images  of 
perfection  that  are  copied  after  its  own  unsullied  visions. 
At  this  happy  age  Sarah  left  the  city,  and  she  had  brought 
with  her  a  picture  of  futurity,  faintly  impressed,  it  is  true, 
but  which  gained  durability  from  her  solitude,  and  in  which 
Wellmere  had  been  placed  in  the  foreground.  The  sur- 
prise of  the  meeting  had  in  some  measure  overpowered 
her,  and  after  receiving  the  salutations  of  the  colonel,  she 
had  risen,  in  compliance  with  a  signal  from  her  observant 
aunt,  to  withdraw. 

"Then,  sir,"  observed  Miss  Peyton,  after  listeningto  the 
surgeon's  account  of  his  young  patient,  "we  may  be  flat- 
tered with  the  expectation  that  he  will  recover." 

"'Tis  certain,  madam,"  returned  the  doctor,  endeavor- 
ing, out  of  respect  to  the  ladies,  to  replace  his  wig  ;  "  'tis 
certain,  with  care  and  good  nursing." 

"In  those  we  shall  not  be  wanting,"  said  the  spinster, 
mildly.  "  Everything  we  have  he  can  command,  and  Major 
Dumvoodie  has  despatched  an  express  for  his  sister." 

"  His  sister  !  "  echoed  the  practitioner,  with  a  look  of 
particular  meaning  ;  **  if  the  major  has  sent  for  her,  she 
will  come." 

"  Her  brother's  danger  would  induce  her,  one  would 
imagine." 

"  No  doubt,  madam,"  continued  the  doctor,  laconically, 
bowing  low,  and  giving  room  to  the  ladies  to  pass.  The 
words  and  the  manner  were  not  lost  on  the  younger  sister, 
in  whose  presence  the  name  of  Dunwoodie  was  never 
mentioned  unheeded. 


THE  SPY.  99 

^ 

"Sir,"  cried  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  on  entering  the  parlor,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  only  coat  of  scarlet  in  the  room, 
"  I  am  advised  you  are  in  want  of  my  aid.  God  send  'tis 
not  Captain  Lawton  with  whom  you  came  in  contact,  in 
which  case  I  may  be  too  late." 

"  There  must  be  some  mistake,  sir,"  said  Wellmere, 
haughtily  ;  "  it  was  a  surgeon  that  Major  Dunwoodie  was 
to  send  me,  and  not  an  old  woman." 

"Tis  Dr.  Sitgreaves,"  said  Henry  Wharton,  quickly, 
though  with  difficulty  suppressing  a  laugh;  "  the  multi- 
tude of  his  engagements,  to-day,  has  prevented  his  usual 
attention  to  his  attire." 

"Your  pardon,  sir,"  added  Wellmere,  very  ungraciously, 
proceeding  to  lay  aside  his  coat,  and  exhibit  what  he 
called  a  wounded  arm. 

"If,  sir,"  said  the  surgeon,  dryly,  "the  degrees  of  Edin- 
burgh— walking  your  London  hospitals — amputating  some 
hundreds  of  limbs — operating  on  the  human  frame  in  every 
shape  that  is  warranted  by  the  lights  of  science,  a  clear 
conscience,  and  the  commission  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, can  make  a  surgeon,  I  am  one." 

"  Your  pardon,  sir,"  repeated  the  colonel,  stiffly.  "  Cap- 
tain Wharton  has  accounted  for  my  error." 

"  For  which  I  thank  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  sur- 
geon, proceeding  coolly  to  arrange  his  amputating  instru- 
ments, with  a  formality  that  made  the  colonel's  blood  run 
cold.  "  Where  are  you  hurt,  sir  ?  What !  is  it  then  this 
scratch  in  your  shoulder  ?  In  what  manner  might  you 
have  received  this  wound,  sir?" 

"From  the  sword  of  a  rebel  dragoon,"  said  the  colonel, 
with  emphasis. 

"Never!  Even  the  gentle  George  Singleton  would  not 
have  breathed  on  you  so  harmlessly."  He  took  a  piece  of 
sticking-plaster  from  his  pocket,  and  applied  it  to  the 
part.  "  There,  sir  ;  that  will  answer  your  purpose,  and  1 
am  certain  it  is  all  that  is  required  of  me." 

"  What  do  you  take  to  be  my  purpose,  then,  sir  ?" 

"To  report  yourself  wounded  in  your  despatches,"  re- 
plied the  doctor,  with  great  steadiness  ;  "  and  you  may  say 
that  an  old  woman  dressed  your  hurts — for,  if  one  did  not, 
one  easily  might." 

"Very  extraordinary  language,"  muttered  th«  English- 
man. 

Here  Captain  Wharton  interfered  ;  and,  by  explaining 
the  mistake  of  Colonel  Wellmere  to  proceed  from  his  irri- 


loo  THE   SPY. 

tated  mind  and  pain  of  body,  he  in  part  succeeded  in  molli- 
fying the  insulted  practitioner,  who  consented  to  look 
further  into  the  hurts  of  the  other.  They  were  chiefly 
bruises  from  his  fall,  to  which  Sitgreaves  made  some  hasty 
applications,  and  withdrew. 

The  horse,  having  taken  their  required  refreshment, 
prepared  to  fall  back  to  their  intended  position,  and  it  be- 
came incumbent  on  Dunwoodie  to  arrange  the  disposal  of 
his  prisoners.  Sitgreaves  he  determined  to  leave  in  the 
cottage  of  Mr.  Wharton,  in  attendance  on  Captain  Single- 
ton. Henry  came  to  him  with  a  request  that  Colonel 
Wellmere  might  also  be  left  behind,  under  his  parole, 
until  the  troops  marched  higher  into  the  country.  To  this 
thfe  major  cheerfully  assented  ;  and  as  all  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners  were  of  the  vulgar  herd,  they  were  speedily  col- 
lected, and,  under  the  care  of  a  strong  guard,  ordered  to 
the  interior.  The  dragoons  soon  after  marched  ;  and  the 
guides,  separating  in  small  parties,  accompanied  by  patrols 
from  the  horse,  spread  themselves  across  the  country,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  a  chain  of  sentinels  from  the 
waters  of  the  Sound  to  those  of  the  Hudson.* 

Dunwoodie  had  lingered  in  front  of  the  cottage,  after 
he  paid  his  parting  compliments,  with  an  unwillingness  to 
return,  that  he  thought  proceeded  from  his  solicitude  for 
his  wounded  friends.  The  heart  which  has  not  become 
callous  soon  sickens  with  the  glory  that  has  been  pur- 
chased with  a  waste  of  human  life.  Peyton  Dunwoodie, 
left  to  himself,  and  no  longer  excited  by  the  visions  which 
youthful  ardor  had  kept  before  him  throughout  the  day, 
began  to  feel  there  were  other  ties  than  those  which  bound 
the  soldier  within  the  rigid  rules  of  honor.  He  did  riot 
waver  in  his  duty,  yet  he  felt  how  strong  \vas  the  tempta- 
tion. His  blood  had  ceased  to  flow  with  the  impulse  cre- 
ated by  the  battle.  The  stern  expression  of  his  eye  grad- 
ually gave  place  to  a  look  of  softness  ;  and  his  reflections 
on  the  victory  brought  with  them  no  satisfaction  that  com- 
pensated for  the  sacrifices  by  which  it  had  been  purchased. 
While  turning  his  last  lingering  gaze  on  the  Locusts,  he 
remembered  only  that  it  contained  all  that  he  most  valued. 
The  friend  of  his  youth  was  a  prisoner,  under  circum- 
stances that  endangered  both  life  and  honor.  The  gentle 
companion  of  his  toils,  who  could  throw  around  the  rude 
enjoyments  of  a  soldier  the  graceful  mildness  of  peace,  lay 

*  The  scene  of  this  tale  is  between  these  two  waters,  which  are  but  a 
few  miles  from  each  other. 


THE   SPY.        ,  10 1 

a  bleeding  victim  to  his  success.  The  image  of  the  maid 
who  had  held,  during  the  day,  a  disputed  sovereignty  in 
his  bosom,  again  rose  to  his  view  with  a  loveliness  that 
banished  her  rival,  glory,  from  his  mind. 

The  last  lagging  trooper  of  the  corps  had  already  dis- 
appeared beiiind  the  northern  hill,  and  the  major  unwill- 
ingly turned  his  horse  in  the  same  direction.  Frances, 
impelled  by  a  restless  inquietude,  now  timidly  ventured  on 
the  piazza  of  the  cottage.  The  day  had  been  mild  and 
clear,  and  the  sun  was  shining  brightly  in  a  cloudless  sky. 
The  tumult  which  so  lately  disturbed  the  valley  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  stillness  of  death,  and  the  fair  scene  before 
herUooked  as  if  it  had  never  been  marred  by  the  passions 
of  men.  One  solitary  cloud,  the  collected  smoke  of  the 
contest,  hung  over  the  field  ;  and  this  was  gradually  dis- 
persing, leaving  no  vestige  of  the  conflict  above  the  peace- 
ful graves  of  its  victims.  All  the  conflicting  feelings,  all 
the  tumultuous  circumstances  of  the  eventful  day,  ap- 
peared like  the  deceptions  of  a  troubled  vision.  Frances 
turned,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  retreating  figure  of 
him  who  had  been  so  conspicuous  an  actor  in  the  scene, 
and  the  illusion  vanished.  She  recognized  her  lover,  and, 
with  the  truth,  came  other  recollections  that  drove  her  to 
the  room,  with  a  heart  as  sad  as  that  which  Dunwoodie 
himself  bore  from  the  valley. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  moment  gazed  adown  the  dale, 

A  moment  snuffed  the  tainted  gale, 

A'inoment  listened  to  the  cry, 

That  thickened  as  the  chase  drew  nigh  ; 

Then,  as  the  headmost  foe  appeared. 

With  one  brave  bound  the  copse  he  cleared, 

And  stretching  forward  free  and  far, 

Sought  the  wild  heaths  of  Uam  Var. — WALTER  SCOTT. 

THE  party  under  Captain  Lawton  had  watched  the  re- 
tiring foe  at  his  boats  with  the  most  unremitting  vigilance, 
without  finding  any  fit  opening  for  a  charge.  The  expe- 
rienced successor  of  Colonel  Wellmere  knew  too  well  the 
power  of  his  enemy  to  leave  the  uneven  surface  of  the 
heights,  until  compelled  to  descend  to  the  level  of  the 
water.  Before  he  attempted  this  hazardous  movement,  he 


102  THE   SPY. 

threw  his  men  into  a  compact  square,  with  its  outer  edges 
bristling  with  bayonets.  In  this  position,  the  impatient 
trooper  well  understood  that  brave  men  could  never  be 
assailed  by  cavalry  with  success,  and  he  was  reluctantly 
obliged  to  hover  near  them,  without  seeing  any  opportu- 
nity of  stopping  their  slow  but  steady  march  to  the  beach. 
A  small  schooner,  which  had  been  their  convoy  from  the 
city,  lay  with  her  guns  bearing  on  the  place  of  embarka- 
tion. Against  this  combination  of  force  and  discipline, 
Lawton  had  sufficient  prudence  to  see  it  would  be  folly  to 
contend,  and  the  English  were  suffered  to  embark  without 
molestation.  The  dragoons  lingered  on  the  shore  till  the 
last  moment,  and  then  they  reluctantly  commenced  their 
own  retreat  back  to  the  main  body  of  the  corps. 

The  gathering  mists  of  the  evening  had  begun  to  darken 
the  valley,  as  the  detachment  of  Lawton  made  its  reap- 
pearance at  its  southern  extremity.  The  march  of  the 
troops  was  slow,  and  their  line  extended,  for  the  benefit  of 
ease.  In  the  front  rode  the  captain,  side  by  side  with  his 
senior  subaltern,  apparently  engaged  in  close  conference, 
while  the  rear  was  brought  up  by  a  young  cornet,  hum- 
ming an  air,  and  thinking  of  the  sweets  of  a  straw  bed 
after  the  fatigues  of  a  hard  day's  duty. 

"  Then  it  struck  you,  too  ? "  said  the  captain.  "  The  in- 
stant I  placed  my  eyes  on  her,  I  remembered  the  face  ;  it 
is  one  not  easily  forgotten.  By  my  faith,  Tom,  the  girl 
does  no  discredit  to  the  major's  taste." 

"  She  would  do  honor -to  the  corps,"  replied  the  lieu- 
tenant, with  some  warmth  ;  "  those  blue  eyes  might  easily 
win  a  man  to  gentler  employments  than  this  trade  of  ours. 
In  sober  truth,  I  can  easily  imagine  such  a  girl  might 
tempt  even  me  to  quit  the  broadsword  and  saddle  for  a 
darning-needle  and  pillion." 

11  Mutiny,  sir,  mutiny,"  cried  the  other,  laughing;  "what, 
you,  Tom  Mason,  dare  to  rival  the  gay,  admired,  and  withal 
the  rich,  Major  Dunwoodie  in  his  love  !  You,  a  lieutenant 
of  cavalry,  with  but  one  horse,  and  he  none  of  the  best ! 
whose  captain  is  as  tough  as  a  pepperidge  log,  and  has  as 
many  lives  as  a  cat." 

"  Faith,"  said  the  subaltern,  smiling  in  his  turn,  "the 
log  may  yet  be  split,  and  Grimalkin  lose  his  lives,  if  you 
often  charge  as  madly  as  you  did  this  morning.  What 
think  you  of  many  raps  from  such  a  beetle  as  laid  you  on 
your  back  to-day  ?  " 

"Ah!  don't   mention  it,  my   good   Tom;  the    thought 


THE   SPY.  103 

makes  my  head  ache,"  replied  the  o^her,  shrugging  up  his 
shoulders  ;  "  it  is  what  I  call  forestalling  night." 

"The  night  of  death  ?" 

"  No,  sir,  the  night  that  follows  day.  I  saw  myriads  of 
stars,  things  which  should  hide  their  faces  in  the  presence 
of  the  lordly  sun.  I  do  think  nothing  but  this  thick  cap 
saved  me  from  your  comfort  a  little  longer,  maugre  the 
cat's  lives." 

"  I  have  much  reason  to  be  obliged  to  the  cap,"  said 
Mason,  dryly  ;  "  that  or  the  skull  must  have  had  a  reason- 
able portion  of  thickness,  I  admit." 

"  Come,  come,  Tom,  you  are  a  licensed  joker,  so  I'll  not 
feign  anger  with  you,"  returned  the  captain,  good-humor- 
edly  ;  "but  Singleton's  lieutenant,  I  am  fearful,  will  fare 
better  than  yourself  for  this  day's  service." 

"  I  believe  both  of  us  will  be  spared  the  pain  of  receiving 
promotion  purchased  by  the  death  of  a  comrade  and 
friend,"  observed  Mason,  kindly;  "it  was  reported  that 
Sitgreaves  said  he  would  live." 

"  From  my  soul,  I  hope  so,"  exclaimed  Lawton  :  "  for  a 
beardless  face,  that  boy  carries  the  stoutest  heart  I  have 
ever  met  with.  It  surprises  me,  however,  that,  as  we  both 
fell  at  the  same  instant,  the  men  behaved  so  well." 

"For  the  compliment,  I  might  thank  you,"  cried  the 
lieutenant,  with  a  laugh  ;  "but  modesty  forbids  ;  I  did  my 
best  to  stop  them,  but  without  success." 

**  Stop  them  ! "  roared  the  captain  ;  "  would  you  stop 
men  in  the  middle  of  a  charge  ?" 

"I  thought  they  were  going  the  wrong  way,"  answered 
the  subaltern. 

"  Ah  !  our  fall  drove  them  to  the  right  about  ? " 

"  It  was  either  your  fall,  or  apprehensions  of  their  own  ; 
until  the  major  rallied  us,  we  were  in  admirable  disorder." 

"  Dunwoodie !  the  major  was  on  the  crupper  of  the 
Dutchman." 

"  Ah  !  but  he  managed  to  get  off  the  crupper  of  the 
Dutchman.  He  came  in,  at  half-speed,  with  the  other  two 
troops,  and  riding  between  us  and  the  enemy,  with  that 
imperative  way  he  has  when  roused,  brought  us  in  line  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Then  it  was,"  added  the  lieu- 
tenant, with  animation,  "  that  we  sent  John  Bull  to  the 
bushes.  Oh  !  it  was  a  sweet  charge — heads  and  tails,  until 
we  were  upon  them." 

"  The  devil !     What  a  sight  I  missed  !" 

"You  slept  through  it  all." 


104  THE   SPY. 

"  Yes,"  returned  thje  other,  with  a  sigh  ;  "  it  was  all  lost 
to  me  and  poor  George  Singleton.  But,  Tom,  what  will 
George's  sister  say  to  this  fair-haired  maiden  in  yonder 
white  building  ?" 

"  Hang  herself  in  her  garters,"  said  the  subaltern.  "  I 
owe  a  proper  respect  to  my  superiors,  but  two  such  angels 
are  more  than  justly  fails  to  the  share  of  one  man,  unless 
he  be  a  Turk  or  a  Hindoo." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  the  captain,  quickly;  "the  major  is 
ever  preaching  morality  to  the  youngsters,  but  he  is  a  sly 
fellow  in  the  main.  Do  you  observe  how  fond  he  is  of  the 
cross  roads  above  this  valley  ?  Now,  if  I  were  to  halt  the 
troops  twice  in  the  same  place,  you  would  all  swear  there 
was  a  petticoat  in  the  wind." 

"  You  are  well  known  to  the  corps." 

"  Well,  Tom,  a  slanderous  propensity  is  incurable — but," 
stretching  forward  his  body  in  the  direction  he  was  gaz- 
ing, as  if  to  aid  him  in  distinguishing  objects  through  the 
darkness,  "  what  animal  is  moving  through  the  field  on  our 
right?" 

"  'Tis  a  man,"  said  Mason,  looking  intently  at  the  sus- 
picious object. 

"  By  his  hump  'tis  a  dromedary  ! "  added  the  captain, 
eying  it  keenly.  Wheeling  his  horse  suddenly  from  the 
highway,  he  exclaimed — "  Harvey  Birch  ! — take  him,  dead 
or  alive  !" 

Mason  and  a  few  of  the  leading  dragoons  only  under- 
stood the  sudden  cry,  but  it  was  heard  throughout  the  line. 
A  dozen  of  the  men,  with  the  lieutenant  at  their  head,  fol- 
lowed the  impetuous  Lawton,  and  their  speed  threatened 
the  pursued  with  a  sudden  termination  of  the  race. 

Birch  prudently  kept  his  position  on  the  rock,  where  he 
had  been  seen  by  the  passing  glance  of  Henry  Wharton, 
until  evening  had  begun  to  shroud  the  surrounding  objects 
in  darkness.  From  this  height  he  had  seen  all  the  events 
of  the  day  as  they  occurred.  He  had  watched,  with  a  beat- 
ing heart,  the  departure  of  the  troops  under  Dunwoodie, 
and  with  difficulty  had  curbed  his  impatience  until  the  ob- 
scurity of  night  should  render  his  moving  free  from  dan- 
ger. He  had  not,  however,  completed  a  fourth  of  his  way 
to  his  own  residence,  when  his  quick  ear  distinguished  the 
tread  of  approaching  horse.  Trusting  to  the  increasing 
darkness,  he  determined  to  persevere.  By  crouching  and 
moving  quickly  along  the  surface  of  the  ground,  he  hoped 
yet  to  escape  unseen.  Captain  Lawton  was  too  much  en- 


THE   SPY.  105 

grossed  with  the  foregoing  conversaiion  to  suffer  bis  eyes 
to  indulge  in  their  usual  wandering  ;  and  the  peddler,  per- 
ceiving by  the  voices  that  the  enemy  he  most  feared  had 
passed,  yielded  to  his  impatience,  and  stood  erect,  in  or- 
der to  make  greater  progress.  The  moment  his  body  arose 
above  the  shadow  of  the  ground,  it  was  seen  and  the  chase 
commenced.  For  a  single  instant,  Birch  was  helpless,  his 
blood  curdling  in  his  veins  at  the  imminence  of  his  danger, 
and  his  legs  refusing  their  natural  and  necessary  office. 
But  it  was  only  for  a  moment.  Casting  his  pack  where  he 
stood,  and  instinctively  tightening  the  belt  he  wore,  the  ped- 
dler betook  himself  to  flight.  lie  knew  that  by  bringing 
himself  in  a  line  with  his  pursuers  and  the  wood,  his  form 
would  be  lost  to  sight.  This  he  soon  effected,  and  he  was 
straining  every  nerve  to  gain  the  wood  itself,  when  sever- 
al horsemen  rode  by  him  but  a  short  distance  on  his  left, 
and  cut  him  off  from  this  place  of  refuge.  The  peddler 
threw  himself  on  the  ground  as  they  came  near  him,  and 
was  passed  unseen.  But  delay  now  became  too  danger- 
ous for  him  to  remain  in  that  position.  He  accordingly 
arose,  and  still  keeping  in  the  shadow  of  the  wood,  along 
the  skirts  of  which  he  heard  voices  crying  to  each  other 
to  be  watchful,  he  ran  with  incredible  speed  in  a  parallel 
line,  but  in  an  opposite  direction,  to  the  march  of  the  dra- 
goons. 

The  confusion  of  the  chase  had  been  heard  by  the  whole 
of  the  men,  though  none  distinctly  understood  the  order 
of  Lawton  but  those  who  followed.  The  remainder  were 
lost  in  doubt  as  to  the  duty  that  was  required  of  them  ; 
and  the  aforesaid  cornet  was  making  eager  inquiries  of  the 
trooper  near  him  on  the  subject,  when  a  man,  a  short  dis- 
tance in  the  rear,  crossed  the  road  at  a  single  bound.  At 
the  same  instant  the  stentorian  voice  of  Lawton  rang 
through  the  valley,  shouting  : 

"  Harvey  Birch — take  him,  dead  or  alive  !  " 

Fifty  pistols  lighted  the  scene,  and  the  bullets  whistled 
in  every  direction  round  the  head  of  the  devoted  peddler. 
A  feeling  of  despair  seized  his  heart,  and  in  the  bitterness 
of  that  moment  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Hunted  like  a  beast  of  the  forest ! " 

He  felt  life  and  its  accompaniments  to  be  a  burden  and 
was  about  to  yield  himself  to  his  enemies.  Nature,  how- 
ever, prevailed.  If  taken,  there  was  great  reason  to  ap- 
prehend that  he  would  not  be  honored  with  the  forms  of 
a  trial,  but  that  most  probably  the  morning  sun  would  wit- 


io6  THE -SPY. 

ness  his  ignominious  execution  ;  for  he  had  already  been 
condemned  to  death,  and  had  already  escaped  the  fate  by 
stratagem.  These  considerations,  with  the  approaching 
footsteps  of  his  pursuers,  roused  him  to  new  exertions. 
He  again  fled  before  them.  A  fragment  of  a  wall,  that 
had  withstood  the  ravages  made  by  war  in  the  adjoining 
fences  of  wood,  fortunately  crossed  his  path.  He  hardly 
had  time  to  throw  his  exhausted  limbs  over  this  barrier, 
before  twenty  of  his  enemies  reached  its  opposite  side. 
Their  horses  refused  to  take  the  leap  in  the  dark,  and 
amid  the  confusion  of  the  rearing  chargers,  and  the  exe- 
crations of  their  riders,  Birch  was  enabled  to  gain  a  sight 
of  the  base  of  the  hill,  on  whose  summit  was  a  place  of 
perfect  security.  The  heart  of  the  peddler  now  beat  high 
with  hope,  when  the  voice  of  Captain  Lawton. again  rang 
in  his  ears,  shouting  to  his  men  to  make  room.  The  or- 
der was  obeyed,  and  the  fearless  trooper  rode  at  the  wall 
at  the  top  of  his  horse's  speed,  plunged  the  rowels  in  his 
charger,  and  flew  over  the  obstacle  in  safety.  The  trium- 
phant hurrahs  of  the  men,  and  the  thundering  tread  of  the 
horse,  too  plainly  assured  the  peddler  of  the  emergency  of 
his  danger.  He  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  his  fate  no 
longer  seemed  doubtful. 

"  vStop,  or  die!"  was  uttered  above  his  head,  and  in 
fearful  proximity  to  his  ears. 

Harvey  stole  a  glance  over  his  shoulder,  and  saw  within 
a  bound  of  him  the  man  he  most  dreaded.  By  the  light 
of  the  stars  he  beheld  the  uplifted  arm  and  the  threatening 
sabre.  Fear,  exhaustion,  and  despair  seized  his  heart,  and 
the  intended  victim  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  dragoon.  The 
horse  of  Lawton  struck  the  prostrate  peddler,  and  both 
steed  and  rider  came  violently  to  earth. 

As  quick  as  thought,  Birch  was  on  his  feet  again,  with 
the  sword  of  the  discomfited  dragoon  in  his  hand.  Ven- 
geance seems  but  too  natural  to  human  passions.  There 
are  few  who  have  not  felt  the  seductive  pleasure  of  making 
our  injuries  recoil  on  their  authors  ;  and  yet  there  are  some 
who  know  how  much  sweeter  it  is  to  return  good  for  evil. 

All  the  wrong  of  the  peddler  shone  on  his  brain  with  a 
dazzling  brightness.  For  a  moment  the  demon  within  him 
prevailed,  and  Birch  brandished  the  powerful  weapon  in 
the  air;  in  the  next,  it  fell  harmless  on  the  reviving  but 
helpless  trooper.  The  peddler  vanished  up  the  side  of  the 
friendly  rock. 

"  Help  Captain  Lawton,  there  !  "  cried  Mason,  as  he  rode 


THE   SPY. 


107 


up,  followed  by  a  dozen  of  his  men,  "  and  some  of  you 
dismount  with  me,  and  search  these  rocks  ;  the  villain  lies 
here  concealed." 

"  Hold  !  "  roared  the  discomfited  captain,  raising  himself 
with  difficulty  on  his  feet  ;  "  if  one  of  you  dismount,  he 
dies.  Tom,  my  good  fellow,  you  will  help  me  to  straddle 
Roanoke  again." 

The  astonished  subaltern  complied  in  silence,  while  the 
wondering  dragoons  remained  as  fixed  in  their  saddles  as 
if  they  composed  part  of  the  animals  they  rode. 

"  You  are  much  hurt,  I  fear,"  said  Mason,  with  some- 
thing of  condolence  in  his  manner,  as  they  re-entered  the 
highway,  and  biting  off  the  end  of  a  cigar  for  the  want  of 
a  better  quality  of  tobacco. 

"Something  so,  I  do  believe,"  replied  the  captain, 
catching  his  breath,  and  speaking  with  difficulty  ;  "I  wish 
our  bone-setter  was  at  hand,  to  examine  into  the  state  of 
my  ribs." 

"  Sitgreaves  is  left  in  attendance  on  Captain  Singleton, 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wharton." 

"  Then  there  I  halt  for  the  night,  Tom.  These  rude 
times  must  abridge  ceremony  ;  besides,  you  may  remem- 
ber the  old  gentleman  professed  a  kinsman's  regard  for 
the  corps.  I  can  never  think  of  passing  so  good  a  friend 
without  a  halt." 

"  And  I  will  lead  the  troops  on  to  the  Four  Corners  ;  if 
we  all  halt  there,  we  shall  breed  a  famine  in  the  land." 

"A  condition  I  never  desire  to  be  placed  in.  The  idea 
of  that  graceful  spinster's  cakes  is  no  bad  solace  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  the  hospital." 

"  Oh  !  you  won't  die  if  you  can  think  of  eating,"  said 
Mason,  with  a  laugh. 

"  I  should  surely  die  if  I  could  not,"  observed  the  cap- 
tain, gravely. 

"  Captain  Lawton,"  said  the  orderly  of  his  troop,  riding 
to  the  side  of  his  commanding  officer,  "we  are  now  pass- 
ing the  house  of  the  peddler  spy  ;  is  it  your  pleasure  that 
we  burn  it  ?  " 

"  No ! "  roared  the  captain,  in  a  voice  that  startled  the 
disappointed  sergeant ;  u  are  you  an  incendiary  ?  would 
you  burn  a  house  in  cold  blood  ?  Let  but  a  spark  approach, 
and  the  hand  that  carries  it  will  never  light  another." 

"Zounds!"  muttered  the  sleepy  cornet  in  the  rear,  as 
he  was  nodding  on  his  horse,  "  there  is  life  in  the  captain, 
notwithstanding  his  tumble." 


io8  THE  SPY. 

Lawton  and  Mason  rode  on  in  silence,  the  latter  rumi- 
nating on  the  wonderful  change  produced  in  his  commander 
by  his  fall,  when  they  arrived  opposite  to  the  gate  before 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Wharton.  The  troop  continued  its 
march  ;  but  the  captain  and  his  lieutenant  dismounted, 
and,  followed  by  the  servant  of  the  former,  they  proceeded 
slowly  to  the  door  of  the  cottage. 

Colonel  Wellmere  had  already  sought  a  retreat  in  his  own 
room  ;  Mr.  Wharton  and  his  son  were  closeted  by  them- 
selves ;  and  the  ladies  were  administering  the  refreshments 
of  the  tea-table  to  the  surgeon  of  the  dragoons,  who  had 
seen  one  of  his  patients  in  his  bed,  and  the  other  happily  en- 
joying the  comforts  of  a  sweet  sleep.  A  few  natural  in- 
quiries from  Miss  Peyton  had  opened  the  soul  of  the  doctor, 
who  knew  every  individual  of  her  extensive  family  con- 
nection in  Virginia,  and  who  even  thought  it  possible  that 
he  had  seen  the  lady  herself.  The  amiable  spinster  smiled 
as  she  felt  it  to  be  improbable  that  she  should  ever  have 
met  her  new  acquaintance  before,  and  not  remember  his 
singularities.  It,  however,  greatly  relieved  the  embarrass- 
ment of  their  situation,  and  something  like  a  discourse  was 
maintained  between  them  ;  the  nieces  were  only  listeners, 
nor  could  the  aunt  be  said  to  be  much  more. 

"As  I  was  observing,  Miss  Peyton,  it  was  merely  the 
noxious  vapors  of  the  lowlands  that  rendered  the  planta- 
tion of  your  brother  an  unfit  residence  for  man  ;  but 
quadrupeds  were " 

"  Bless  me,  what's  that  ?  "  said  Miss  Peyton,  turning  pale 
at  the  report  of  the  pistols  fired  at  Birch. 

"  It  sounds  prodigiously  like  the  concussion  on  the  at- 
mosphere made  by  the  explosion  of  firearms,"  said  the  sur- 
geon, sipping  his  tea  with  great  indifference.  "I  should 
imagine  it  to  be  the  troop  of  Captain  Lawton  returning,  did 
I  not  know  the  captain  never  uses  the  pistol,  and  that  he 
dreadfully  abuses  the  sabre." 

"  Merciful  providence  !  "  exclaimed  the  agitated  maiden  ; 
"he  would  not  injure  one  with  it  certainly." 

"Injure!"  repeated  the  other,  quickly;  "it  is  certain 
death,  madam — the  most  random  blows  imaginable  ;  all  that 
I  can  say  to  him  will  have  no  effect." 

"But  Captain  Lawton  is  the  officer  we  saw  this  morning, 
and  is  surely  your  friend,"  said  Frances,  hastily,  observing 
her  aunt  to  be  seriously  alarmed. 

"I  find  no  fault  with  his  want  of  friendship  ;  the  man  is 
well  enough,  if  he  would  learn  to  cut  scientifically.  All 


THE   SPY.  109 

trades,  madam,  ought  to  be  allowed  to  live  ;  but  what  is  to 
become  of  a  surgeon,  if  .his  patients  are  dead  before  he  sees 
them  ?" 

The  doctor  continued  haranguing  on  the  probability  and 
improbability  of  its  being  the  returning  troop,  until  a  loud 
knock  at  the  door  gave  new  alarm  to  the  ladies.  Instinc- 
tively laying  his  hand  on  a  small  saw,  that  had  been  his  com- 
panion for  the  whole  day,  in  the  vain  expectation  of  an  am- 
putation, the  surgeon,  coolly  assuring  the  ladies  that  he 
would  stand  between  them  and  danger,  proceeded  in  per- 
son to  answer  the  summons. 

4<  Captain  Lawton  !  "  exclaimed  the  surgeon,  as  he  beheld 
the  trooper  leaning  on  the  arm  of  his  subaltern,  and  with 
difficulty  crossing  the  threshold. 

"  Ah !  my  dear  bone-setter,  is  it  you  ?  You  are  here 
very  fortunately  to  inspect  my  carcass  ;  but  do  lay  aside 
that  rascally  saw  !  " 

A  few  words  from  Mason  explained  the  nature  and 
manner  of  his  captain's  hurts,  and  Miss  Peyton  cheerfully 
accorded  the  required  accommodations.  While  the  room 
intended  for  the  trooper  was  getting  ready,  and  the  doctor 
was  giving  certain  portentous  orders,  the  captain  was  in- 
vited to  rest  himself  in  the  parlor.  On  the  table  was  a  dish 
of  more  substantial  food  than  ordinarily  adorned  the  after- 
noon's repast,  and  it  soon  caught  the  attention  of  the  dra- 
goons. Miss  Peyton,  recollecting  that  they  had  probably 
made  their  only  meal  that  day  at  her  own  table,  kindly  in- 
vited them  to  close  it  with  another.  The  offer  required  no 
pressing,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  two  were  comfortably 
seated,  and  engaged  in  an  employment  that  was  only  in- 
terrupted by  an  occasional  wry  face  from  the  captain,  who 
moved  his  body  in  evident  pain.  These  interruptions,  how- 
ever, interfered  but  little  with  the  principal  business  in 
hand  ;  and  the  captain  had  got  happily  through  with  this 
important  duty,  before  the  surgeon  returned  to  announce 
all  things  ready  for  his  accommodation,  in  the  room  above 
stairs. 

"  Eating  !  "  cried  the  astonished  physician  ;  "  Captain 
Lawton,  do  you  wish  to  die  ?  " 

"I  have  no  particular  ambition  in  that  way,"  said  the 
trooper,  rising,  and  bowing  good-night  to  the  ladies,  "  and, 
therefore,  have  been  providing  the  materials  necessary  to 
preserve  life." 

The  surgeon  muttered  his  dissatisfaction,  while  he  fol- 
lowed Mason  and  the  captain  from  the  apartment. 


no  THE   SPY. 

Every  house  in  America  had,  at  that  day,  what  was  em- 
phatically called  its  best  room,  and  this  had  been  allotted, 
by  the  unseen  influence  of  Sarah,  to  Colonel  Wellmere. 
The  down  counterpane,  which  a  clear  frosty  night  would 
render  extremely  grateful  over  bruised  limbs,  decked  the 
English  officer's  bed.  A  massive  silver  tankard,  richly 
embossed  with  the  Wharton  arms,  held  the  beverage  he 
was  to  drink  during  the  night  ;  while  beautiful  vessels  of 
china  performed  the  same  office  for  the  two  American 
captains.  Sarah  was  certainly  unconscious  of  the  silent 
preference  she  had  been  giving  to  the  English  officer  ; 
and  it  is  equally  certain  that,  but  for  his  hurts,  bed,  tank- 
ard, and  everything  but  the  beverage,  would  have  been 
matters  of  indifference  to  Captain  Lawton,  half  of  whose 
nights  were  spent  in  his  clothes,  and  not  a  few  of  them  in 
the  saddle.  After  taking  possession,  however,  of  a  small 
but  very  comfortable  room,  Doctor  Sitgreaves  proceeded 
to  inquire  into  the  state  of  his  injuries.  He  had  begun  to 
pass  his  hand  over  the  body  of  his  patient,  when  the  lat- 
ter cried,  impatiently : 

"  Sitgreaves,  do  me  the  favor  to  lay  that  rascally  saw 
aside,  or  I  shall  have  recourse  to  my  sabre  in  self-defence  ; 
the  sight  of  it  makes  my  blood  cold." 

"  Captain  Lawton,  for  a  man  who  has  so  often  exposed 
life  and  limb,  you  are  unaccountably  afraid  of  a  very  use- 
ful instrument." 

"  Heaven  keep  me  from  its  use,"  said  the  trooper  with 
a  shrug. 

"  You  would  not  despise  the  lights  of  science,  nor  re- 
fuse surgical  aid,  because  this  saw  might  be  necessary  ? " 

"I  would." 

"You  would!" 

"  Yes  ;  you  shall  never  joint  me  like  a  quarter  of  beef 
while  I  have  life  to  defend  myself,"  cried  the  resolute 
dragoon.  "  But  I  grow  sleepy  ;  are  any  of  my  ribs 
broken  ? " 

"No." 

"  Any  of  my  bones  ? " 

"No." 

"  Tom,  I'll  thank  you  for  that  pitcher."  As  he  ended 
his  draught,  he  very  deliberately  turned  his  back  on  his 
companions,  and  good-naturedly  cried — "  Good-night, 
Mason  ;  good-night,  Galen." 

Captain  Lawton  entertained  a  profound  respect  for  the 
surgical  abilities  of  his  comrade,  but  he  was  very  sceptical 


THE   SPY.  in 

on  the  subject  of  administering  internally  for  the  ailings  of 
the  human  frame.  With  a  full  stomach,  a  stout  heart,  and 
a  clear  conscience,  he  often  maintained  that  a  man  might 
bid  defiance  to  the  world  and  its  vicissitudes.  Nature  pro- 
vided him  with  the  second,  and,  to  say  the  truth,  he  strove 
manfully  himself  to  keep  up  the  other  two  requisites  in 
his  creed.  It  was  a  favorite  maxim  with  him,  that  the 
last  thing  death  assailed  was  the  eyes,  and  the  next  to  the 
last,  the  jaws.  This  he  interpreted  to  be  a  clear  expres- 
sion of  the  intention  of  nature,  that  every  man  might  reg- 
ulate, by  his  own  volition,  whatever  was  to  be  admitted 
into  the  sanctuary  of  his  mouth  ;  consequently,  if  the 
guest  proved  unpalatable,  he  had  no  one  to  blame  but  him- 
self. The  surgeon,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  these 
views  of  his  patient,  beheld  him,  as  he  cavalierly  turned 
his  back  on  Mason  and  himself,  with  a  commiserating  con- 
tempt, replaced  in  their  leathern  repository  the  phials  he 
had  exhibited,  with  a  species  of  care  that  was  allied  to 
veneration,  gave  the  saw,  as  he  concluded,  a  whirl  of 
triumph,  and  departed,  without  condescending  to  notice 
the  compliment  of  the  trooper.  Mason,  finding  by  the 
breathing  of  the  captain  that  his  own  good-night  would 
be  unheard,  hastened  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  ladies, 
after  which  he  mounted,  and  followed  the  troop  at  the  top 
of  his  horse's  speed. 


CHAPTER  X. 

On  some  fond  breast  the  parting  soul  relies, 
Some  pious  drops  the  closing  eye  requires, 

E'en  from  the  tomb  the  voice  of  nature  cries, 

E'en  in  our  ashes  live  their  wonted  fires. — GRAY. 

THE  possessions  of  Mr.  Wharton  extended  to  some  dis- 
tance on  each  side  of  the  house  in  which  he  dwelt,  and 
most  of  his  land  was  unoccupied.  A  few  scattered  dwell- 
ings were  to  be  seen  in  different  parts  of  his  domains,  but 
they  were  fast  falling  to  decay,  and  were  untenanted.  The 
proximity  of  the  country  to  the  contending  armies  had 
nearly  banished  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  from  the  land. 
It  was  useless  for  the  husbandman  to  devote  his  time,  and 
the  labor  of  his  hands,  to  obtain  overflowing  garners,  that 
the  first  foraging  party  would  empty.  None  tilled  the 
earth  with  any  other  view  than  to  provide  the  scanty  means 


'12  THE   SPY. 

of  subsistence,  except  those  who  were  placed  so  near  tc 
one  of  the  adverse  parties  as  to  be  safe  from  the  inroads  of 
the  light  troops  of  the  other.  To  these  the  war  offered  a 
golden  harvest,  more  especially  to  such  as  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  an  access  to  the  royal  army.  Mr.  Wharton  did 
not  require  the  use  of  his  lands  for  the  purpose  of  subsist- 
ence ;  and  he  willingly  adopted  the  guarded  practice  of 
the  day,  limiting  his  attention  to  such  articles  as  were  soon 
to  be  consumed  within  his  own  walls,  or  could  be  easily 
secreted  from  the  prying  eyes  of  the  foragers.  In  conse- 
quence, the  ground  on  which  the  action  was  fought  had 
not  a  single  inhabited  building,  besides  the  one  belonging 
to  the  father  of  Harvey  Birch.  This  house  stood  between 
the  place  where  the  cavalry  had  met  and  that  where  the 
charge  had  been  made  on  the  party  of  Wellmere. 

To  Katy  Haynes  it  had  been  a  day  fruitful  of  incidents. 
The  prudent  house-keeper  had  kept  her  political  feelings 
in  a  state  of  rigid  neutrality  ;  her  own  friends  had  es- 
poused the  cause  of  the  country,  but  the  maiden  herself 
never  lost  sight  of  that  important  moment,  when,  like  fe- 
males of  more  illustrious  hopes,  she  might  be  required  to 
sacrifice  her  love  of  country  on  the  altar  of  domestic  har- 
mony. And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  her  sagacity,  there 
were  moments  when  the  good  woman  had  grievous  doubts 
into  which  scale  she  ought  to  throw  the  weight  of  her  elo- 
quence, in  order  to  be  certain  of  supporting  the  cause  fa- 
vored by  the  peddler.  There  was  so  much  that  was  equiv- 
ocal in  his  movements  and  manner,  that  often  when,  in 
the  privacy  of  their  household,  she  was  about  to  utter  a 
philippic  on  Washington  and  his  followers,  discretion 
sealed  her  mouth,  and  distrust  beset  her  mind.  In  short, 
the  whole  conduct  of  the  mysterious  being  she  studied 
was  of  a  character  to  distract  the  opinions  of  one  who  took 
a  more  enlarged  view  of  men  and  life  than  came  within 
the  competency  of  his  house-keeper. 

The  battle  of  the  Plains  had  taught  the  cautious  Wash- 
ington the  advantages  his  enemy  possessed  in  organization, 
arms,  and  discipline.  These  were  difficulties  to  be  mas- 
tered by  his  own  vigilance  and  care.  Drawing  off  his 
troops  to  the  heights,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
he  had  bidden  defiance  to  the  attacks  of  the  royal  army, 
and  Sir  William  Howe  fell  back  to  the  enjoyment  of  his 
barren  conquest — a  deserted  city.  Never  afterward  did 
the  opposing  armies  make  the  trial  of  strength  within  the 
limits  of  Westchester  ;  yet  hardly  a  day  passed  that  the 


THE   SPY.  113 

partisans  did  not  make  their  inroads  ;  or  a  sunrise,  thai 
the  inhabitants  were  spared  the  relation  of  excesses  which 
the  preceding  darkness  had  served  to  conceal.  Most  of 
the  movements  of  the  peddler  were  made  at  the  hours 
which  others  allotted  to  repose.  The  evening  sun  would 
frequently  leave  him  at  one  extremity  of  the  county,  and 
the  morning  find  him  at  the  other.  His  pack  was  his 
never-failing  companion,  and  there  were  those  who  closely 
studied  him,  in  his  moments  of  traffic,  and  thought  his 
only  purpose  was  the  accumulation  of  gold.  He  would  be 
often  seen  near  the  Highlands,  with  a  body  bending  under 
its  load  ;  and  again  near  the  Harlem  River,  travelling  with 
lighter  steps,  with  his  face  toward  the  setting  sun.  But 
these  glances  at  him  were  uncertain  and  fleeting.  The  in- 
termediate time  no  eye  could  penetrate.  For  months  he 
disappeared,  and  no  traces  of  his  course  were  ever  known. 
Strong  parties  held  the  heights  of  Harlem,  and  the  north- 
ern end  of  Manhattan  Island  was  bristling  with  the  bayo- 
nets of  the  English  sentinels,  yet  the  peddler  glided  among 
them  unnoticed  and  uninjured.  His  approaches  to  the 
American  lines  were  also  frequent ;  but  generally  so  con- 
ducted as  to  baffle  pursuit.  Many  a  sentinel,  placed  in  the 
gorges  of  the  mountains,  spoke  of  a  strange  figure  that 
had  been  seen  gliding  by  them  in  the  mists  of  the  evening. 
These  stories  reached  the  ears  of  the  officers,  and,  as  we 
have  rented,  in  two  instances  the  trader  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Americans.  The  first  time  he  had  escaped 
from  Lavvton,  shortly  after  his  arrest  ;  but  the  second  he 
was  condemned  to  die.  On  the  morning  of  his  intended 
executioi  .  the  cage  was  opened,  but  the  bird  had  flown. 
This  extraordinary  escape  had  been  made  from  the  custody 
of  a  favorite  officer  of  Washington,  and  sentinels  who  had 
been  thought  worthy  to  guard  the  person  of  the  comman- 
der-in-chi^f.  Bribery  and  treason  could  not  be  imputed  to 
men  so  w\  11  esteemed,  and  the  opinion  gained  ground 
among  the\jommon  soldiery  that  the  peddler  had  dealings 
with  the  dark  one.  Katy,  however,  always  repelled  this 
opinion  with  indignation  ;  for  within  the  recesses  of  her 
own  bosom  the  house-keeper,  in  ruminating  on  the  events, 
concluded  that  the  evil  spirits  did  not  pay  in  gold.  Nor, 
continued  the  wary  spinster  in  her  cogitations,  does  Wash- 
ington ;  paper  and  promises  were  all  that  the  leader  of  the 
American  troops  could  dispense  to  his  servants.  After  the 
alliance  with  France,  when  silver  became  more  abundant 
in  the  country,  although  the  scrutinizing  eyes  of  Katy  never 
8 


KI4  THE   SPY. 

let  any  opportunity  of  examining  into  the  deerskin  purse 
pass  unimproved,  she  was  never  able  to  detect  the  image 
of  Louis  intruding  into  the  presence  of  the  well-known 
countenance  of  George  III.  In  short,  the  secret  hoard  oi 
Harvey  sufficiently  showed  in  its  contents  that  all  its  con- 
tributions had  been  received  from  the  British. 

The  house  of  Birch  had  been  watched  at  different  times 
by  the  Americans,  with  a  view  to  his  arrest,  but  never  with 
success  ;  the  reputed  spy  possessing  a  secret  means  of  intel- 
ligence that  invariably  defeated  their  schemes.  Once, 
when  a  strong  body  of  the  Continental  Army  held  the  Four 
Corners  for  a  whole  summer,  orders  had  been  received 
from  Washington  himself  never  to  leave  the  door  of  Har- 
vey Birch  unwatched.  The  command  was  rigidly  obeyed, 
and  during  this  long  period  the  peddler  was  unseen  ;  the 
detachment  was  withdrawn,  and  the  following  night  Birch 
re-entered  his  dwelling.  The  father  of  Harvey  had  been 
greatly  molested  in  consequence  of  the  suspicious  charac- 
ter of  the  son.  But,  notwithstanding  the  most  minute 
scrutiny  into  the  conduct  of  the  old  man,  no  fact  could  be 
substantiated  against  him  to  his  injury,  and  his  property  was 
too  small  to  keep  alive  the  zeal  of  patriots  by  profession. 
Its  confiscation  and  purchase  would  not  have  rewarded 
their  trouble.  Age  and  sorrow  were  now  about  to  spare 
him  further  molestation,  for  the  lamp  of  life  had  been 
drained  of  its  oil.  The  recent  separation  of  the  father  and 
son  had  been  painful,  but  they  had  submitted  in  obedience 
to  what  both  thought  a  duty.  The  old  man  had  kept  his 
dying  situation  a  secret  from  the  neighborhood,  in  the 
hope  that  he  might  still  have  the  company  of  his  child  in 
his  last  moments.  The  confusion  of  the  day,  and  his  in- 
creasing dread  that  Harvey  might  be  too  late,  helped  to 
hasten  the  event  he  would  fain  arrest  fora  little  while.  As 
night  set  in,  his  illness  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  the 
dismayed  house-keeper  sent  a  truant  boy,  who  had  shut  up 
himself  with  them  during  the  combat,  to  the  Locusts,  in 
quest  of  a  companion  to  cheer  her  solitude.  Caesar,  alone, 
could  be  spared,  and,  loaded  with  eatables  and  cordials  by 
the  kind-hearted  Miss  Peyton,  the  black  had  been  de- 
spatched on  this  duty.  The  dying  man  was  past  the  use  of 
medicines,  and  his  chief  anxiety  seemed  to  centre  in  a 
meeting  with  his  child. 

The  noise  of  the  chase  had  been  heard  by  the  group  in 
the  house,  but  its  cause  was  not  understood  ;  and  as  both 
the  black  and  Katy  were  apprised  of  the  detachment  of 


THE  SPy.  115 

American  horse  being  below  them,  they  supposed  it  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  return  of  that  party.  They  heard  the  dra- 
goons, as  they  moved  slowly  by  the  building  ;  but,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  prudent  injunction  of  the  black,  the 
housekeeper  forbore  to  indulge  her  curiosity.  The  old 
man  had  closed  his  eyes,  and  his  attendants  believed  him 
to  be  asleep.  The  house  contained  two  large  rooms,  and 
as  many  small  ones.  One  of  the  former  served  for  kitchen 
and  sitting-room ;  in  the  other  lay  the  father  of  Birch  ;  of 
the  latter,  one  was  the  sanctuary  of  the  vestal,  and  the  other 
contained  the  stock  of  provisions.  A  huge  chimney  of 
stone  rose  in  the  centre,  serving,  of  itself,  for  a  partition 
between  the  larger  rooms  ;  and  fireplaces  of  corresponding 
dimensions  were  in  each  apartment.  A  bright  flame  was 
burning  in  that  of  the  common  room,  and  within  the  very 
jambs  of  its  monstrous  jaws  sat  Caesar  and  Katy,  at  the 
time  of  which  we  write.  The  African  was  impressing  his 
caution  on  the  house-keeper,  and  commenting  on  the  gen- 
eral danger  of  indulging  an  idle  curiosity. 

"Best  nebber  tempt  a  Satan,"  said  Caesar,  rolling  up 
his  eyes  till  the  whites  glistened  by  the  glare  of  the  fire  ; 
"  I  berry  like  heself  to  lose  an  ear  for  carrying  a  little  bit 
of  a  letter  ;  dere  much  mischief  come  of  curiosity.  If  dere 
had  nebber  been  a  man  curious  to  see  Africa,  dere  would 
be  no  color  people  out  of  dere  own  country  ;  but  I  wish 
Harvey  get  back." 

"It  is  very  disregardful  in  him  to  be  away  at  such  a 
time,"  said  Katy,  imposingly.  "  Suppose,  now,  his  father 
wanted  to  make  his  last  will  in  the  testament,  who  is  there 
to  do  so  solemn  and  awful  an-  act  for  him  ?  Harvey  is  a 
very  wasteful  and  a  very  disregardful  man  !" 

"  Perhaps  he  make  him  afore  ?" 

"It  would  not  be  a  wonderment  if  he  had,"  returned  the 
house-keeper  ;  "  he  is  whole  days  looking  into  the  Bible." 

"  Then  he  read  a  berry  good  book,"  said  the  black,  sol- 
emnly;  "  Miss  Fanny  read  in  him  to  Dinah  now  and  den." 

"  You  are  right,  Caesar.  The  Bible  is  the  best  of  books, 
and  one  that  reads  it  as  often  as  Harvey's  father  should 
have  the  best  of  reasons  for  so  doing.  This  is  no  more 
than  common-sense." 

She  rose  from  her  seat,  and  stealing  softly  to  a  chest  of 
drawers  in  the  room  of  the  sick  man,  she  took  from  it  a 
large  Bible,  heavily  bound,  and  secured  with  strong  clasps 
of  brass,  with  which  she  returned  to  the  negro.  The  vol- 
ume was  eagerly  opened,  and  they  proceeded  instantly  to 


n6  THE   SPY. 

examine  its  pages.  Katy  was  far  from  an  expert  scholar, 
and  to  Caesar  the  characters  were  absolutely  strangers. 
For  some  time  the  house-keeper  was  occupied  in  finding 
out  the  word  Matthew,  in  which  she  had  no  sooner  suc- 
ceeded than  she  pointed  out  the  word,  with  great  com- 
placency, to  the  attentive  Caesar. 

"  Berry  well,  now  look  him  t'rough,"  said  the  black, 
peeping  over  the  house-keeper's  shoulder,  as  he  held  a 
long,  lank  candle,  of  yellow  tallow,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
throw  its  feeble  light  on  the  volume. 

"Yes,  but  I  must  begin  with  the  very  beginning  of  the 
book,"  replied  the  other,  turning  the  leaves  carefully  back, 
until,  moving  two  at  once,  she  lighted  upon  a  page  covered 
with  writing.  "  Here,"  said  the  house-keeper,  shaking  with 
the  eagerness  of  expectation,  "  here  are  the  very  words 
themselves  ;  now  I  would  give  the  world  itself  to  know 
whom  he  has  left  the  big  silver  shoe-buckles  to." 

"Read  'em,"  said  Caesar,  laconically. 

"And  the  black  walnut  drawers;  for  Harvey  could 
never  want  furniture  of  that  quality  as  long  as  he  is  a 
bachelor!" 

"Why  he  no  want  'em  as  well  as  he  fader  ? " 

"And  the  six  silver  tablespoons;  Harvey  always  uses 
the  iron ! " 

"  P'r'ap  he  say,  widout  so  much  talk,"  returned  the  sen- 
tentious black,  pointing  one  of  his  crooked  and  dingy  fin- 
gers at  the  open  volume. 

Thus  repeatedly  advised,  and  impelled  by  her  own  curi- 
osity, Katy  began  to  read.  Anxious  to  come  to  the  part 
which  most  interested  herself,  she  dipped  at  once  into  the 
centre  of  the  subject. 

"  Chester  Birch,  born  September  i,  1755  " — read  the  spinster, 
with  a  deliberation  that  did  no  great  honor  to  her  scholar- 
ship. 

"Well,  what  he  gib  him  ?" 

"  Abigail  Birch,  born  July  12,  1757,"  continued  the  house- 
keeper, in  the  same  tone. 

"  I  t'ink  he  ought  to  gib  her  'e  spoon." 

"June  i,  1760.  On  this  awful  day^  the  judgment  of  an  of- 
fended God  lighted  on  my  house :" — a  heavy  groan  from  the 
adjoining  room  made  the  spinster  instinctively  close  the 
volume,  and  Caesar,  for  a  moment,  shook  with  fear. 
Neither  possessed  sufficient  resolution  to  go  and  examine 
the  condition  of  the  sufferer,  but  his  heavy  breathing  con- 
tinued as.  usual.  Katy  dare  not,  however,  reopen  the 


THE  SPY.  ii 7 

Bible,  and  carefully  securing  its  clasps,  it  was  laid  on  the 
table  in  silence.  Caesar  took  his  chair  again,  and  after 
looking  timidly  round  the  room,  remarked  : 

"  I  t'ought  he  time  war  come  !  " 

"No,"  said  Katy,  solemnly,  "he  will  live  till  the  tide  is 
out,  or  the  first  cock  crows  in  the  morning." 

"  Poor  man  !  "  continued  the  black,  nestling  still  farther 
into  the  chimney-corner,  "  I  hope  he  lay  quiet  after  he 
die." 

"'Twould  be  no  astonishment  to  me  if  he  didn't,  for 
they  say  an  unquiet  life  makes  an  uneasy  grave." 

"  Johnny  Birch  a  very  good  man  in  he  way.  All  man- 
kind can't  be  a  minister  ;  for  if  he  do,  who  would  be  a  con- 
gregation  ?" 

"  Ah  !  Caesar,  he  is  good  only  who  does  good — can  you 
tell  me  why  honestly  gotten  gold  should  be  hidden  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  ? " 

"  Grach ! — I  t'ink  it  must  be  to  keep  t'e  Skinner  from 
findin'  him  ;  if  he  know  where  he  be,  why  don't  he  dig  him 
up  ?" 

"  There  may  be  reasons  not  comprehendable  to  you," 
said  Katy,  moving  her  chair  so  that  her  clothes  covered 
the  charmed  stone,  underneath  which  lay  the  secret  treas- 
ures of  the  peddler,  unable  to  refrain  speaking  of  that 
which  she  would  have  been  very  unwilling  to  reveal  ;  "  but 
a  rough  outside  often  holds  a  smooth  inside."  Caesar 
stared  around  the  building,  unable  to  fathom  the  hidden 
meaning  of  his  companion,  when  his  roving  eyes  suddenly 
became  fixed  and  his  teeth  chattered  with  affright.  The 
change  in  the  countenance  of  the  black  was  instantly  per- 
ceived by  Katy,  and  turning  her  face,  she  saw  the  peddler 
himself  standing  within  the  door  of  the  room. 

"  Is  he  alive  ? "  asked  Birch,  tremulously,  and  seemingly 
afraid  to  receive  the  answer. 

"Surely,"  said  Katy,  rising  hastily,  and  officiously  offer- 
ing her  chair  ;  "he  must  live  till  day,  or  till  the  tide  is 
down." 

Disregarding  all  but  the  fact  that  his  father  still  lived, 
the  peddler  stole  gently  into  the  room  of  his  dying  parent. 
The  tie  which  bound  the  father  and  son  was  of  no  ordinary 
kind.  In  the  wide  world  they  were  all  to  each  other. 
Had  Katy  but  read  a  few  lines  farther  in  the  record,  she 
would  have  seen  the  sad  tale  of  their  misfortunes.  Atone 
blow  competence  and  kindred  had  been  swept  from  them, 
and  from  that  day  to  the  present  hour,  persecution  and 


n8  THE   SPY. 

distress  had  followed  their  wandering  steps.  Approaching 
the  bedside,  Harvey  leaned  his  body  forward,  and,  in  a 
voice  nearly  choked  by  his  feelings,  he  whispered  near  the 
ear  of  the  sick  : 

"  Father,  do  you  know  me  ? " 

The  parent  slowly  opened  his  eyes,  and  a  smile  of  satis- 
faction passed  over  his  pallid  features,  leaving  behind  it 
the  impression  of  death,  more  awful  by  the  contrast.  The 
peddler  gave  a  restorative  he  had  brought  with  him  to  the 
parched  lips  of  the  sick  man,  and  for  a  few  minutes  new 
vigor  seemed  imparted  to  his  frame.  He  spoke,  but 
slowly,  and  with  difficulty.  Curiosity  kept  Katy  silent ; 
awe  had  the  same  effect  on  Caesar  ;  and  Harvey  seemed 
hardly  to  breathe  as  he  listened  to  the  language  of  the  de- 
parting spirit. 

"  My  son,"  said  the  father,  in  a  hollow  voice,  "  God  is  as 
merciful  as  he  is  just ;  if  I  threw  the  cup  of  salvation  from 
my  lips  when  a  youth,  he  graciously  offers  it  to  me  in 
mine  age.  He  has  chastised  to  purify,  and  I  go  to  join 
the  spirits  of  our  lost  family.  In  a  little  while,  my  child, 
you  will  be  alone.  I  know  you  too  well  not  to  foresee  you 
will  be  a  pilgrim  through  life.  The  bruised  reed  may  en- 
dure, but  it  will  never  rise.  You  have  that  within  you, 
Harvey,  that  will  guide  you  aright  ;  persevere,  as  you 
have  begun,  for  the  duties  of  life  are  never  to  be  neglected 
— and  " — A  noise  in  the  adjoining  room  interrupted  the 
dying  man,  and  the  impatient  peddler  hastened  to  learn 
the  cause,  followed  by  Katy  arid  the  black.  The  first 
glance  of  his  eye  on  the  figure  in  the  doorway  told  the 
trader  but  too  well  his  errand,  and  the  fate  that  probably 
awaited  himself.  The  intruder  was  a  man  still  young  in 
years,  but  his  lineaments  bespoke  a  mind  long  agitated  by 
evil  passions.  His  dress  was  of  the  meanest  materials,  and 
so  ragged  and  unseemly  as  to  give  him  the  appearance  of 
studied  poverty.  His  hair  was  prematurely  whitened,  and 
his  sunken,  lowering  eye  avoided  the  bold,  forward  look 
of  innocence.  There  was  a  restlessness  in  his  movements, 
and  an  agitation  in  his  manner,  that  proceeded  from  the 
workings  of  the  foul  spirit  within  him,  and  which  was  not 
less  offensive  to  others  than  distressing  to  himself.  This 
man  was  a  well-known  leader  of  one  of  those  gangs  of 
marauders  who  infested  the  county  with  a  semblance  of 
patriotism,  and  who  were  guilty  of  every  grade  of  offence, 
from  simple  theft  up  to  murder.  Behind  him  stood  sev- 
eral other  figures  clad  in  a  similar  manner,  but  whose 


THE   SPY.  119 

countenances  expressed  nothing  more  than  the  indiffer- 
ence of  brutal  insensibility.  They  were  all  well  armed 
with  muskets  and  bayonets,  and  provided  with  the  usual 
implements  of  foot-soldiers.  Harvey  knew  resistance  to 
be  in  vain,  and  quietly  submitted  to  their  directions.  In 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  both  he  and  Caesar  were  stripped 
of  their  decent  garments,  and  made  to  exchange  clothes 
with  two  of  the  filthiest  of  the  band.  They  were  then 
placed  in  separate  corners  of  the  room,  and,  under  the 
muzzles  of  the  muskets,  required  faithfully  to  answer  such 
interrogatories  as  were  put  to  them. 

"Where  is  your  pack  ?"  was  the  first  question  to  the 
peddler. 

"  Hear  me,"  said  Birch,  trembling  with  agitation  ;  "  in 
the  next  room  is  my  father,  now  in  the  agonies  of  death  ; 
let  me  go  to  him,  receive  his  blessing,  and  close  his  eyes, 
and  you  shall  have  all — ay,  all." 

"  Answer  me  as  I  put  the  question,  or  this  musket  shall 
send  you  to  keep  the  old  driveller  company  ;  where  is  your 
pack  ? " 

"I  will  tell  you  nothing,  unless  you  let  me  go  to  my 
father,"  said  the  peddler,  resolutely. 

His  persecutor  raised  his  arm  with  a  malicious  sneer, 
and  was  about  to  execute  his  threat,  when  one  of  his  com- 
panions checked  him. 

"  What  would  you  do  ?  "  he  said,  "you  surely  forget  the 
reward.  Tell  us  where  are  your  goods,  and  you  shall  go 
to  your  father." 

Birch  complied  instantly,  and  a  man  was  despatched  in 
quest  of  the  booty  ;  he  soon  returned,  throwing  the  bundle 
on  the  floor,  swearing  it  was  as  light  as  feathers. 

"Ay,"  cried  the  leader,  "there  must  begold  somewhere 
for  what  it  did  contain.  Give  us  your  gold,  Mr.  Birch  ; 
we  know  you  have  it ;  you  will  not  take  continental,  not 
you. 

"  You  break  your  faith,"  said  Harvey. 

"Give  us  your  gold,"  exclaimed  the  other,  furiously, 
pricking  the  peddler  with  his  bayonet  until  the  blood  fol- 
lowed his  pushes  in  streams.  At  this  instant  a  slight  move- 
ment was  heard  in  the  adjoining  room,  and  Harvey  cried, 
imploringly  : 

"Let  me — let  me  go  to  my  father,  and  you  shall  have 
all." 

"  I  swear  you  shall  go  then,"  said  the  Skinner. 

"Here,  take  the  trash,"  cried   Birch,  as  he  threw  aside 


120  THE   SPY. 

the  purse,  which  he  had  contrived  to  conceal  notwith* 
standing  the  change  in  his  garments. 

The  robber  raised  it  from  the  floor  with  a  hellish  laugh 

"  Ay,  but  it  shall  be  to  your  Father  in  heaven." 

"Monster  !  have  you  no  feeling,  no  faith,  no  honesty?" 

"  To  hear  him,  one  would  think  there  was  not  a  rope 
around  his  neck  already,"  said  the  other,  laughing.  "  There 
is  no  necessity  for  your  being  uneasy,  Mr.  Birch  ;  if  the  old 
man  gets  a  few  hours  the  start  of  you  in  the  journey,  you 
will  be  sure  to  follow  him  before  noon  to-morrow." 

This  unfeeling  communication  had  no  effect  on  the  ped- 
dler, who  listened  with  gasping  breath  to  every  sound  from 
the  room  of  his  parent,  until  he  heard  his  own  name 
spoken  in  the  hollow,  sepulchral  tones  of  death.  Birch 
could  endure  no  more,  but  shrieking  out — 

"  Father!  hush — father!  I  come — I  come;"  he  darted 
by  his  keeper,  and  was  the  next  moment  pinned  to  the  wall 
by  the  bayonet  of  another  of  the  band.  Fortunately,  his 
quick  motion  had  caused  him  to  escape  a  thrust  aimed  at 
his  life,  and  it  was  by  his  clothes  only  that  he  was  con- 
fined. 

"  No,  Mr.  Birch,"  said  the  Skinner,  "  we  know  you  too 
well  for  a  slippery  rascal,  to  trust  you  out  of  sight — your 
gold,  your  gold  !  " 

"You  have  it,"  said  the  peddler,  writhing  with  agony. 

"Ay,  we  have  the  purse,  but  you  have  more  purses. 
King  George  is  a  prompt  paymaster,  and  you  have  done 
him  many  a  piece  of  good  service.  Where  is  your  hoard  ? 
Without  it  you  will  never  see  your  father." 

"  Remove  the  stone  underneath  the  woman,"  cried  the 
peddler,  eagerly — "remove  the  stone." 

"  He  raves!  he  raves  !  "  said  Katy,  instinctively  moving 
her  position  to  a  different  stone  from  the  one  on  which  she 
had  been  standing.  In  a  moment  it  was  torn  from  its  bed, 
and  nothing  but  earth  was  seen  beneath. 

"He  raves!  you  have  driven  him  from  his  right  mind," 
continued  the  trembling  spinster  ;  "  would  any  man  in  his 
senses  keep  gold  under  a  hearth  ?" 

"  Peace,  babbling  fool ! "  cried  Harvey.  "  Lift  the  cor- 
ner stone,  and  you  will  find  that  which  will  make  you  rich, 
and  me  a  beggar." 

"  And  then  you  will  be  despisable,"  said  the  house- 
keeper, bitterly.  "  A  peddler  without  goods  and  without 
money  is  sure  to  be  despisable." 

"  There  will  be  enough  left  to  pay  for  his  halter/'  cried 


THE   SPY.  121 

the  Skinner,  who  was  not  slow  to  follow  the  instructions  of 
Harvey,  soon  lighting  upon  a  store  of  English  guineas. 
The  money  was  quickly  transferred  to  a  bag,  notwithstand- 
ing the  declarations  of  the  spinster,  that  her  dues  were  un- 
satisfied, and  that,  of  right,  ten  of  the  guineas  were  her 
property. 

Delighted  with  a  prize  that  greatly  exceeded  their  expec- 
tations, the  band  prepared  to  depart,  intending  to  take  the 
peddier  with  them,  in  order  to  give  him  up  to  the  Ameri- 
can troops  above,  and  to  claim  the  reward  offered  for  his 
apprehension.  Everything  was  ready,  and  they  were  about 
to  lift  Birch  in  their  arms,  for  he  resolutely  refused  to  move 
an  inch,  when  a  form  appeared  in  their  midst  which  ap- 
palled the  stoutest  hearts  among  them.  The  father  had 
arisen  from  his  bed,  and  he  tottered  fortli  at  the  cries 
of  his  son.  Around  his  body  was  thrown  the  sheet  of  the 
bed,  and  his  fixed  eye  and  haggard  face  gave  him  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  being  from  another  world.  Even  Katy  and 
Caesar  thought  it  was  the  spirit  of  the  elder  Birch,  and 
they  fled  the  house,  followed  by  the  alarmed  Skinners  in  a 
body. 

The  excitement,  which  had  given  the  sick  man  strength, 
soon  vanished,  and  the  peddler,  lifting  him  in  his  arms,  re- 
conveyed  him  to  his  bed.  The  reaction  of  the  system 
which  followed  hastened  to  close  the  scene. 

The  glazed  eye  of  the  father  was  fixed  upon  the  son  ;  his 
lips  moved,  but  his  voice  was  unheard.  Harvey  bent 
down,  and,  with  the  parting  breath  of  his  parent,  received 
his  dying  benediction.  A  life  of  privation  and  of  wrongs 
embittered  most  of  the  future  hours  of  the  peddler.  But 
under  no  sufferings,  in  no  misfortunes,  the  subject  of  pov- 
erty and  obloquy,  the  remembrance  of  that  blessing  never 
left  him  ;  it  constantly  gleamed  over  the  images  of  the  past, 
shedding  a  holy  radiance  around  his  saddest  hours  of  des- 
pondency ;  it  cheered  the  prospect  of  the  future  with  the 
prayers  of  a  pious  spirit  ;  and  it  brought  the  sweet  assur- 
ance of  having  faithfully  and  truly  discharged  the  sacred 
offices  of  filial  love. 

The  retreat  of  Caesar  and  the  spinster  had  been  too  pre- 
cipitate to  admit  of  much  calculation  ;  yet  thev  themselves 
instinctively  separated  from  the  Skinners.  After  fleeing  a 
short  distance  they  paused,  and  the  maiden  commenced,  in 
a  solemn  voice  : 

"Oh-!  Caesar,  was  it  not  dreadful  to  walk  before  he  had 
been  laid  in  his  grave  !  It  must  have  been  the  money  that 


i22  THE   SPY. 

disturbed  him  :  they  say  Captain  Kidd  walks  near  the  spot 
where  he  buried  gold  in  the  old  war." 

"  I  neber  t'ink  Johnny  Birch  hab  such  a  big  eye  !  "  said 
the  African,  his  teeth  yet  chattering  with  the  fright. 

"  I'm  sure  'twould  be  a  botherment  to  a  living  soul  to 
lose  so  much  money.  Harvey  will  be  nothing  but  an  ut- 
terly despisabie,  poverty-stricken  wretch.  I  wonder  vho 
he  thinks  would  be  even  his  housekeeper  ?  " 

"Maybe  a  spook  take  away  Harvey,  too,"  observed 
Caesar,  moving  still  nearer  to  the  side  of  the  maiden  But 
a  new  idea  had  seized  the  imagination  of  the  spinster.  She 
thought  it  not  improbable  that  the  prize  had  been  forsaken 
in  the  confusion  of  the  retreat  ;  and  after  deliberating  and 
reasoning  for  some  time  with  Caesar,  they  determined  to 
venture  back,  and  ascertain  this  important  fact,  and  if 
possible,  learn  what  had  been  the  fate  of  the  peddler. 
Much  time  was  spent  in  cautiously  approaching  the  dreaded 
spot  ;  and  as  the  spinster  had  sagaciously  placed  herself  in 
the  line  of  the  retreat  of  the  Skinners,  every  stone  was  ex- 
amined in  the  progress  in  search  of  the  abandoned  gold. 
But  although  the  suddenness  of  the  alarm  and  the  cry  of 
Caesar  had  impelled  the  freebooters  to  so  hasty  a  retreat, 
they  grasped  the  hoard  with  a  hold  that  death  itself  would 
not  have  loosened.  Perceiving  everything  to  be  quiet 
within,  Katy  at  length  mustered  resolution  to  enter  the 
dwelling,  where  she  found  the  peddler  with  a  heavy  heart, 
performing  the  last  sad  offices  for  the  dead.  A  few  words 
sufficed  to  explain  to  Katy  the  nature  of  her  mistake  ;  but 
Caesar  continued  to  his  dying  day  to  astonish  the  sable  in- 
mates of  the  kitchen  with  learned  dissertations  on  spooks, 
and  to  relate  how  direful  was  the  appearance  of  that  of 
Johnny  Birch. 

The  danger  compelled  the  peddler  to  abridge  even  the 
short  period  that  American  custom  leaves  the  deceased 
with  us  ;  and  aided  by  the  black  and  Katy,  his  painful 
task  was  soon  ended.  Caesar  volunteered  to  walk  a  couple 
of  miles  with  orders  to  a  carpenter ;  and,  the  body  being 
habited  in  its  ordinary  attire,  was  left,  with  a  sheet  thrown 
decently  over  it,  to  await  the  return  of  the  messenger. 

The  Skinners  had  fled  precipitately  to  the  wood,  which 
was  but  a  short  distance  from  the  house  of  Birch,  and  once 
safely  sheltered  within  its  shades,  they  halted,  and  mustered 
their  panic-stricken  forces. 

''What  in  the  name  of  fury  seized  your  coward  hearts  ?" 
cried  their  dissatisfied  leader,  drawing  his  breath  heavily. 


THE   SPY.  123 

"The  same  question  might  be  asked  yourself,"  returned 
one  of  the  band,  sullenly. 

"  From  your  fright,  I  thought  a  party  of  De  Lancey's 
men  were  upon  us.  Oh  !  you  are  brave  gentlemen  at  a 
race  !" 

"We  follow  our  captain." 

"Then  follow  me  back,  and  let  us  secure  the  scoundrel, 
and  receive  the  reward." 

"  Yes  ;  and  by  the  time  we  reach  the  house,  that  black 
rascal  will  have  the  mad  Virginian  upon  us  !  by  my  soul, 
I  would  rather  meet  fifty  Cow-boys  than  that  single  man." 

"Fool!"  cried  the  enraged  leader,  " don't  you  know 
Dunwoodie's  horse  are  at  the  Corners,  full  two  miles  from 
here  ? " 

"  I  care  not  where  the  dragoons  are,  but  I  will  swear  that 
I  saw  Captain  Lavvton  enter  the  house  of  old  Wharton, 
while  I  lay  watching  an  opportunity  of  getting  the  British 
colonel's  horse  from  the  stable." 

"And  if  he  should  come  won't  a  bullet  silence  a  dra- 
goon from  the  South  as  well  as  one  from  old  England  ? " 

"  Ay,  but  I  don't  choose  a  hornet's  nest  about  my  ears  ; 
raze  the  skin  of  one  of  that  corps,  and  you  will  never  see 
another  peaceable  night's  foraging  again." 

"  Well,"  muttered  the  leader,  as  they  retired  deeper  into 
the  wood,  "  this  sottish  peddler  will  stay  to  see  the  old  devil 
buried  ;  and  though  we  cannot  touch  him  at  the  funeral 
(for  that  would  raise  every  old  woman  and  priest  in  Ameri- 
ca against  us),  he'll  wait  to  look  after  the  movables,  antf 
to-morrow  night  shall  wind  up  his  concerns." 

With  this  threat  they  withdrew  to  one  of  their  usual 
places  of  resort,  until  darkness  should  again  give  them  an 
opportunity  of  marauding  on  the  community  without  dan- 
ger of  detection. 


CHAPTER   XL 

O  woe  !  O  woful,  woful,  woful  day  ! 

Most  lamentable  day  :  most  woful  day 

That  ever,  ever,  I  did  yet  behold  ! 

O  day  !  O  day !  O  day  !  O  hateful  day  ! 

Never  was  seen  so  black  a  day  as  this  : 

O  woful  day  !  O  woful  day. — SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  family  at  the  Locusts  had  slept,  or  watched,  through 
all  the  disturbances  at  the  cottage  of  Birch,  in  perfect  ig- 


124  THE   SPY. 

norance  of  their  occurrence.  The  attacks  of  the  Skinners 
were  always  made  with  so  much  privacy  as  to  exclude  the 
sufferers,  not  only  from  succor,  but  frequently,  through  a 
dread  of  future  depredations,  from  the  commiseration  of 
their  neighbors  also.  Additional  duties  had  drawn  the  la- 
dies from  their  pillows  at  an  hour  somewhat  earlier  than 
usual ;  and  Captain  Lawton,  notwithstanding  the  suffer- 
ings of  his  body,  had  risen  in  compliance  with  a  rule  from 
which  he  never  departed,  of  sleeping  but  six  hours  at  a 
time.  This  was  one  of  the  few  points,  in  which  the  care 
of  the  human  frame  was  involved,  on  which  the  trooper 
and  the  surgeon  of  horse  were  ever  known  to  agree.  The 
doctor  had  watched,  during  the  night,  by  the  side  of  the 
bed  of  Captain  Singleton,  without  once  closing  his  eyes. 
Occasionally  he  would  pay  a  visit  to  the  wounded  Eng- 
lishman, who,  being  more  hurt  in  the  spirit  than  in  the 
flesh,  tolerated  the  interruptions  with  a  very  ill  grace  ; 
and  once,  for  an  instant,  he  ventured  to  steal  softly  to  the 
bed  of  his  obstinate  comrade,  and  was  near  succeeding  in 
obtaining  a  touch  of  his  pulse,  when  a  terrible  oath,  sworn 
by  the  trooper  in  a  dream,  startled  the  prudent  surgeon, 
and  warned  him  of  a  trite  saying  in  the  corps,  "that  Cap- 
tain Lawton  always  slept  with  one  eye  open."  This  group 
had  assembled  in  one  of  the  parlors  as  the  sun  made  its  ap- 
pearance over  the  eastern  hill,  dispersing  the  columns  of 
fog  which  had  enveloped  the  low  land. 

Miss  Peyton  was  looking  from  a  window  in  the  direction 
of  the  tenement  of  the  peddler,  and  was  expressing  a  kind 
anxiety  after  the  welfare  of  the  sick  man,  when  the  person 
of  Katy  suddenly  emerged  from  the  dense  covering  of  an 
earthly  cloud,  whose  mists  were  scattering  before  the 
cheerful  rays  of  the  sun,  and  was  seen  making  hasty  steps 
toward  the  Locusts.  There  was  that  in  the  air  of  the  house- 
keeper which  bespoke  distress  of  an  unusual  nature,  and 
the  kindhearted  mistress  of  the  Locusts  opened  the  door 
of  the  room  with  the  benevolent  intention  of  soothing  a 
grief  that  seemed  so  overwhelming.  A  nearer  view  of  the 
disturbed  features  of  the  visitor  confirmed  Miss  Peyton  in 
her  belief;  and,  with  the  shock  that  gentle  feelings  ever 
experience  at  a  sudden  and  endless  separation  from  even 
the  meanest  of  their  associates,  she  said,  hastily  : 

"Katy,  is  he  gone  ?" 

"  No,  ma'am,"  replied  the  disturbed  damsel,  with  great 
bitterness,  "  he  is  not  yet  gone,  but  he  may  go  as  soon  as 
he  pleases  now,  for  the  worst  is  done.  I  do  verily  believe, 


THE   SPY.  125 

Miss  Peyton,  they  haven't  so  much  as  left  him  money 
enough  to  buy  him  another  suit  of  clothes  to  cover  his 
nakedness,  and  those  he  has  on  are  none  of  the  best%  I  can 
tell  you." 

"  How,"  exclaimed  the  other,  astonished,  "  could  anyone 
have  the  heart  to  plunder  a  man  in  such  distress  ?" 

"  Hearts  !  "  repeated  Katy,  catching  her  breath  ;  "  men 
like  them  have  no  bowels  at  all.  Plunder  and  distress,  in- 
deed! Why,  ma'am,  there  were  in  the  iron  pot,  in  plain 
sight,  fifty-four  guineas  of  gold,  besides  what  lay  under- 
neath, which  I  couldn't  count  without  handling ;  and  I  didn't 
like  to  touch  it,  for  they  say  that  another's  gold  is  apt  to  stick 
— so,  judging  from  that  in  sight,  there  wasn't  less  than  two 
hundred  guineas,  besides  what  might  have  been  in  the 
deerskin  purse.  But  Harvey  is  little  better  now  than  a 
beggar;  and  a  beggar,  Miss  Jeanette,  is  the  most  awfully 
despisable  of  all  earthly  creatures/' 

"Poverty  is  to  be  pitied,  and  not  despised,"  said  the 
lady,  still  unable  to  comprehend  the  extent  of  the  misfor- 
tune that  had  befallen  her  neighbor  during  the  night. 
"  But  how  is  the  old  man  ?  and  does  this  loss  affect  him 
much  ? " 

The  countenance  of  Katy  changed  from  the  natural  ex- 
pression of  concern,  to  the  set  form  of  melancholy,  as  she 
answered  : 

"  He  is  happily  removed  from  the  cares  of  the  world  ; 
the  chinking  of  the  money  made  him  get  out  of  his  bed, 
and  the  poor  soul  found  the  shock  too  great  for  him.  He 
died  about  two  hours  and  ten  minutes  before  the  cock 
crowed,  as  near  as  we  can  say  ;" — she  was  interrupted  by 
the  physician,  who,  approaching,  inquired,  with  much  in- 
terest, the  nature  of  the  disorder.  Glancing  her  eye  over 
the  figure  of  this  new  acquaintance,  Katy,  instinctively  ad- 
justing her  dress,  replied: 

"  Twas  the  troubles  of  the  times,  and  the  loss  of  prop- 
erty, that  brought  him  down  ;  he  wasted  from  day  to  day, 
and  all  my  care  and  anxiety  were  lost  ;  for  now  Harvey  is 
no  better  than  a  beggar,  and  who  is  there  to  pay  me  for 
what  I  have  done  ?  " 

"  God  will  reward  you  for  all  the  good  you  have  done," 
said  Miss  Peyton,  mildly. 

"Yes,"  interrupted  the  spinster,  hastily,  and  with  an  air 
of  reverence  that  was  instantly  succeeded  by  an  expression 
that  denoted  more  of  worldly  care  ;  "  but  then  I  have  left 
my  wages  for  three  years  past  in  the  hands  of  Harvey,  and 


126  THE   SPY. 

how  am  I  to  get  them  ?  My  brother  stold  me,  again  and 
again,  to  ask  for  my  money  ;  but  I  always  thought  accounts 
between  relations  were  easily  settled." 

"  Were  you  related,  then,  to  Birch  ? "  asked  Miss  Pey- 
ton, observing  her  to  pause. 

"  Why,"  returned  the  housekeeper,  hesitating  a  little, 
"  I  thought  we  were  as  good  as  so.  I  wonder  if  I  have  no 
claim  on  the  house  and  garden  ;  though  they  say  now  it  is 
Harvey's,  it  will  surely  be  confiscated  ;  "  turning  to  Law- 
ton,  who  had  been  sitting  in  one  posture,  with  his  piercing 
eyes  lowering  at  her  through  his  thick  brows  in  silence, 
*'  perhaps  this  gentleman  knows— he  seems  to  take  an  in- 
terest in  my  story." 

"  Madam,"  said  the  trooper,  bowing  very  low,  "  both 
you  and  the  tale  are  extremely  interesting  " — Katy  smiled 
involuntarily — "  but  my  humble  knowledge  is  limited  to 
the  setting  of  a  squadron  in  the  field,  and  using  it  when 
there.  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  Dr.  Archibald  Sit- 
greaves,  a  gentleman  of  universal  attainments,  and  un- 
bounded philanthropy  ;  the  very  milk  of  human  sympa- 
thies, and  a  mortal  foe  to  all  indiscriminate  cutting." 

The  surgeon  drew  up,  and  employed  himself  in  whist- 
ling a  low  air  as  he  looked  over  some  phials  on  a  table  ; 
but  the  housekeeper,  turning  to  him  with  an  inclination 
of  the  head,  continued  : 

"  I  suppose,  sir,  a  woman  has  no  dower  in  her  husband's 
property,  unless  they  be  actually  married?" 

It  was  a  maxim  with  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  that  no  species  of 
knowledge  was  to  be  despised  ;  and,  consequently,  he  was 
an  empiric  in  everything  but  his  profession.  At  first,  in- 
dignation at  the  irony  of  his  comrade  kept  him  silent  ; 
but,  suddenly  changing  his  purpose,  he  answered  the  ap- 
plicant with  a  good-natured  smile  : 

"  I  judge  not.  If  death  has  anticipated  your  nuptials,  I 
am  fearful  you  have  no  remedy  against  his  stern  decrees." 

To  Katy  this  sounded  well,  although  she  understood 
nothing  of  its  meaning  but  "  death"  and  "nuptials."  To 
this  part  of  his  speech,  then,  she  directed  her  reply. 

"  I  did  think  he  only  waited  the  death  of  the  old  gentle- 
man before  he  married,"  said  the  housekeeper,  looking 
on  the  carpet  ;  "  but  now  he  is  nothing  more  than  despis- 
able,  or,  what's  the  same  thing,  a  peddler  without  house, 
pack,  or  money.  It  might  be  hard  for  a  man  to  get  a  wife 
at  all  in  such  a  predicary — don't  you  think  it  would,  Miss 
Pevton  ? " 


THE   SPY.  127 

"  I  seldom  trouble  myself  with  such  things,"  said  the 
lady,  gravely. 

During  this  dialogue,  Captain  Lawton  had  been  study- 
ing the  countenance  and  manner  of  the  housekeeper  with 
a  most  ludicrous  gravity  ;  and,  fearful  the  conversation 
would  cease,  he  inquired,  with  an  appearance  of  great  in- 
terest : 

"  You  think  it  was  age  and  debility  that  removed  the  old 
gentleman  at  last  ? " 

"And  the  troublesome  times.  Trouble  is  a  heavy  pull- 
down to  a  sick-bed ;  but  I  suppose  his  time  had  come,  and 
when  that  happens  it  matters  but  little  what  doctor's  stuff 
we  take." 

"  Let  me  set  you  right  in  that  particular,"  interrupted 
the  surgeon  ;  "  we  must  all  die,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  pe,r- 
mitted  us  to  use  the  lights  of  science  in  arresting  dangers 

as  they  occur  until " 

•"  We  can  die  secundum  artem"  cried  the  trooper. 

To  this  observation  the  physician  did  not  deign  to  re- 
ply ;  but  deeming  it  necessary  to  his  professional  dignity 
that  the  conversation  should  continue,  he  added  : 

"Perhaps,  in  this  instance,  judicious  treatment  might 
have  prolonged  the  life  of  the  patient.  Who  administered 
to  the  case  ?  " 

"  No  one  yet,"  said  the  housekeeper,  with  quickness  ; 
"I  expect  he  has  made  his  last  will  in  the  testament." 

The  surgeon  disregarded  the  smile  of  the  ladies,  and 
pursued  his  inquiries. 

"  It  is  doubtless  wise  to  be  prepared  for  death.  But 
under  whose  care  was  the  sick  man  during  his  indisposi- 
tion ? "  ^ 

"  Under  mine,"  answered  Katy,  with  an  air  of  a  little 
importance,  "  and  care  thrown  away  I  may  well  call  it  ; 
for  Harvey  is  quite  too  despisable  to  be  any  sort  of  com- 
pensation at  present." 

The  mutual  ignorance  of  each  other's  meaning  made 
very  little  interruption  to  the  dialogue,  for  both  took  a 
good  deal  for  granted,  and  Sitgreaves  pursued  the  subject. 

"  And  how  did  you  treat  him  ?  " 

"  Kindly,  you  may  be  certain,"  said  Katy,  rather  tartly. 

"  The  doctor  means  medically,  madam,"  observed  Cap- 
tain Lawton,  with  a  face  that  would  have  honored  the 
funeral  of  the  deceased. 

"  I  doctor'd  him  mostly  with  yarbs,"  said  the  house- 
keeper, smiling,  as  if  conscious  of  error. 


128  THE   SPY. 

"With  simples,"  returned  the  surgeon  ;  "  they  are  safer 
in  the  hands  of  the  unlettered  than  more  powerful  reme- 
dies ;  but  why  had  you  no  regular  attendant  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  Harvey  has  suffered  enough  already  with 
having  so  much  concerns  with  the  rig'lars,*"  said  the  house- 
keeper; "he  has  lost  his  all,  and  made  himself  a  vagabond 
through  the  land  ;  and  I  have  reason  to  rue  the  day  I  ever 
crossed  the  threshold  of  his  house." 

"Dr.  Sitgreaves  does  not  mean  a  rig'lar  soldier,  but  a 
regular  physician,  madam,"  said  the  trooper. 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  the  maiden,  again  correcting  herself,  "  for 
the  best  of  all  reasons  ;  there  was  none  to  be  had,  so  I  took 
care  of  him  myself.  If  there  had  been  a  doctor  at  hand,  I 
am  sure  we  would  gladly  have  had  him  ;  for  my  part,  I  am 
clear  for  doctoring,  though  Harvey  says  I  am  killing  my- 
self with  medicines  ;  but  I  am  sure  it  will  make  but  little 
difference  to  him,  whether  I  live  or  die." 

"  Therein  you  show  your  sense,"  said  the  surgeon,  ap- 
proaching the  spinster,  who  sat  holding  the  palms  of  her 
hands  and  the  soles  of  her  feet  to  the  genial  heat  of  a  fine 
fire,  making  the  most  of  comfort  amid  all  her  troubles  ; 
"  you  appear  to  be  a  sensible,  discreet  woman,  and  some 
who  have  had  opportunities  of  acquiring  more  correct 
views  might  envy  you  your  respect  for  knowledge  and  the 
lights  of  science." 

Although  the  housekeeper  did  not  altogether  compre- 
hend the  other's  meaning,  she  knew  he  used  a  compliment, 
and  as  such  was  highly  pleased  with  what  he  said  ;  with 
increased  animation,  therefore,  she  cried,  "It  was  always 
said  of  me,  that  I  wanted  nothing  but  opportunity  to 
make  quite  a  physician  myself  ;  so  long  as  before  I  came 
to  live  with  Harvey's  father,  they  called  me  the  petticoat 
doctor." 

"  More  true  than  civil,  I  dare  say,"  returned  the  surgeon, 
losing  sight  of  the  woman's  character  in  his  admiration  of 
her  respect  for  the  healing  art.  "  In  the  absence  of  more 
enlightened  counsellors,  the  experience  of  a  discreet  mat- 
ron is  frequently  of  great  efficacy  in  checking  the  progress 
of  disease  ;  under  such  circumstances,  madam,  it  is  dreadful 
to  have  to  contend  with  ignorance  and  obstinacy." 

"  Bad  enough,  as  I  well  know  from  experience,"  cried 
Katy,  in  triumph :  "  Harvey  is  as  obstinate  about  such 
things  as  a  dumb  beast  ;  one  would  think  the  care  I  took 
of  his  bed-ridden  father  might  learn  him  better  than  to  de- 
spise good  nursing.  But  some  day  he  may  know  what  it 


THE   SPY.  129 

is  to  want  a  careful  woman  in  his  house,  though  now  I  am 
sure  he  is  too  despisable  himself  to  have  a  house." 

"  Indeed,  I  can  easily  comprehend  the  mortification  you 
must  have  felt  in  having  one  so  self-willed  to  deal  with," 
returned  the  surgeon,  glancing  his  eye  reproachfully  at  his 
comrade  ;  "  but  you  should  rise  superior  to  such  opinions, 
and  pity  the  ignorance  by  which  they  are  engendered." 

The  housekeeper  hesitated  a  moment,  at  a  loss  to  com- 
prehend all  that  the  surgeon  expressed,  yet  she  felt  it  was 
both  complimentary  and  kind  ;  therefore,  suppressing  her 
natural  flow  of  language  a  little,  she  replied  : 

"  I  tell  Harvey  his  conduct  is  often  condemnable,  and 
last  night  he  made  my  words  good  ;  but  the  opinions  of 
such  unbelievers  is  not  very  consequential  ;  yet  it  is  dread- 
ful to  think  how  he  behaves  at  times  ;  now,  when  he  threw 
away  the  needle •" 

"What!"  said  the  surgeon,  interrupting  her,  "  does  he 
affect  to  despise  the  needle  ?  But  it  is  my  lot  to  meet  with 
men,  daily,  who  are  equally  perverse,  and  who  show  a  still 
more  culpable  disrespect  for  the  information  that  flows 
from  the  lights  of  science." 

The  doctor  turned  his  face  toward  Captain  Lawton  while 
speaking,  but  the  elevation  of  the  head  prevented  his  eyes 
from  resting  on  the  grave  countenance  maintained  by  the 
trooper.  Katy  listened  with  admiring  attention,  and  when 
the  other  had  done,  she  added: 

"  Then  Harvey  is  a  disbeliever  in  the  tides." 

"Not  believe  in  the  tides  !"  repeated  the  healer  of  bod- 
ies, in  astonishment  ;  "does  the  man  distrust  his  senses? 
But  perhaps  it  is  the  influence  of  the  moon  he  doubts." 

"  That  he  does  !  "  exclaimed  Katy,  shaking  with  delight 
at  meeting  with  a  man  of  learning  who  could  support  her 
favorite  opinions.  "If  you  was  to  hear  him  talk,  you  would 
think  he  didn't  believe  there  was  such  a  thing  as  moon  at 
all." 

"  It  is  the  misfortune  of  ignorance  and  incredulity, 
madam,  that  they  feed  themselves.  The  mind  once  reject- 
ing useful  information,  insensibly  leans  to  superstition  and 
conclusions  on  the  order  of  nature,  that  are  not  less  preju- 
dicial to  the  cause  of  truth  than  they  are  at  variance  with 
the  first  principles  of  human  knowledge." 

The  spinster  was  too  much  awestruck  to  venture  an 
undigested  reply  to  this  speech  ;  and  the  surgeon,  after 
pausing  a  moment  in  a  kind  of  philosophical  disdain,  con- 
tinued : 


1 3o  THE   SPY. 

"  That  any  man  in  his  senses  can  doubt  of  the  flux  of  the 
tides  is  more  than  I  could  have  thought  possible  ;  yet  ob- 
stinacy is  a  dangerous  inmate  to  harbor,  and  may  lead  us 
into  any  error,  however  gross." 

"  You  think,  then,  they  have  an  effect  on  the  flux  ?  "  said 
the  housekeeper,  inquiringly. 

Miss  Peyton  rose,  and  beckoned  her  nieces  to  give  her 
their  assistance  in  the  adjoining  pantry,  while  for  a  moment 
the  dark  visage  of  the  attentive  Lawton  was  lighted  by  an 
animation  that  vanished  by  an  effort  as  powerful  and  as 
sudden  as  the  one  that  drew  it  into  being. 

After  reflecting  whether  he  rightly  understood  the  mean- 
ing of  the  other,  the  surgeon,  making  due  allowance  for 
the  love  of  learning  acting  upon  a  want  of  education,  re- 
plied : 

"  The  moon,  you  mean  ;  many  philosophers  have  doubted 
how  far  it  affects  the  tides  ;  but  I  think  it  is  wilfully  reject- 
ing the  lights  of  science  not  to  believe  it  causes  both  the 
flux  and  reflux." 

As  reflux  was  a  disorder  with  which  Katy  was  not  ac- 
quainted, she  thought  it  prudent  to  be  silent ;  yet  burning 
with  curiosity  to  know  the  meaning  of  certain  portentous 
lights  to  which  the  other  so  often  alluded,  she  ventured  to 
ask  : 

"If  them  lights  he  spoke  of  were  what  was  called  north- 
ern lights  in  these  parts  ?  " 

In  chanty  to  her  ignorance,  the  surgeon  would  have  en- 
tered into  an  elaborate  explanation  of  his  meaning,  had  he 
not  been  interrupted  by  the  mirth  of  Lawton.  The  trooper 
had  listened  so  far  with  great  composure  ;  but  now  he 
laughed  until  his  aching  bones  reminded  him  of  his  fall, 
and  the  tears  rolled  over  his  cheeks  in  larger  drops  than 
had  ever  been  seen  there  before.  At  length  the  offended 
physician  seized  an  opportunity  of  a  pause  to  say: 

"To  you,  Captain  Lawton,  it  may  be  a  source  of  triumph 
that  an  uneducated  woman  should  make  a  mistake  in  a  sub- 
ject on  which  men  of  science  have  long  been  at  variance  ; 
but  yet  you  find  this  respectable  matron  does  not  reject 
the  lights — does  not  reject  the  use  of  proper  instruments 
in  repairing  injuries  sustained  by  the  human  frame.  You 
may  possibly  remember,  sir,  her  allusion  to  the  use  of  the 
needle." 

"Ay,"  cried  the  delighted  trooper,  "to  mend  the  ped- 
dler's breeches." 

Katy   drew  up  in    evident  displeasure,  and  prompt  to 


THE   SPY.  131 

vindicate  her  character  for  more  lofty  requirements,  she 
said  : 

"'Twas  not  a  common  use  that  I  put  that  needle  to — but 
one  of  much  greater  virtue." 

"Explain  yourself,  madam,"  said  the  surgeon  impa- 
tiently, "that  this  gentleman  may  see  how  little  reason  he 
has  for  exultation." 

Thus  solicited,  Katy  paused  to  collect  sufficient  elo- 
quence to  garnish  her  narrative.  The  substance  of  her  tale 
was,  that  a  child  who  had  been  placed  by  the  guardians  of 
the  poor  in  the  keeping  of  Harvey,  had,  in  the  absence  of 
its  master,  injured  itself  badly  in  the  foot  by  a  large  nee- 
dle. The  offending  instrument  had  been  carefully  greased, 
wrapped  in  woollen,  and  placed  in  the  certain  charmed  nook 
of  the  chimney,  while  the  foot,  from  a  fear  of  weakening 
the  incantation,  was  left  in  a  state  of  nature.  The  arrival 
of  the  peddler  had  altered  the  whole  of  this  admirable 
treatment;  and  the  consequences  were  expressed  by  Katy, 
as  she  concluded  her  narrative,  by  saying  : 

"'Twas  no  wonder  the  boy  died  of  a  lockjaw  !  " 

Doctor  Sitgreaves  looked  out  of  the  window  in  admira- 
tion of  the  brilliant  morning,  striving  all  he  could  to  avoid 
the  basilisk  eyes  of  his  comrade.  He  was  impelled  by  a 
feeling  that  he  could  not  conquer  to  look  Captain  Lawton 
in  the  face.  The  trooper  had  arranged  every  muscle  of  his 
countenance  to  express  sympathy  for  the  fate  of  the  poor 
child  ;  but  the  exultation  of  his  eyes  cut  the  astounded  man 
of  science  to  the  quick  ;  he  muttered  something  concern- 
ing the  condition  of  his  patients,  and  retreated  with  pre- 
cipitation. 

Miss  Peyton  entered  into  the  situation  of  things  at  the 
house  of  the  peddler  with  all  the  interest  of  her  excellent 
feelings  ;  she  listened  patiently  while  Katy  recounted,  more 
particularly,  the  circumstances  of  the  past  night  as  they 
had  occurred.  The  spinster  did  not  forget  to  dwell  on  the 
magnitude  of  the  pecuniary  loss  sustained  by  Harvey,  and 
in  no  manner  spared  her  invectives  at  his  betraying  a  se- 
cret which  might  so  easily  have  been  kept. 

"  For,  Miss  Peyton,"  continued  the  housekeeper,  after  a 
pause  to  take  breath,  "  I  would  have  given  up  life  before 
I  would  have  given  up  that  secret.  At  the  most,  they 
could  only  have  killed  him,  and  now  a  body  may  say  that 
they  have  slain  both  soul  and  body  ;  or  what's  the  same 
thing,  they  have  made  him  a  despisable  vagabond.  I 
wonder  who  he  thinks  would  be  his  wife,  or  who  would 


1 32  THE  SPY. 

keep  his  house.  For  my  part,  my  good  name  is  too  pre- 
cious to  be  living  with  alone  man  ;  though,  for  the  matter 
of  that,  he  is  never  there.  I  am  resolved  to  tell  him  this 
day,  that  stay  there,  a  single  woman,  I  will  not  an  hour, 
after  the  funeral,  and  marry  him  I  don't  think  I  will,  un- 
less he  becomes  steadier  and  more  of  a  homebody." 

The  mild  mistress  of  the  Locusts  suffered  the  exuber- 
ance of  the  housekeeper's  feeling  to  expend  itself,  and 
then,  by  one  or  two  judicious  questions,  that  denoted  a 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  windings  of  the  human 
heart  in  matters  of  Cupid,  than  might  fairly  be  supposed 
to  belong  to  a  spinster,  she  extracted  enough  from  Katy 
to  discover  the  improbability  of  Harvey's  ever  presuming 
to  offer  himself,  with  his  broken  fortunes,  to  the  accept- 
ance of  Katharine  Haynes.  She  therefore  mentioned  her 
own  want  of  assistance  in  the  present  state  of  her  house- 
hold, and  expressed  a  wish  that  Katy  would  change  her 
residence  to  the  Locusts,  in  case  the  peddler  had  no 
further  use  for  her  services.  After  a  few  preliminary  con- 
ditions on  the  part  of  the  wary  house-keeper,  the  arrange- 
ment was  concluded  ;  and  making  a  few  more  piteous 
lamentations  on  the  weight  of  her  own  losses,  the  stupid- 
ity of  Harvey,  united  with  some  curiosity  to  know  the 
future  fate  of  the  peddler,  Katy  withdrew  to  make  the 
necessary  preparations  for  the  approaching  funeral,  which 
was  to  take  place  that  day. 

During  the  interview  between  the  two  females,  Lawton, 
through  delicacy,  had  withdrawn.  Anxiety  took  him  to 
the  room  of  Captain  Singleton.  The  character  of  this 
youth,  it  has  already  been  shown,  endeared  him  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  to  every  officer  in  the  corps.  The  singularly 
mild  deportment  of  the  young  dragoon  had,  on  so  many 
occasions,  been  proved  not  to  proceed  from  want  of  reso- 
lution, that  his  almost  feminine  softness  of  manner  and 
appearance  had  failed  to  bring  him  into  disrepute,  even 
in  that  band  of  partisan  warriors. 

To  the  major  he  was  as  dear  as  a  brother,  and  his  easy 
submission  to  the  directions  of  his  surgeon  had  made  him 
a  marked  favorite  with  Dr.  Sitgreaves.  The  rough  usage 
the  corps  often  received  in  its  daring  attacks,  had  brought 
each  of  its  officers,  in  succession,  under  the  temporary 
keeping  of  the  surgeon.  To  Captain  Singleton  the  man 
of  science  had  decreed  the  palm  of  docility,  on  such  occa- 
sions, and  Captain  Lawton  he  had  fairly  black-balled.  He 
frequently  declared,  with  unconquerable  simplicity  and 


THE   SPY.  133 

earnestness  of  manner,  that  it  gave  him  more  pleasure  to 
see  the  former  brought  in  wounded  than  any  officer  in  the 
squadron,  and  that  the  latter  afforded  him  the  least  ;  a 
compliment  and  condemnation  that  was  usually  received 
by  the  first  of  the  parties  with  a  quiet  smile  of  good-nature, 
and  by  the  last  with  a  grave  bow  of  thanks.  On  the  pres- 
ent occasion  the  mortified  surgeon  and  exulting  trooper 
met  in  the  room  of  Captain  Singleton,  as  a  place  where 
they  could  act  on  common  ground.  Some  time  was  occu- 
pied in  joint  attentions  to  the  comfort  of  the  wounded 
officer,  and  the  doctor  retired  to  an  apartment  prepared 
for  his  own  accommodation  ;  here,  within  a  few  minutes, 
he  was  surprised  by  the  entrance  of  Lawton.  The  triumph 
of  the  trooper  had  been  so  complete  that  he  felt  he  could 
afford  to  be  generous,  and  commencing  by  voluntarily 
throwing  aside  his  coat,  he  cried,  carelessly  : 

.  "  Sitgreaves,  administer  a  little  of  the  aid  of  the  lights 
of  science  to  my  body,  if  you  please." 

The  surgeon  was  beginning  to  feel  this  was  a  subject  that 
was  intolerable,  but  venturing  a  glance  toward  his  comrade, 
he  saw,  with  surprise,  the  preparations  he  had  made,  and 
an  air  of  sincerity  about  him,  that  was  unusual  to  his  man- 
ner when  making  such  a  request.  Changing  his  intended 
burst  of  resentment  to  a  tone  of  civil  inquiry,  he  said — 

"  Does  Captain  Lawton  want  anything  at  my  hands  ? " 

"  Look  for  yourself,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  trooper, 
mildly  ;  "  there  seems  to  be  most  of  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow on  this  shoulder." 

"You  have  reason  for  saying  so,"  said  the  other,  hand- 
ling the  part  with  great  tenderness  and  consummate  skill ; 
"  but  happily  nothing  is  broken.  It  is  wonderful  how  well 
you  escaped !  " 

"  I  have  been  a  tumbler  from  my  youth,  and  I  am  past 
minding  a  few  falls  from  a  horse  ;  but,  Sitgreaves,"  he  added 
with  affection,  and  pointing  to  a  scar  on  his  body,  "  do  you 
remember  this  bit  of  work  ?  " 

"  Perfectly  well,  Jack  ;  it  was  bravely  obtained,  and 
neatly  extracted  ;  but  don't  you  think  I  had  better  apply  an 
oil  to  these  bruises  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  said  Lawton,  with  unexpected  condescen- 
tion. 

"  Now,  my  dear  boy,"  cried  the  doctor,  exultingly,  as  he 
busied  himself  in  applying  the  remedy  to  the  hurts,  "do 
you  not  think  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  done  all 
this  last  night  ?  " 


jr34 

"Quite  probable." 

"  Yes,  Jack,  if  you  had  let  me  perform  the  operation  of 
phlebotomy  when  I  first  saw  you,  it  would  have  been  of 
infinite  service." 

"No  phlebotomy,"  said  the  other,  positively. 

"  It  is  now  too  late  ;  but  a  dose  of  oil  would  carry  off 
the  humors  famously." 

To  this  the  captain  made  no  reply,  but  grated  his  teeth 
in  a  way  that  showed  the  fortress  of  his  mouth  was  not  to 
be  assailed  without  a  resolute  resistance  ;  and  the  experi- 
enced physician  changed  the  subject  by  saying: 

"  It  is  a  pity,  John,  that  you  did  not  catch  the  rascal, 
after  the  danger  and  trouble  you  incurred." 

The  captain  of  dragoons  made  no  reply  ;  and,  while 
placing  some  bandages  on  the  wounded  shoulder,  the  sur- 
geon continued  : 

"  If  I  have  any  wish  at  all  to  destroy  human  life,  it  is  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  traitor  hanged." 

"I  thought  your  business  was  to  cure,  and  not  to  slay," 
said  the  trooper,  dryly. 

"  Ay  !  but  he  has  caused  us  such  heavy  losses  by  his  in- 
formation, that  I  sometimes  feel  a  very  unphilosophical 
temper  toward  that  spy." 

"  You  should  not  encourage  such  feelings  of  animosity 
to  any  of  your  fellow-creatures,"  returned  Lawton,  in  a 
tone  that  caused  the  operator  to  drop  a  pin  he  was  arrang- 
ing in  the  bandages  from  his  hand.  He  looked  the  patient 
in  the  face  to  remove  all  doubts  of  his  identity.  Finding, 
however,  it  was  his  old  comrade,  Captain  John  Lawton,  who 
had  spoken,  he  rallied  his  astonished  faculties,  and  pro- 
ceeded by  saying  : 

"  Your  doctrine  is  just,  and  in  general  I  subscribe  to  it. 
But,  John,  my  good  fellow,  is  the  bandage  easy  ? " 

"Quite." 

"  I  agree  with  you  as  a  whole  ;  but  as  matter  is  infinitely 
divisable,  so  no  case  exists  without  an  exception.  Lawton, 
do  you  feel  easy  ?  " 

"  Very." 

"  It  is  not  only  cruel  to  the  sufferer,  but  sometimes  un- 
just to  others,  to  take  human  life  where  a  less  punishment 
would  answer  the  purpose.  Now,  Jack,  if  you  were  only 
— move  your  arm  a  little — if  you  were  only — I  hope  you 
feel  easier,  my  dear  friend  ?" 

"  Much." 

"  If,  my  dear  John,  you  would  teach  your  men  to  cut 


THE   SPY.  135 

with  more  discretion,  it  would  answer  you  the  same  pur- 
pose— and  give  me  great  pleasure." 

The  doctor  drew  a  heavy  sigh,  as  he  was  enabled  to  get 
rid  of  what  was  nearest  to  his  heart  ;  and  the  dragoon  coolly 
replaced  his  coat,  saying  with  great  deliberation  as  he  re- 
tired : 

"  I  know  no  troop  that  cut  more  judiciously  ;  they  gener- 
ally shave  from  the  crown  to  the  jaw." 

The  disappointed  operator  collected  his  instruments,  and 
with  a  heavy  heart  proceeded  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  room  of 
Colonel  Wellmere. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

This  fairy  form  contains  a  soul  as  mighty 
As  that  which  lives  within  a  giant's  frame  ; 
These  slender  limbs,  that  tremble  like  the  aspen 
At  summer  evening's  sigh,  uphold  a  spirit, 
Which,  roused,  can  tower  to  the  height  of  heaven, 
And  light  those  shining  windows  of  the  face 
With  much  of  heaven's  own  radiance. — Duo. 

THE  number  and  character  of  her  guests  had  greatly 
added  to  the  cares  of  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton.  The  morning 
found  them  all  restored,  in  some  measure,  to  their  former 
ease  of  body,  with  the  exception  of  the  youthful  captain 
of  dragoons,  who  had  been  so  deeply  regretted  by  Dun- 
woodie.  The  wound  of  this  officer  was  severe,  though  the 
surgeon  persevered  in  saying  that  it  was  without  danger. 
His  comrade,  we  have  shown,  had  deserted  his  couch  ; 
and  Henry  Wharton  awoke  from  a  sleep  that  had  been  un- 
disturbed by  anything  but  a  dream  of  suffering  amputa- 
tion under  the  hands  of  a  surgical  novice.  As  it  proved, 
however,  to  be  nothing  but  a  dream,  the  youth  found  him- 
self much  refreshed  by  his  slumbers  ;  and  Dr.  Sitgreaves 
removed  all  further  apprehensions  by  confidently  pro- 
nouncing that  he  would  be  a  well  man  within  a  fortnight. 

During  all  this  time  Colonel  Wellmere  did  not  make 
his  appearance  ;  he  breakfasted  in  his  own  room,  and,  not- 
withstanding certain  significant  smiles  of  the  man  of 
science,  declared  himself  too  much  injured  to  rise  from 
his  bed..  Leaving  him,  therefore,  endeavoring  to  conceal 
his  chagrin  in  the  solitude  of  his  chamber,  the  surgeon 
proceeded  to  the  more  grateful  task  of  sitting  an  hour  by 
the  bedside  of  George  Singleton.  A  slight  flush  was  on 


I36  THE  SPY. 

the  face  of  the  patient  as  the  doctor  entered  the  room  ; 
and  the  latter  advanced  promptly,  and  laid  his  fingers  on 
the  pulse  of  the  youth,  beckoning  to  him  to  be  silent,  while 
he  muttered  to  himself: 

"  Growing  symptoms  of  a  febrile  pulse — no,  no,  my  dear 
George,  you  must  remain  quiet  and  dumb  ;  though  your 
eyes  look  better,  and  your  skin  has  even  a  moisture." 

"  Nay,  my  dear  Sitgreaves,"  said  the  youth,  taking  his 
hand,  "you  see  there  is  no  fever  about  me  ;  look,  is  there 
any  of  Jack  Lawton's  hoar-frost  on  my  tongue  ?" 

"No,  indeed,"  said  the  surgeon,  clapping  a  spoon  in  the 
mouth  of  the  other,  forcing  it  open,  and  looking  down  his 
throat  as  if  disposed  to  visit  the  interior  in  person  ;  "the 
tongue  is  well  and  the  pulse  begins  to  lower  again.  Ah  ! 
the  bleeding  did  you  good.  Phlebotomy  is  a  sovereign 
specific  for  southern  constitutions.  But  that  madcap 
Lawton  obstinately  refused  to  be  blooded  for  a  fall  he  had 
from  his  horse  last  night.  Why,  George,  your  case  is 
becoming  singular,"  continued  the  doctor,  instinctively 
throwing  aside  his  wig;  "your  pulse  even  and  soft,  your 
skin  moist,  but  your  eye  fiery  and  cheek  flushed.  Oh ! 
I  must  examine  more  closely  into  these  symptoms." 

"Softly,  my  good  friend,  softly,"  said  the  youth,  falling 
back  on  his  pillow,  and  losing  some  of  that  color  which 
alarmed  his  companion  ;  "  I  believe,  in  extracting  the  ball, 
you  did  for  me  all  that  is  required.  I  am  free  from  pain, 
and  only  weak,  I  do  assure  you." 

"Captain  Singleton,"  said  the  surgeon,  with  heat,  "it  is 
presumptuous  in  you  to  pretend  to  tell  your  medical  at- 
tendant when  you  are  free  from  pain  ;  if  it  be  not  to  en- 
able us  to  decide  in  such  matters,  of  what  avail  the  lights 
of  science  ?  For  shame,  George,  for  shame  !  even  that 
perverse  fellow,  John  Lawton,  could  not  behave  with  more 
obstinacy." 

His  patient  smiled,  as  he  gently  repulsed  his  physician 
in  an  attempt  to  undo  the  bandages,  and,  with  a  returning 
glow  to  his  cheek,  inquired  : 

"  Do,  Archibald" — a  term  of  endearment  that  seldom 
failed  to  soften  the  operator's  heart — "  tell  me  what  spirit 
from  heaven  has  been  gliding  around  my  apartment,  while 
I  lay  pretending  to  sleep  ?" 

"  If  anyone  interferes  with  my  patients,"  cried  the  doc- 
tor, hastily,  "  I  will  teach  them,  spirit  or  no  spirit,  what  it 
is  to  meddle  with  another  man's  concerns." 

"  Tut — my  dear  fellow,  there  was  no  interference  made, 


THE   SPY.  137 

* 

nor  any  intended  ;  see,"  exhibiting  the  bandages,  "every- 
thing is  as  you  left  it — but  it  glided  about  the  room  with 
the  grace  of  a  fairy,  and  the  tenderness  of  an  angel." 

The  surgeon  having  satisfied  himself  that  everything 
was  as  he  had  left  it,  very  deliberately  resumed  his  seat  and 
replaced  his  wig,  as  he  inquired,  with  a  brevity  that  would 
have  honored  Lieutenant  Mason  : 

"  Had  it  petticoats,  George  ?" 

"  I  saw  nothing  but  its  heavenly  eyes — its  bloom — its 
majestic  step — its  grace,"  replied  the  young  man,  with 
rather  more  ardor  than  his  surgeon  thought  consistent  with 
his  debilitated  condition  ;  and  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  mouth 
to  stop  him,  saying  himself  : 

"It  must  have  been  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton — a  lady  of 
fine  accomplishments,  with — hem — with  something  of  the 
kind  of  step  you  speak  of — a  very  complacent  eye  ;  and  as 
to  the  bloom,  I  dare  say  offices  of  charity  can  summon  as 
fine  a  color  to  her  cheeks  as  glows  in  the  faces  of  her  more 
youthful  nieces." 

"Nieces!  has  she  nieces,  then?  The  angel  I  saw  may 
be  a  daughter,  a  sister,  or  a  niece — but  never  an  aunt." 

"  Hush,  George,  hush  ;  your  talking  has  brought  your 
pulse  up  again.  You  must  observe  quiet,  and  prepare  for 
a  meeting  with  your  own  sister,  who  will  be  here  within 
an  hour." 

"  What,  Isabella  !  and  who  sent  for  her  ?  " 

"  The  major." 

"Considerate  Dunwoodie!"  murmured  the  exhausted 
youth,  sinking  again  on  his  pillow,  where  the  commands 
of  his  attendant  compelled  him  to  remain  silent. 

Even  Captain  Lawton  had  been  received  with  many  and 
courteous  inquiries  after  the  state  of  his  health  from  all  the 
members  of  the  family  when  he  made  his  morning  en- 
trance ;  but  an  invisible  spirit  presided  over  the  comforts 
of  the  English  colonel.  Sarah  had  shrunk  with  conscious- 
ness from  entering  the  room  ;  yet  she  knew  the  position 
of  every  glass,  and  had,  with  her  own  hands,  supplied  the 
contents  of  every  bowl  that  stood  on  his  table. 

At  the  time  of  our  tale  we  were  a  divided  people,  and 
Sarah  thought  it  was  no  more  than  her  duty  to  cherish  the 
institutions  of  that  country  to  which  she  yet  clung  as  the 
land  of  her  forefathers  ;  but  there  were  other  and  more 
cogent  reasons  for  the  silent  preference  she  was  giving  to 
the  Englishman.  His  image  had  first  filled  the  void  in 
her  youthful  fancy,  and  it  was  an  image  that  was  distin- 


138  THE   SPY. 

guished  by  many  of  those  attractions  that  can  enchain  the 
female  heart.  It  is  true,  he  wanted  the  personal  excel- 
lence of  Peyton  Dunwoodie,  but  his  pretensions  were  far 
from  contemptible.  Sarah  had  moved  about  the  house 
during  the  morning,  casting  frequent  and  longing  glances 
at  the  door  of  Wellmere's  apartment,  anxious  to  learn  the 
condition  of  his  wounds,  and  yet  ashamed  to  inquire  ;  con- 
scious interest  kept  her  tongue  tied,  until  her  sister,  with 
the  frankness  of  innocence,  had  put  the  desired  question 
to  Dr.  Sitgreaves. 

''Colonel  Wellmere,"  said  the  operator,  gravely,  "is  in 
what  I  call  a  state  of  free-will,  madam.  He  is  ill,  or  he  is 
well,  as  he  pleases.  His  case,  young  lady,  exceeds  my  art 
to  heal ;  and  I  take  it  Sir  Henry  Clinton  is  the  best  adviser 
he  can  apply  to  ;  though  Major  Dunwoodie  has  made  the 
communication  with  his  leech  rather  difficult." 

Frances  smiled,  but  averted  her  face,  while  Sarah  moved, 
with  the  grace  of  an  offended  Juno,  from  the  apartment. 
Her  own  room,  however,  afforded  her  but  little  relief,  and 
in  passing  through  the  long  gallery  that  communicated 
with  each  of  the  chambers  of  the  building,  she  noticed  the 
door  of  Singleton's  room  to  be  open.  The  wounded  youth 
seemed  sleeping,  and  was  alone.  She  had  ventured  lightly 
into  the  apartment,  and  busied  herself  for  a  few  minutes 
in  arranging  the  tables  and  the  nourishment  provided  for 
the  patient,  hardly  conscious  of  what  she  was  doing,  and 
possibly  dreaming  that  these  little  feminine  offices  were 
performed  for  another.  Her  natural  bloom  was  height- 
ened by  the  insinuation  of  the  surgeon,  nor  was  the  lustre 
of  her  eye  in  any  degree  diminished.  The  sound  of  the 
approaching  footstep  of  Sitgreaves  hastened  her  retreat 
down  a  private  stairway,  to  the  side  of  her  sister.  The 
sisters  then  sought  the  fresh  air  on  the  piazza  ;  and  as  they 
pursued  their  walk,  arm  in  arm,  the  following  dialogue 
took  place  : 

"  There  is  something  disagreeable  about  this  surgeon  of 
Dunwoodie,"  said  Sarah,  "  that  causes  me  to  wish  him  away 
most  heartily." 

Frances  fixed  her  laughing  eyes  on  her  sister  ;  but  for- 
bearing to  speak,  the  other  readily  construed  their  expres- 
sion, and  hastily  added,  "  But  I  forget  he  is  one  of  your 
renowned  corps  of  Virginians,  and  must  be  spoken  of  rev- 
erently." 

"  As  respectfully  as  you  please,  my  dear  sister  :  there  is 
but  little  danger  of  exceeding  the  truth." 


THE   SPY.  139 

"Not  in  your  opinion,"  said  the  elder,  with  a  little 
warmth  ;  "but  I  think  Mr.  Dunwoodie  has  taken  a  liberty 
that  exceeds  the  rights  of  consanguinity  ;  he  has  made  our 
father's  house  a  hospital." 

"  We  ought  to  be  grateful  that  none  of  the  patients  it 
contains  are  dearer  to  us." 

"Your  brother  is  one." 

"  True,  true,"  interrupted  Frances,  blushing  to  the  eyes  ; 
"but  he  leaves  his  room,  and  thinks  his  wound  lightly  pur- 
chased by  the  pleasure  of  being  with  his  friends.  Tf,"  she 
added,  with  a  tremulous  lip,  "this  dreadful  suspicion  that 
is  affixed  to  his  visit  were  removed,  I  could  consider  his 
wound  of  little  moment." 

"You  now  have  the  fruits  of  rebellion  brought  home  to 
you  ;  a  brother  wounded  and  a  prisoner,  and  perhaps  a 
victim  ;  your  father  distressed,  his  privacy  interrupted, 
and  not  improbably  his  estates  torn  from  him,  on  account 
of  his  loyalty  to  his  king." 

Frances  continued  her  walk  in  silence.  While  facing 
the  northern  entrance  to  the  vale,  her  eyes  were  uniformly 
fastened  on  the  point  where  the  road  was  suddenly  lost  by 
the  intervention  of  a  hill  ;  and  at  each  turn,  as  she  lost 
sight  of  the  spot,  she  lingered  until  an  impatient  move- 
ment of  her  sister  quickened  her  pace  to  an  even  motion 
with  that  of  her  own.  At  length,  a  single  horse  chaise 
was  seen  making  its  way  carefully  among  the  stones  which 
lay  scattered  over  the  country  road  that  wound  through 
the  valley,  and  approched  the  cottage.  The  color  of 
Frances  changed  as  the  vehicle  gradually  drew  nearer  ; 
and  when  she  was  enabled  to  see  a  female  form  in  it  by 
the  side  of  a  black  in  livery,  her  limbs  shook  with  an  agi- 
tation that  compelled  her  to  lean  on  Sarah  for  support. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  travellers  approached  the  gate.  It 
was  thrown  open  by  a  dragoon  who  followed  the  carriage, 
and  who  had  been  the  messenger  despatched  by  Dun- 
woodie to  the  father  of  Captain  Singleton.  Miss  Peyton 
advanced  to  receive  their  guest,  and  the  sisters  united  in 
giving  hev  the  kindest  welcome  ;  still  Frances  could  with 
difficulty  withdraw  her  truant  eyes  from  the  countenance 
of  their  visitor.  She  was  young,  and  of  a  light  and  fragile 
form,  but  of  exquisite  proportions.  Her  eye  was  large, 
full,  black,  piercing,  and  at  times  a  little  wild.  Her  hair 
was  luxuriant,  and  as  it  was  without  the  powder  it  was 
then  the  fashion  to  wear,  it  fell  in  raven  blackness.  A 
few  of  its  locks  had  fallen  on  her  cheek,  giving  its  chilling 


I4o  THE   SPY. 

whiteness,  by  the  contrast,  a  more  deadly  character.  Dr. 
Sitgreaves  supported  her  from  the  chaise  ;  and  when  she 
gained  the  floor  of  the  piazza,  she  turned  an  expressive 
look  on  the  face  of  the  practitioner. 

"  Your  brother  is  out  of  danger,  and  wishes  to  see  you, 
Miss  Singleton,"  said  the  surgeon. 

The  lady  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears.  Frances  had  stood 
contemplating  the  action  and  face  of  Isabella  with  a  kind 
of  uneasy  admiration,  but  she  now  sprang  to  her  side  with 
the  ardor  of  a  sister,  and  kindly  drawing  her  arm  within 
her  own,  led  the  way  to  a  retired  room.  The  movement 
was  so  ingenuous,  so  considerate,  and  so  delicate,  that 
even  Miss  Peyton  withheld  her  interference,  following  the 
youthful  pair  with  only  her  eyes  and  a  smile  of  complac- 
ency. The  feeling  was  communicated  to  all  the  specta- 
tors, and  they  dispersed  in  pursuit  of  their  usual  avoca- 
tions. Isabella  yielded  to  the  gentle  influence  of  Frances 
without  resistance  ;  and,  having  gained  the  room  where 
the  latter  conducted  her,  wept  in  silence  on  the  shoulder 
of  the  observant  and  soothing  girl,  until  Frances  thought 
her  tears  exceeded  the  emotion  natural  to  the  occasion. 
The  sobs  of  Miss  Singleton  for  a  time  were  violent  and 
uncontrollable,  until,  with  an  evident  exertion,  she  yielded 
to  a  kind  observation  of  her  companion,  and  succeeded  in 
suppressing  her  tears.  Raising  her  face  to  the  eyes  of 
Frances,  she  rose,  while  a  smile  of  beautiful  radiance 
passed  over  her  features  ;  and  making  a  hasty  apology  for 
the  excess  of  her  emotion,  she  desired  to  be  conducted  to 
the  room  of  the  invalid. 

The  meeting  between  the  brother  and  sister  was  warm, 
but,  by  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  lady,  more  composed 
than  her  previous  agitation  had  given  reason  to  expect. 
Isabella  found  her  brother  looking  better,  and  in  less 
danger  than  her  sensitive  imagination  had  led  her  to  sup- 
pose. Her  spirits  rose  in  proportion  ;  from  despondency, 
she  passed  to  something  like  gayety  ;  her  beautiful  eyes 
sparkled  with  renovated  brilliancy;  and  her  face  was 
lighted  with  smiles  so  fascinating,  that  Frances,  who,  in 
compliance  with  her  earnest  entreaties,  had  accompanied 
her  to  the  sick  chamber,  sat  gazing  on  a  countenance  that 
possessed  so  wonderful  variability,  impelled  by  a  charm 
that  was  beyond  her  control.  The  youth  had  thrown  an 
earnest  look  at  Frances,  as  soon  as  his  sister  raised  herself 
from  his  arms,  and  perhaps  it  was  the  first  glance  at  the 
lovely  lineaments  of  our  heroine,  when  the  gazer  turned 


THE   SPY.  141 

his  eyes  from  the  view  in  disappointment.  He  seemed 
bewildered,  rubbed  his  forehead  like  a  man  awaking  from 
a  dream,  and  mused. 

"Where  is  Dunwoodie,  Isabella?"  he  said;  "the  ex- 
cellent fellow  is  never  weary  of  kind  actions.  After  a  day 
of  such  service  as  that  of  yesterday,  he  has  spent  the  night 
in  bringing  me  a  nurse,  whose  presence  alone  is  able  to 
raise  me  from  my  couch." 

The  expression  of  the  lady's  countenance  changed  ;  her 
eye  roved  round  the  apartment  with  a  character  of  wild- 
ness  in  it  that  repelled  the  anxious  Frances,  who  studied 
her  movements  with  unabated  interest. 

"  Dunwoodie  !  is  he  then  not  here  ?  I  thought  to  have 
met  him  by  the  side  of  my  brother's  bed." 

"  He  has  duties  that  require  his  presence  elsewhere  ;  the 
English  are  said  to  be  out  by  the  way  of  the  Hudson,  and 
they  give  us  light  troops  but  little  rest ;  surely  nothing  else 
could  have  kept  him  so  long  from  a  wounded  friend.  But, 
Isabella,  the  meeting  has  been  too  much  for  you  ;  you 
tremble." 

Isabella  made  no  reply ;  she  stretched  her  hand  toward 
the  table  which  held  the  nourishment  of  the  captain,  and 
the  attentive  Frances  comprehended  her  wishes  in  a  mo- 
ment. A  glass  of  water  in  some  measure  revived  the  sis- 
ter, who  was  enabled  to  say: 

"  Doubtless  it  is  his  duty.  'Twas  said  above,  a  royal 
party  was  moving  on  the  river  ;  though  I  passed  the  troops 
but  two  miles  from  this  spot."  The  latter  part  of  the  sen- 
tence was  hardly  audible,  and  it  was  spoken  more  in  the 
manner  of  a  soliloquy  than  as  if  intended  for  the  ears  of 
her  companions. 

"  On  the  march,  Isabella  ? "  eagerly  inquired  her  brother. 

"  No,  dismounted,  and  seemingly  at  rest,"  was  the  reply. 

The  wondering  dragoon  turned  his  gaze  on  the  counte- 
nance of  his  sister,  who  sat  with  her  eye  bent  on  the  carpet 
in  unconscious  absence,  but  found  no  explanation.  His 
look  was  changed  to  the  face  of  Frances,  who,  startled  by 
the  earnestness  of  his  expression,  arose,  and  hastily  inquired 
if  he  would  have  any  assistance. 

"  If  you  can  pardon  the  rudeness,"  said  the  wounded 
officer,  making  a  feeble  effort  to  raise  his  body,  "  I  would 
request  to  have  Captain  Lawton's  company  for  a  mo- 
ment." 

Frances  hastened  instantly  to  communicate  his  wish  to 
that  gentleman,  and,  impelled  by  an  interest  she  could  not 


I42  THE   SPY. 

control,  she  returned  again  to  her  seat  by  the  side  of  Miss 
Singleton. 

"Lawton,"  said  the  youth,  impatiently,  as  the  trooper 
entered,  "  hear  you  from  the  major  ?  " 

The  eye  of  the  sister  was  now  bent  on  the  face  of  the 
trooper,  who  made  his  salutations  to  the  lady  with  ease, 
blended  with  the  frankness  of  a  soldier. 

"  His  man  has  been  here  twice,"  he  said,  "  to  inquire  how 
we  fared  in  the  Lazaretto." 

"  And  why  not  himself  ?  " 

"  That  is  a  question  the  major  can  answer  best ;  but  you 
know  the  red-coats  are  abroad,  and  Dunwoodie  commands 
in  the  county;  these  English  must  be  looked  to." 

"  True,"  said  Singleton,  slowly,  as  if  struck  with  the 
other's  reasons  ;  "  but  how  is  it  that  you  are  idle,  when 
there  is  work  to  do  ? " 

"  My  sword-arm  is  not  in  the  best  condition,  and  Roan- 
oke  has  but  a  shambling  gait  this  morning  ;  besides,  there 
is  another  reason  I  could  mention,  if  it  were  not  that  Miss 
Wharton  would  never  forgive  me." 

"  Speak,  I  beg,  without  dread  of  my  displeasure,"  said 
Frances,  returning  the  good-humored  smile  of  the  trooper 
with  the  archness  natural  to  her  own  sweet  face. 

"  The  odors  of  your  kitchen,  then,"  cried  Lawton,  bluntly, 
"  forbid  my  quitting  the  domains  until  I  qualify  myself  to 
speak  with  more  certainty  concerning  the  fatness  of  the 
land." 

"  Oh  !  aunt  Jeanette  is  exerting  herself  to  do  credit  to 
my  father's  hospitality,"  said  the  laughing  girl,  "and  I  am 
a  truant  from  her  labors,  as  I  shall  be  a  stranger  to  her  fa- 
vor, unless  I  proffer  my  assistance." 

Frances  withdrew  to  seek  her  aunt,  musing  deeply  on 
the  character  and  extreme  sensibility  of  the  new  acquaint- 
ance chance  had  brought  to  the  cottage. 

The  wounded  officer  followed  her  with  his  eyes,  as  she 
moved,  with  infantile  grace,  through  the  door  of  his 
apartment,  and  as  she  vanished  from  his  view,  he  ob- 
served : 

"  Such  an  aunt  and  niece  are  seldom  to  be  met  with, 
Jack  ;  this  seems  a  fairy,  but  the  aunt  is  angelic." 

"You  are  doing  well,  I  see  ;  your  enthusiasm  for  the  sex 
holds  its  own." 

"  I  should  be  ungrateful  as  well  as  insensible,  did  I  not 
bear  testimony  to  the  loveliness  of  Miss  Peyton." 

"  A  good  motherly  lady,  but  as  to  love,  that  is  a  matter 


THE   SPY.  143 

of  taste.  A  few  years  younger,  with  deference  to  her  pru- 
dence and  experience,  would  accord  better  with  my  fancy." 

"  She  must  be  under  twenty,"  said  the  other,  quickly. 

"  It  depends  on  the  way  you  count.  If  you  begin  atthe 
heel  of  life,  well ;  but  if  you  reckon  downward,  as  is  most 
common,  I  think  she  is  nearer  forty." 

'•'You  have  mistaken  an  elder  sister  for  the  aunt,"  said 
Isabella,  laying  her  fair  hand  on  the  mouth  of  the  invalid  ; 
"you  must  be  silent!  your  feelings  are  beginning  to  affect 
your  frame." 

The  entrance  of  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  who  in  some  alarm  no- 
ticed the  increase  of  feverish  symptoms  in  his  patient,  en- 
forced this  mandate  ;  and  the  trooper  withdrew  to  pay  a 
visit  of  condolence  to  Roanoke,  who  had  been  an  equal 
sufferer  with  himself  in  their  last  night's  somerset.  To  his 
great  joy,  his  man  pronounced  the  steed  to  be  equally  con- 
valescent with  the  master;  and  Lawton  found  that  by  dint 
of  rubbing  the  animal's  limbs  several  hours  without  ceas- 
ing, he  was  enabled  to  place  his  feet  in  what  he  called  sys- 
tematic motion.  Orders  were  accordingly  given  to  be  in 
readiness  to  rejoin  the  troop  at  the  Four  Corners,  as  soon 
as  his  master  had  shared  in  the  bounty  of  the  approaching 
banquet. 

In  the  meantime,  Henry  Wharton  entered  the  apart- 
ment of  Wellmere,  and  by  his  sympathy  succeeded  in  re- 
storing the  colonel  to  his  own  good  graces.  The  latter  was 
consequently  enabled  to  rise,  and  prepared  to  meet  a  rival 
of  whom  he  had  spoken  so  lightly,  and,  as  the  result  had 
proved,  with  so  little  reason.  Wharton  knew  that  their 
misfortune,  as  they  both  termed  their  defeat,  was  owing  to 
the  other's  rashness  ;  but  he  forbore  to  speak  of  anything 
except  the  unfortunate  accident  which  had  deprived  the 
English  of  their  leader,  and  to  which  he  good-naturedly 
ascribed  their  subsequent  discomfiture. 

"  In  short,  Wharton,"  said  the  colonel,  putting  one  leg 
out  of  bed,  "it  may  be  called  a  combination  of  untowrard 
events  ;  your  own  ungovernable  horse  prevented  my  orders 
from  being  carried  to  the  major  in  season  to  flank  the 
rebels." 

"Very  true,"  replied  the  captain,  kicking  a  slipper  to- 
ward the  bed  ;  "  had  we  succeeded  in  getting  a  few  good 
fires  upon  them  in  flank,  we  should  have  sent  these  brave 
Virginians  to  the  right  about." 

"  Ay  !  and  that  in  double  quick  time,"  cried  the  colonel, 
making  the  other  leg  follow  its  companion  ;  "then  it  was 


144  THE   SPY, 

necessary  to  rout  the  guides,  you  know,  and  the  movement 
gave  them  the  best  possible  opportunity  to  charge." 

"Yes,"  said  the  other,  sending  the  second  slipper  after 
the  first;  "and  this  Major  Dunwoodie  never  overlooks  an 
advantage." 

"  I  think  if  we  had  the  thing  to  do  over  again,"  continued 
the  colonel,  raising  himself  on  his  feet,  "  we  might  alter 
the  case  very  materially  ;  though  the  chief  thing  the  rebels 
have  now  to  boast  of  is  my  capture,  they  were  repulsed, 
you  saw,  in  their  attempt  to  drive  us  from  the  wood." 

"  At  least  they  would  have  been  had  they  made  an  at- 
tack," said  the  captain,  throwing  the  rest  of  his  clothes 
within  reach  of  the  colonel. 

"  Why,  that  is  the  same  thing,"  returned  Wellmere,  be- 
ginning to  dress  himself  ;  "  to  assume  such  an  attitude  as 
to  intimidate  your  enemy,  is  the  chief  art  of  war." 

"  Doubtless,  then,  you  may  remember  in  one  of  their 
charges  they  were  completely  routed." 

"True — true,"  cried  the  colonel,  with  animation  ;  "had 
I  been  there  to  have  improved  that  advantage,  we  might 
have  turned  the  tables  on  the  Yankees  ;  "  saying  which,  he 
displayed  still  greater  animation  in  completing  his  toilet  ; 
and  he  was  soon  prepared  to  make  his  appearance,  fully 
restored  to  his  own  good  opinion,  and  fairly  persuaded  that 
his  capture  was  owing  to  casualties  absolutely  beyond  the 
control  of  man. 

The  knowledge  that  Colonel  Wellmere  was  to  be  a  guest 
at  the  table,  in  no  degree  diminished  the  preparations 
which  were  already  making  for  the  banquet  ;  and  Sarah, 
after  receiving  the  compliments  of  the  gentleman,  and  mak- 
ing many  kind  inquiries  after  the  state  of  his  wounds,  pro- 
ceeded in  person  to  lend  her  counsel  and  taste  to  one  of 
those  labored  entertainments  which,  at  that  day,  were  so 
frequent  in  country  life,  and  which  are  not  entirely  ban- 
ished from,  our  domestic  economy  at  the  present  moment. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

I  will  stand  to  and  feed, 
Although  my  last. — Tempest. 

THE  savor  of  preparation  which  had  been  noticed  by 
Captain  Lawton  began  to  increase  within  the  walls  of  the 
cottage  ;  certain  sweet-smelling  odors,  that  arose  from  the 


THE   SPY.  145 

subterranean  territories  of  Caesar,  gave  to  the  trooper  the 
most  pleasing  assurance  that  his  olfactory  nerves,  which  on 
such  occasions  were  as  acute  as  his  eyes  on  others,  had 
faithfully  performed  their  duty  ;  and  for  the  benefit  of  en- 
joying the  passing  sweets  as  they  arose,  the  dragoon  so 
placed  himself  at  a  window  of  the  building,  that  not  a 
vapor  charged  with  the  spices  of  the  East  could  exhale  on 
its  passage  to  the  clouds,  without  first  giving  its  incense  to 
his  nose.  Lawton,  however,  by  no  means  indulged  him- 
self in  this  comfortable  arrangement,  without  first  making 
such  preparations  to  do  meet  honor  to  the  feast  as  his 
scanty  wardrobe  would  allow.  The  uniform  of  his  corps 
was  always  a  passport  to  the  best  tables,  and  this,  though 
somewhat  tarnished  by  faithful  service  and  unceremonious 
usage,  was  properly  brushed  and  decked  out  for  the  occa- 
sion. His  head,  which  nature  had  ornamented  with  the 
blackness  of  a  crow,  now  shone  with  the  whiteness  of  snow  ; 
and  his  bony  hand,  that  so.  well  became  the  sabre,  peered 
from  beneath  a  ruffle  with  something  like  maiden  coyness. 
The  improvements  of  the  dragoon  went  no  further,  except- 
ing that  his  boots  shone  with  more  than  holiday  splendor, 
and  his  spurs  glittered  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  as  became 
the  pure  ore  of  which  they  were  composed. 

Caesar  moved  through  the  apartments  with  a  face  charged 
with  an  importance  exceeding  even  that  which  had  accom- 
panied him  in  his  melancholy  task  of  the  morning.  The 
black  had  early  returned  from  the  errand  on  which  he  had 
been  despatched  by  the  peddler,  and,  obedient  to  the  com- 
mands of  his  mistress,  promptly  appeared  to  give  his  ser- 
vices where  his  allegiance  was  due  ;  so  serious,  indeed, 
was  his  duty  now  becoming,  that  it  was  only  at  odd  mo- 
ments he  was  enabled  to  impart  to  his  sable  brother,  who 
had  been  sent  in  attendance  on  Miss  Singleton  to  the  Lo- 
custs, any  portion  of  the  wonderful  incidents  of  the  mo- 
mentous night  he  had  so  lately  passed.  By  ingeniously 
using,  however,  such  occasions  as  accidentally  offered, 
Caesar  communicated  so  many  of  the  heads  of  his  tale  as 
served  to  open  the  eyes  of  his  visitor  to  their  fullest  width. 
The  gusto  for  the  marvellous  was  innate  in  these  sable 
worthies  ;  and  Miss  Peyton  found  it  necessary  to  interpose 
her  authority,  in  order  to  postpone  the  residue  of  the  his- 
tory to  a  more  befitting  opportunity. 

"  Ah  !  Miss  Jinnette,"  said  Caesar,  shaking  his  head,  and 
looking  all  that  he  expressed,  "  'twas  awful  to  see  Johnny 
Birch  walk  on  a  feet  when  he  lie  dead  !  " 


146  THE   SPY. 

This  concluded  the  conversation  ;  though  the  black 
promised  himself  the  satisfaction,  and  did  not  fail  to  enjoy 
it,  of  having  many  a  good  gossip  on  the  solemn  subject  at 
a  future  period. 

The  ghost  thus  happily  laid,  the  department  of  Miss 
Peyton  flourished,  and  by  the  time  the  afternoon's  sun  had 
travelled  a  two  hours'  journey  from  the  meridian,  the  for- 
mal procession  from  the  kitchen  to  the  parlor  commenced, 
under  the  auspices  of  Ceesar,  who  led  the  van,  supporting 
a  turkey  on  the  palms  of  his  withered  hands,  with  the  dex- 
terity of  a  balance-master. 

Next  followed  the  servant  of  Captain  Lawton,  bearing, 
as  he  marched  stiffly,  and  walking  wide,  as  if  allowing  room 
for  his  steed,  a  ham  of  true  Virginia  flavor  ;  a  present  from 
the  spinster's  brother  in  Accomac.  The  supporter  of  this 
savory  dish  kept  his  eye  on  his  trust  with  military  preci- 
sion ;  and  by  the  time  he  reached  his  destination,  it  might 
be  difficult  to  say  which  contained  the  most  juice,  his  own 
mouth  or  the  Accomac  bacon. 

Third  in  the  line  was  to  be  seen  the  valet  of  Colonel 
Wellmere,  who  carried  in  either  hand  chickens,  fricasseed, 
and  oyster  patties. 

After  him  marched  the  attendant  of  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  who 
had  instinctively  seized  an  enormous  tureen,  as  most  re- 
sembling matters  he  understood,  and  followed  on  in  place, 
until  the  steams  of  the  soup  so  completely  bedimmed  the 
spectacles  he  wore,  as  a  badge  of  office,  that,  on  arriving  at 
the  scene  of  action,  he  was  compelled  to  deposit  his  freight 
on  the  floor,  until,  by  removing  the  glasses,  he  could  see 
his  way  through  the  piles  of  reserved  china  and  plate- 
warmers. 

Next  followed  another  trooper,  whose  duty  it  was  to  at- 
tend on  Captain  Singleton  ;  and,  as  if  apportioning  his  ap- 
petite to  the  feeble  state  of  his  master,  he  had  contented 
himself  with  conveying  a  pair  of  ducks,  roasted,  until  their 
tempting  fragrance  began  to  make  him  repent  his  having 
so  lately  demolished  a  breakfast  that  had  been  provided 
for  his  master's  sister,  with  another  prepared  for  himself. 

The  white  boy,  who  belonged  to  the  house,  brought  up 
the  rear,  groaning  under  the  load  of  sundry  dishes  of  vege- 
tables, that  the  cook,  by  way  of  climax,  had  unwittingly 
heaped  on  him. 

But  this  was  far  from  all  of  the  preparations  for  that 
day's  feast.  Caesar  had  no  sooner  deposited  his  bird,  which, 
but  the  week  before,  had  been  flying  among  the  highlands  of 


THE   SPY.  147 

Dutchess,  little  dreaming  of  so  soon  heading  such  a  goodly 
assemblage,  than  he  turned  mechanically  on  his  heel,  and 
took  up  his  line  of  march  again  for  the  kitchen.  In  this 
evolution  the  black  was  imitated  by  his  companions  in  suc- 
cession, arid  another  procession  to  the  parlor  followed  in 
the  same  order.  By  this  admirable  arrangement,  whole 
flocks  of  pigeons,  certain  bevies  of  quails,  shoals  of  flat- 
fish, bass,  and  sundry  woodcock,  found  their  way  into  the 
presence  of  the  company. 

A  third  attack  brought  suitable  quantities  of  potatoes, 
onions,  beets,  cold  slaw,  rice,  and  all  the  other  minutiae  of 
a  goodly  dinner. 

The  board  now  fairly  groaned  with  American  profusion  ; 
and  Caesar,  glancing  his  eye  over  the  show  with  a  most 
approving  conscience,  after  re-adjusting  every  dish  that 
had  not  been  placed  on  the  table  with  his  own  hands,  pro- 
ceeded to  acquaint  the  mistress  of  the  revels  that  his  task 
was  happily  accomplished. 

Some  half-hour  before  the  culinary  array  just  recorded 
took  place,  all  the  ladies  disappeared,  much  in  the  same 
unaccountable  manner  that  swallows  flee  the  approach  of 
winter.  But  the  spring-time  of  their  return  had  arrived, 
and  the  whole  party  were  collected  in  an  apartment  that, 
in  consequence  of  its  containing  no  side-table,  and  being 
furnished  with  a  chintz  coverlet  settee,  was  termed  a  with- 
drawing room. 

The  kind-hearted  spinster  had  deemed  the  occasion 
worthy,  not  only  of  extraordinary  preparations  in  the  cu- 
linary department,  but  had  seen  proper  to  deck  her  own 
person  in  garments  suited  to  the  guests  whom  it  was  now 
her  happiness  to  entertain. 

On  her  head  Miss  Peyton  wore  a  cap  of  exquisite  lawn, 
which  was  ornamented  in  front  with  a  broad  border  of  lace, 
that  spread  from  the  face  in  such  a  manner  as  to  admit  of 
a  display  of  artificial  flowers,  clustered  in  a  group  on  the 
summit  of  her  fine  forehead. 

The  color  of  her  hair  was  lost  in  the  profusion  of  powder 
with  which  it  was  covered  ;  but  a  slight  curling  of  the  ex- 
tremities in  some  degree  relieved  the  formality  of  its  ar- 
rangement, and  gave  a  look  of  feminine  softness  to  the 
features. 

Her  dress  was  a  rich,  heavy  silk,  of  violet  color,  cut  low 
around  the  bust,  with  a  stomacher  of  the  same  material, 
that  fitted  close  to  the  figure  and  exhibited  the  form,  from 
the  shoulders  to  the  waist,  in  its  true  proportions.  Below, 


148  THE    SPY. 

the  dress  was  full,  and  sufficiently  showed  that  parsimony 
In  attire  was  not  a  foible  of  the  day.  A  small  loop  dis- 
played the  beauty  of  the  fabric  to  advantage,  and  aided  in 
giving  majesty  to  the  figure. 

The  tall  stature  of  the  lady  was  heightened  by  shoes  of 
the  same  material  with  the  dress,  whose  heels  added  more 
than  an  inch  to  the  liberality  of  nature. 

The  sleeves  were  short  and  close  to  the  limb,  until  they 
fell  off  at  the  elbows  in  large  ruffles,  that  hung  in  rich 
profusion  from  the  arm  when  extended  ;  and  duplicates 
and  triplicates  of  lawn,  trimmed  with  Dresden  lace,  lent 
their  aid  in  giving  delicacy  to  a  hand  and  arm  that  yet 
retained  their  whiteness  and  symmetry.  A  treble  row 
of  large  pearls  closely  encircled  her  throat  ;  and  a  hand- 
kerchief of  lace  partially  concealed  that  part  of  the  person 
that  the  silk  had  left  exposed,  but  which  the  experience  of 
forty  years  had  warned  Miss  Peyton  should  now  be  veiled. 

Thus  attired,  and  standing  erect  with  the  lofty  grace 
that  distinguished  the  manners  of  that  day,  the  maiden 
would  have  looked  into  nothingness  a  bevy  of  modern 
belles. 

The  taste  of  Sarah  had  kept  even  pace  with  the  decora- 
tions of  her  aunt  ;  and  a  dress,  differing  in  no  respect  from 
the  one  just  described  but  in  material  and  tints,  exhibited 
her  imposing  form  to  equal  advantage.  The  satin  of  her 
robe  was  of  a  pale  bluish  color.  Twenty  years  did  not, 
however,  require  the  screen  that  was  prudent  in  forty,  and 
nothing  but  an  envious  border  of  exquisite  lace  hid,  in 
some  measure,  what  the  satin  left  exposed  to  view.  The 
upper  part  of  the  bust,  and  the  fine  fall  of  the  shoulders, 
were  blazing  in  all  their  native  beauty,  and,  like  the  aunt, 
the  throat  was  ornamented  by  a  treble  row  of  pearls,  to 
correspond  with  which  were  rings  of  the  same  quality  in 
her  ears.  The  head  was  without  a  cap,  and  the  hair  drawn 
up  from  the  countenance  so  as  to  give  to  the  eye  all  the 
loveliness  of  a  forehead  as  polished  as  marble  and  as  white 
as  snow.  A  few  straggling  curls  fell  gracefully  on  the 
neck,  and  a  bouquet  of  artificial  flowers  was  also  placed 
like  a  coronet,  over  her  brow. 

Miss  Singleton  had  resigned  her  brother  to  the  advice 
of  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  who  had  succeeded  in  getting  his  patient 
into  a  deep  sleep,  after  quieting  certain  feverish  symptoms 
that  followed  the  agitation  of  the  interview.  The  sister 
was  persuaded,  by  the  observant  mistress  of  the  mansion, 
to  make  one  of  the  party,  and  she  sat  by  the  side  of  Sarah, 


THE    SPY.  149 

differing  but  little  in  appearance  from  that  lady,  except  in 
refusing  the  use  of  powder  on  her  raven  locks,  and  that 
her  unusually  high  forehead,  and  large,  brilliant  eyes,  gave 
an  expression  of  thoughtfulness  to  her  features  that  was 
possibly  heightened  by  the  paleness  of  her  cheek. 

Last  and  least,  but  not  the  most  unlovely  in  this  display 
of  female  charms,  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Whar- 
ton.  Frances,  we  have  already  mentioned,  left  the  city 
before  she  had  attained  to  the  age  of  fashionable  woman- 
hood. A  few  adventurous  spirits  were  already  beginning 
to  make  inroads  in  those  customs  which  had  so  long  in- 
vaded the  comforts  of  the  fair  sex  ;  and  the  youthful  girl 
had  ventured  to  trust  her  beauty  to  the  height  which  nat- 
ure had  bestowed.  This  was  but  little,  but  that  little  was 
a  masterpiece.  Frances  several  times  had  determined,  in 
the  course  of  the  morning,  to  bestow  more  than  usual  pains 
in  the  decoration  of  her  person.  Each  time,  in  succession, 
as  she  formed  this  resolution,  she  spent  a  few  minutes  in 
looking  earnestly  toward  the  north,  and  then  she  as  in- 
variably changed  it. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  our  heroine  appeared  in  the 
drawing-room,  clothed  in  a  robe  of  pale  blue. silk,  of  a  cut 
and  fashion  much  like  that  worn  by  her  sister.  Her  hair 
was  left  to  the  wild  curls  of  nature,  its  exuberance  being 
confined  to  the  crown  of  her  head  by  a  long,  low  comb, 
made  of  light  tortoise-shell  ;  a  color  barely  distinguish- 
able in  the  golden  hue  of  her  tresses.  Her  dress  was 
without  a  plait  or  a  wrinkle,  and  fitted  the  form  with  an 
exactitude  that  might  lead  one  to  imagine  the  arch  girl 
more  than  suspected  the  beauties  it  displayed.  A  tucker 
of  rich  Dresden  lace  softened  the  contour  of  the  figure. 
Her  head  was  without  ornament ;  but  around  her  throat 
was  a  necklace  of  gold  clasped  in  front  with  a  rich  corne- 
lian. 

Once,  and  once  only,  as  they  moved  toward  the  repast, 
did  Lawton  see  a  foot  thrust  itself  from  beneath  the  folds 
of  her  robe,  and  exhibit  its  little  beauties  encased  in  a  slip- 
per of  blue  silk,  clasped  close  to  the  shape  by  a  buckle  of 
brilliants.  The  trooper  caught  himself  sighing  as  he 
thought,  though  it  was  good  for  nothing  in  the  stirrup,  how 
enchantingly  it  would  grace  a  minuet. 

As  the  black  appeared  on  the  threshold  of  the  room, 
making  a  low  reverence,  which  has  been  interpreted  for 
some  centuries  into  "dinner  waits,"  Mr.  Wharton,  clad  in 
a  dress  of  drab  bedecked  with  enormous  buttons,  advanced 


150  THE    SPY. 

formally  to  Miss  Singleton,  and  bending  his  powdered  head 
nearly  to  the  level  of  the  hand  he  extended,  received  hers 
in  return. 

Dr.  Sitgreaves  offered  the  same  homage  to  Miss  Peyton, 
and  met  with  equal  favor  ;  the  lady  first  pausing  to  draw 
on  her  gloves. 

Colonel  Wellmere  was  honored  with  a  smile  from  Sarah, 
while  performing  a  similar  duty  ;  and  Frances  gave  the 
ends  of  her  taper  fingers  to  Captain  Lawton  with  maiden 
bashfulness. 

Much  time,  and  some  trouble,  were  expended  before  the 
whole  party  were,  to  the  great  joy  of  Caesar,  comfortably 
arranged  around  the  table,  with  proper  attention  to  all 
points  of  etiquette  and  precedence.  The  black  well  knew 
the  viands  were  not  improving  ;  and  though  abundantly 
able  to  comprehend  the  disadvantage  of  eating  a  cold  din- 
ner, it  greatly  exceeded  his  powers  of  philosophy  to  weigh 
all  the  latent  consequences  to  society  which  depend  on 
social  order. 

For  the  first  ten  minutes  all  but  the  captain  of  dragoons 
found  themselves  in  a  situation  much  to  their  liking.  Even 
Lawton  would  have  been  perfectly  happy,  had  not  excess 
of  civility  on  the  part  of  his  host  and  Miss  Jeanette  Peyton 
kept  him  from  the  more  agreeable  occupation  of  tasting 
dishes  he  did  want,  in  order  to  decline  those  he  did  not. 
At  length,  however,  the  repast  was  fairly  commenced,  and 
a  devoted  application  to  the  viands  was  more  eloquent  than 
a  thousand  words  in  favor  of  Dinah's  skill. 

Next  came  drinking  with  the  ladies  ;  but  as  the  wine 
was  excellent,  and  the  glasses  ample,  the  trooper  bore  this 
interruption  with  consummate  good-nature.  Nay,  so  fear- 
ful was  he  of  giving  offence,  and  of  omitting  any  of  the 
nicer  points  of  punctilio,  that  having  commenced  this  cour- 
tesy with  the  lady  who  sat  next  him,  he  persevered  until 
not  one  of  his  fair  companions  could,  with  justice,  reproach 
him  with  partiality  in  this  particular. 

Long  abstemiousness  from  anything  like  generous  wine 
might  plead  the  excuse  of  Captain  Lawton,  especially  when 
exposed  to  so  strong  a  temptation  as  that  now  before  him. 
Mr.  Wharton  had  been  one  of  a  set  of  politicians  in  New 
York,  whose  principal  exploits  before  the  war  had  been  to 
assemble,  and  pass  sage  opinions  on  the  signs  of  the  times, 
under  the  inspiration  of  certain  liquor  made  from  a  grape 
that  grew  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of  Madeira,  and 
which  found  its  way  into  the  colonies  of  North  America 


THE   SPY.  151 

through  the  medium  of  the  West  Indies,  sojourning  awhile 
in  the  Western  Archipelago,  by  way  of  proving  the  virtues 
of  the  climate.  A  large  supply  of  this  cordial  had  been 
drawn  from  his  storehouse  in  the  city,  and  some  of  it  now 
sparkled  in  a  bottle  before  the  captain,  blushing  in  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  which  were  passing  obliquely  through  it, 
like  amber. 

Though  the  meat  and  vegetables  had  made  their  en- 
trance with  perfect  order  and  propriety,  their  exeunt  was 
effected  much  in  the  manner  of  a  retreat  of  militia.  The 
point  was  to  clear  the  board  something  after  the  fabled 
practice  of  the  harpies,  and  by  dint  of  scrambling,  tossing, 
breaking,  and  spilling,  the  remnants  of  the  overflowing  re- 
past disappeared.  And  now  another  series  of  processions 
commenced,  by  virtue  of  which  a  goodly  display  of  pastry, 
with  its  usual  accompaniments,  garnished  the  table. 

Mr.  Wharton  poured  out  a  glass  of  wine  for  the  lady 
who  sat  on  his  right  hand,  and,  pushing  the  bottle  to  a 
guest,  said,  with  a  low  bow  : 

"We  are  to  be  honored  with  a  toast  from  Miss  Single- 
ton." 

Although  there  was  nothing  more  in  this  movement  than 
occurred  every  day  on  such  occasions,  yet  the  lady  trem- 
bled, colored,  and  grew  pale  again,  seemingly  endeavoring 
to  rally  her  thoughts,  until,  by  her  agitation,  she  had  ex- 
cited the  interest  of  the  whole  party  ;  when,  by  an  effort, 
and  in  a  manner  as  if  she  had  in  vain  striven  to  think  of 
another,  Isabella  said,  faintly  : 

"Major  Dun\voodie." 

The  health  was  drunk  cheerfully  by  all  but  Colonel 
Wellmere,  who  wet  his  lips,  and  drew  figures  on  the  table 
with  some  of  the  liquor  he  had  spilt. 

At  length  Colonel  Wellmere  broke  .silence  by  saying 
aloud  to  Captain  Lawton  : 

"  I  suppose,  sir,  this  Mr.  Dunwoodie  will  receive  promo- 
tion in  the  rebel  army  for  the  advantage  my  misfortune 
gave  him  over  my  command." 

The  trooper  had  supplied  the  wants  of  nature  to  his 
perfect  satisfaction  ;  and,  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of 
Washington  and  his  immediate  commander,  there  was  no 
mortal  whose  displeasure  he  regarded  a  tittle.  First  help- 
ing himself,  therefore,  to  a  little  of  his  favorite  bottle,  he 
replied,  with  admirable  coolness  : 

"Colonel  Wellmere,  your  pardon;  Major  Dunwoodie 
owes  his  allegiance  to  the  Confederated  States  of  North 


152  THE   SPY. 

America,  and  where  he  owes  it,  he  pays  it.  Such  a  man. 
is  no  rebel.  Promoted  I  hope  he  may  be,  both  because  h« 
deserves  it,  and  because  I  am  next  in  rank  in  the  corps ; 
and  I  know  not  what  you  call  a  misfortune,  unless  you 
deem  meeting  the  Virginia  Horse  as  such." 

"We  will  not  differ  about  terms,  sir,"  said  the  colonel, 
haughtily  ;  "  I  spoke  as  duty  to  my  sovereign  prompted  ; 
but  do  you  not  call  the  loss  of  a  commander  a  misfortune 
to  a  party  ?  " 

"  It  certainly  may  be  so,"  said  the  trooper,  with  empha- 
sis. 

"Miss  Peyton,  will  you  favor  us  with  a  toast?"  cried 
the  master  of  the  house,  anxious  to  stop  this  dialogue. 

The  lady  bowed  her  head  with  dignity,  as  she  named 
"  General  Montrose  ; "  and  the  long-absent  bloom  stole 
lightly  over  her  features. 

"  There  is  no  term  more  doubtful  than  that  word  mis- 
fortune," said  the  surgeon,  regardless  of  the  nice  manoeu- 
vres of  the  host  ;  "  some  deem  one  thing  a  misfortune, 
others  its  opposite  ;  misfortune  begets  misfortune  ;  life  is 
a  misfortune,  for  it  may  be  the  means  of  enduring  misfor- 
tune, and  death  is  a  misfortune,  as  it  abridges  the  enjoy- 
ments of  life." 

"  It  is  a  misfortune  that  our  mess  has  no  such  wine  as 
this,"  interrupted  the  trooper. 

"  We  will  pledge  you  a  sentiment  in  it,  sir,  as  it  seems 
to  suit  your  taste,"  said  Mr.  Wharton. 

Lawton  filled  to  the  brim,  and  drank,  "  A  speedy  peace 
or  a  stirring  war." 

"  I  drink  your  toast,  Captain  Lawton,  though  I  greatly 
distrust  your  construction  of  activity,"  said  the  surgeon. 
"  In  my  poor  judgment,  cavalry  should  be  kept  in  the  rear, 
to  improve  a  victory,  and  not  sent  in  front  to  gain  it. 
Such  may  be  said  to  be  their  natural  occupation,  if  the 
term  can  be  used  in  reference  to  so  artificial  a  body  ;  for 
all  history  shows  that  the  horse  have  done  most  when 
properly  held  in  reserve." 

This  dissertion,  uttered  in  a  sufficiently  didactic  manner, 
was  a  hint  that  Miss  Peyton  did  not  neglect.  She  arose 
and  retired,  followed  by  her  juniors. 

Nearly  at  the  same  moment,  Mr.  Wharton  and  his  son 
made  an  apology  for  their  absence,  which  was  required  on 
account  of  the  death  of  a  near  neighbor,  and  withdrew. 

The  retreat  of  the  ladies  was  the  signal  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  surgeon's  cigar,  which,  being  established  in  a 


THE    SPY.  153 

corner  of  his  mouth,  in  a  certain  knowing  way,  caused  not 
the  slightest  interruption  to  his  discourse. 

"  If  anything  can  sweeten  captivity  and  wounds,  it  must 
be  the  happiness  of  suffering  in  the  society  of  the  ladies 
who  have  left  us,"  gallantly  observed  the  colonel,  as  he  re- 
sumed his  seat,  after  closing  the  door. 

"Sympathy  and  kindness  have  their  influence  on  the 
human  system,"  returned  the  surgeon,  knocking  the  ashes 
from  his  cigar  with  the  tip  of  a  little  finger,  in  the  man- 
ner of  an  adept.  "  The  connection  is  intimate  between 
the  moral  and  physical  feelings  ;  but  still,  to  accomplish 
a  cure,  and  restore  nature  to  the  healthy  tone  it  has  lost 
from  disease  or  accident,  requires  more  than  can  flow  from 
unguided  sympathies.  In  such  cases,  the  lights  " — the  sur- 
geon accidentally  caught  the  eye  of  the  trooper,  and  he 
paused.  Taking  two  or  three  hasty  puffs,  he  essayed  to 
finish  the  sentence — "  In  such  cases,  the  knowledge  that 
flows  from  the  lights " 

"  You  were  saying,  sir "  said  Colonel  Wellmere,  sip- 
ping his  wine. 

"  The  purport  of  my  remark  went  to  say,"  continued 
Sitgreaves,  turning  his  back  on  Lawton,  "  that  a  bread 
poultice  would  not  set  a  broken  arm." 

"  More  is  the  pity,"  cried  the  trooper,  "  for  next  to  eat- 
ing, the  nourishment  could  not  be  more  innocently  ap- 
plied." 

"  To  you,  Colonel  Wellmere,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  as  a 
man  of  education,  I  can  with  safety  appeal."  The  colonel 
bowed.  "You  must  have  observed  the  dreadful  havoc 
made  in  your  ranks  by  the  men  who  were  led  by  this  gen- 
tleman ; "  the  colonel  looked  grave  again  ;  "  how,  when 
blows  lighted  on  their  frames,  life  was  invariably  extin- 
guished, beyond  all  hope  of  scientific  reparation  ;  how  cer- 
tain yawning  wounds  were  inflicted  that  must  set  at  defi- 
ance the  art  of  the  most  experienced  practitioner.  Now, 
sir,  to  you  I  triumphantly  appeal,  therefore,  to  know 
whether  your  detachment  would  not  have  been  as  effectu- 
ally defeated,  if  the  men  had  all  lost  a  right  arm,  for  in- 
stance, as  if  they  had  all  lost  their  heads." 

"The  triumph  of  your  appeal  is  somewhat  hasty,  sir," 
said  Wellmere. 

"  Is  the  cause  of  liberty  advanced  a  step  by  such  injudi- 
cious harshness  in  the  field  ?  "  continued  the  surgeon,  bent 
on  the  favorite  principle  of  his  life. 

**  I  am  yet  to  learn  that  the  cause  of  liberty  is  in   any 


I54  THE   SPY. 

manner  advanced  by  the  services  of  any  gentleman  in  the 
rebel  army,"  rejoined  the  colonel. 

"  Not  liberty !  Good  God,  for  what,  then,  are  we  contend- 
ing?" 

"Slavery,  sir  ;  yes,  even  slavery  ;  you  are  putting  the 
tyranny  of  a  mob  on  the  throne  of  a  kind  and  lenient 
prince  ;  where  is  the  consistency  of  your  boasted  lib- 
erty ?  " 

"Consistency!"  repeated  the  surgeon,  looking  about 
him  a  little  wildly,  at  hearing  such  sweeping  charges 
against  a  cause  he  had  so  long  thought  holy. 

"Ay,  sir,  your  consistency.  Your  congress  of  sages 
have  published  a  manifesto,  wherein  they  set  forth  the 
equality  of  political  rights." 

"  'Tis  true,  and  it  is  done  most  ably." 

"  I  say  nothing  of  its  ability  ;  but  if  true,  why  not  set 
your  slaves  at  liberty  ?"  This  argument,  which  is  thought 
by  most  of  the  colonel's  countrymen  a  triumphant  answer 
to  a  thousand  eloquent  facts,  lost  none  of  its  weight  by  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  uttered. 

Every  American  feels  humbled  at  the  necessity  of  vin- 
dicating his  country  from  the  apparent  inconsistency  and 
injustice  of  the  laws  alluded  to.  His  feelings  are  much  like 
those  of  an  honorable  man  who  is  compelled  to  exonerate 
himself  from  a  disgraceful  charge,  although  he  may  know 
the  accusation  to  be  false.  At  the  bottom  Sitgreaves  had 
much  good  sense,  and  thus  called  on  he  took  up  the  cud- 
gels of  argument  in  downright  earnest. 

"  We  deem  it  a  liberty  to  have  the  deciding  voice  in  the 
councils  by  which  we  are  governed.  We  think  it  a  hard- 
ship to  be  ruled  by  a  king  of  a  people  who  live  at  a  dis- 
tance of  three  thousand  miles,  and  who  cannot,  and  who 
do  not,  feel  a  single  political  interest  in  common  with  our- 
selves. I  say  nothing  of  oppression  ;  the  child  was  of  age, 
and  was  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  majority.  In  such 
cases  there  is  but  one  tribunal  to  which  to  appeal  for  a 
nation's  rights — it  is  power,  and  we  now  make  the  appeal." 

"  Such  doctrine  may  suit  your  present  purposes,"  said 
Wellmere,  with  a  sneer;  "but  I  apprehend  it  is  opposed 
to  all  the  opinions  and  practices  of  civilized  nations." 

"  It  is  in  conformity  with  the  practices  of  all  nations," 
said  the  surgeon,  returning  the  nod  and  smile  of  Lawton, 
who  enjoyed  the  good  sense  of  his  comrade  as  much  as  he 
disliked  what  he  called  "  his  medical  talk."  "  Who  would 
be  ruled  when  he  can  rule  ?  The  only  rational  ground  to 


THE   SPY.  155 

take  is,  that  every  community  has  a  right  to  govern  itself, 
so  that  in  no  manner  it  violates  the  laws  of  God." 

"  And  is  holding  your  fellow-creatures  in  bondage  in 
conformity  to  those  laws  ?  "  asked  the  colonel,  impres- 
sively. 

The  surgeon  took  another  glass,  and  hemming  once,  re- 
turned to  the  combat. 

"Sir,"  said  he,  "slavery  is  of  very  ancient  origin,  and 
it  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  no  particular  religion  or 
form  of  government  ;  every  nation  of  civilized  Europe 
does,  or  has  held  their  fellow-creatures  in  this  kind  of  du- 
resse !  " 

"  You  will  except  Great  Britain,  sir,"  cried  the  colonel, 
proudly. 

"No,  sir,"  continued  the  surgeon,  confidently,  feeling 
that  he  was  now  carrying  the  war  out  of  his  owrn  country  ; 
u  I  cannot  except  Great  Britain.  It  was  her  children, 
her  ships,  and  her  laws  that  first  introduced  the  practice 
into  these  states  ;  and  on  her  institutions  the  judgment 
must  fall.  There  is  not  a  foot  of  ground  belonging  to  Eng- 
land, in  which  a  negro  would  be  useful,  that  has  not  its 
slave.  England  herself  has  none,  but  England  is  overflow- 
ing with  physical  force,  a  part  of  which  she  is  obliged  to 
maintain  in  the  shape  of  paupers.  The  same  is  true  of 
France,  and  most  other  European  countries.  So  long  as 
we  were  content  to  remain  colonies,  nothing  was  said  of 
our  system  of  domestic  slavery  ;  but  now,  when  we  are 
resolute  to  obtain  as  much  freedom  as  the  vicious  system 
of  metropolitan  rule  has  left  us,  that  which  is  England's 
gift  has  become  our  reproach.  Will  your  master  liberate 
the  slaves  of  his  subjects,  should  he  succeed  in  subduing 
the  new  states,  or  will  he  condemn  the  whites  to  the  same 
servitude  as  that  in  which  he  has  been  so  long  content  to 
see  the  blacks  ?  It  is  true,  we  continue  the  practice  ;  but 
we  must  come  gradually  to  the  remedy,  or  create  an  evil 
greater  than  that  which  we  endure  at  present  ;  doubtless, 
as  we  advance,  the  manumission  of  our  slaves  will  accom- 
pany us,  until  happily  these  fair  regions  shall  exist  without 
a  single  image  of  the  Creator  that  is  held  in  a  state  \vhich 
disqualifies  him  to  judge  of  that  Creator's  goodness." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Doctor  Sitgreaves  spoke 
forty  years  ago,  and  Wellmere  was  unable  to  contradict 
his  prophetic  assertion. 

Finding  the  subject  getting  to  be  knotty,  the  English- 
man retired  to  the  apartment  in  which  the  ladies  had  as- 


156  THE   SPY. 

sembled  ;  and,  seated  by  the  side  of  Sarah,  he  found  a 
more  pleasing  employment  in  relating  the  events  of  fash- 
ionable life  in  the  metropolis,  and  in  recalling  the  thousand 
little  anecdotes  of  their  former  associates.  Miss  Peyton  was 
a  pleased  listener,  as  she  dispensed  the  bounties  of  the  tea- 
table  ;  and  Sarah  frequently  bowed  her  blushing  counten- 
ance to  her  needle-work,  as  her  face  glowed  at  the  flatter- 
ing remarks  of  her  companion. 

The  dialogue  we  have  related  established  a  perfect  truce 
between  the  surgeon  and  his  comrade  ;  and  the  former  hav- 
ing paid  a  visit  to  Singleton,  they  took  their  leave  of  the 
ladies,  and  mounted  ;  the  former  to  visit  the  wounded  at 
the  encampment,  and  the  latter  to  rejoin  his  troop.  But 
their  movements  were  arrested  at  the  gate  by  an  occur- 
rence that  we  shall  relate  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

I  see  no  more  those  white  locks  thinly  spread 

Round  the  bald  polish  of  that  honor'd  head  ; 

No  more  that  meek,  that  suppliant  look  in  prayer, 

Nor  that  pure  faith  that  gave  it  force,  are  there : 

But  he  is  blest,  and  I  lament  no  more, 

A  wise  good  man,  contented  to  be  poor. — CRABBE. 

WE  have  already  said  that  the  customs  of  America  leave 
the  dead  but  a  short  time  in  the  sight  of  the  mourners  ; 
and  the  necessity  of  providingfor  his  own  safety  had  com- 
pelled the  peddler  to  abridge  "even  this  brief  space.  In  the 
confusion  and  agitation  produced  by  the  events  we  have 
recorded,  the  death  of  the  elder  Birch  had  occurred  unno- 
ticed ;  but  a  sufficient  number  of  the  immediate  neighbors 
were  hastily  collected,  and  the  ordinary  rites  of  sepulture 
were  now  about  to  be  paid  to  the  deceased.  It  was  the  ap- 
proach of  this  humble  procession  that  arrested  the  move- 
ments of  the  trooper  and  his  comrade.  Four  men  sup- 
ported the  body  on  a  rude  bier  ;  and  four  others  walked  in 
advance,  ready  to  relieve  their  friends  from  their  burden. 
The  peddler  walked  next  the  coffin,  and  by  his  side  moved 
Katy  Haynes,  with  a  most  determined  aspect  of  woe,  and 
next  to  the  mourners  came  Mr.  Wharton  and  the  English 
captain  Two  or  three  old  men  and  women,  with  a  few 
straggling  boys,  brought  up  the  rear.  Captain  Lawton  sat 
in  his  saddle,  in  rigid  silence,  until  the  bearers  came  oppo- 


THE    SPY.  157 

site  to  his  position,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  Harvey 
raised  his  eyes  from  the  ground,  and  saw  the  enemy  that 
he  dreaded  so  near  him.  The  first  impulse  of  the  peddler 
was  certainly  flight  ;  but  recovering  his  recollection,  he 
fixed  his  eye  on  the  coffin  of  his  parent,  and  passed  the 
dragoon  with  a  firm  step  but  swelling  heart.  The  trooper 
slowly  lifted  his  cap,  and  continued  uncovered  until  Mr. 
Wharton  and  his  son  had  moved  by,  when,  accompanied  by 
the  surgeon,  he  rode  leisurely  in  the  rear,  maintaining  an 
inflexible  silence. 

Caesar  emerged  from  the  cellar-kitchen  of  the  cottage, 
and  with  a  face  of  settled  solemnity,  added  himself  to  the 
number  of  the  followers  of  the  funeral,  though  with  an 
humble  mien,  and  at  a  most  respectful  distance  from  the 
horsemen.  The  old  negro  had  placed  around  his  arm,  a 
little  above  the  elbow,  a  napkin  of  unsullied  whiteness,  it 
being  the  only  time  since  his  departure  from  the  city  that 
he  had  enjoyed  an  opportunity  of  exhibiting  himself  in  the 
garniture  of  servile  mourning.  He  was  a  great  lover  of 
propriety,  and  had  been  a  little  stimulated  to  this  display 
by  a  desire  to  show  his  sable  friend  from  Georgia  all  the 
decencies  of  a  New  York  funeral ;  and  the  ebullition  of  his 
zeal  went  off  very  well,  producing  no  other  results  than  a 
mild  lecture  from  Miss  Peyton  at  his  return,  on  the  fitness 
of  things.  The  attendance  of  the  black  was  thought  well 
enough  in  itself  ;  but  the  napkin  was  deemed  a  superfluous 
exhibition  of  ceremony,  at  the  funeral  of  a  man  who  had 
performed  all  the  menial  offices  in  his  own  person. 

The  graveyard  was  an  enclosure  on  the  grounds  of  Mr. 
Wharton,  which  had  been  fenced  with  stone  and  set  apart 
for  the  purpose  by  that  gentleman  some  years  before.  It 
was  not,  however,  intended  as  a  burial-place  for  any  of  his 
own  family.  Until  the  fire,  which  raged  as  the  British 
troops  took  possession  of  New  York,  had  laid  Trinity  in 
ashes,  a  goodly  gilded  tablet  on  its  walls  proclaimed  the 
virtues  of  his  deceased  parents,  and  beneath  a  flag  of  mar- 
ble, in  one  of  the  aisles  of  the  church,  their  bones  were 
left  to  moulder  in  aristocratical  repose.  Captain  Lawton 
made  a  movement  as  if  he  was  disposed  to  follow  the  pro- 
cession when  it  left  the  highway  to  enter  the  field  which 
contained  the  graves  of  the  humble  dead,  but  he  was  re- 
called to  recollection  by  a  hint  from  his  companion  that 
he  was  taking  the  wrong  road. 

"  Of  all  the  various  methods  which  have  been  adopted 
by  man  for  the  disposal  of  his  earthly  remains,  which  do 


/58  THE   SPY. 

you  prefer,  Captain  Lawton  ? "  said  the  surgeon,  as  they 
separated  from  the  little  procession.  "  In  some  countries 
the  body  is  exposed  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts  ;  in 
others  it  is  suspended  in  the  air  to  exhale  its  substance  in 
the  manner  of  decomposition  ;  in  other  regions  it  is  con- 
sumed on  the  funeral  pile,  and  again,  it  is  inhumed  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  ;  every  people  have  their  own  particu- 
lar fashion  ;  and  to  which  do  you  give  the  preference  ?" 

"All  are  agreeable,"  said  the  trooper,  following  the 
group  they  had  left  with  his  eyes  ;  "  though  the  speediest 
interments  give  the  cleanest  fields.  Of  which  are  you  an 
admirer?" 

"The  last,  as  practised  by  ourselves,  for  the  other  three 
are  destructive  of  all  the  opportunities  for  dissection  ; 
whereas,  in  the  last,  the  coffin  can  lie  in  peaceful  decency, 
while  the  remains  are  made  to  subserve  the  useful  pur- 
poses of  science.  Ah  !  Captain  Lawton,  I  enjoy  compara- 
tively but  few  opportunities  of  such  a  nature,  to  what  I 
expected  on  en-tering  the  army." 

"To  what  may  these  pleasures  numerically  amount  in  a 
year  ? "  said  the  captain,  withdrawing  his  gaze  from  the 
graveyard. 

"  Within  a  dozen,  upon  my  honor ;  my  best  picking  is 
when  the  corps  is  detached  ;  for  when  we  are  with  the 
main  army,  there  are  so  many  boys  to  be  satisfied,  that  I 
seldom  get  a  good  subject.  Those  youngsters  are  as 
wasteful  as  prodigals,  and  as  greedy  as  vultures." 

"A  dozen!"  echoed  the  trooper,  in  surprise;  "why,  I 
furnish  you  that  number  with  my  own  hands." 

"Ah!  Jack,"  returned  the  doctor,  approaching  the  sub- 
ject with  great  tenderness  of  manner,  "it  is  seldom  I  can 
do  anything  with  your  patients  ;  you  disfigure  them  woe- 
fully ;  believe  me,  John,  when  I  tell  you  as  a  friend  that 
your  system  is  all  wrong  ;  you  unnecessarily  destroy  life, 
and  then  you  injure  the  body  so  that  it  is  unfit  for  the  only 
use  that  can  be  made  of  a  dead  man." 

The  trooper  maintained  a  silence  which  he  thought 
would  be  the  most  probable  means  of  preserving  peace 
between  them  ;  and  the  surgeon,  turning  his  head  from 
taking  a  last  look  at  the  burial,  as  they  rode  round  the 
foot  of  the  hill  that  shut  the  valley  from  their  sight,  con- 
tinued, with  a  suppressed  sigh  : 

"  One  might  get  a  natural  death  from  that  graveyard 
to-night,  if  there  was  but  time  and  opportunity  !  the  pa" 
tient  must  be  the  father  of  the  lady  we  saw  this  morning." 


THE    SPY.  159 

*'  The  petticoat  doctor  ! — she  with  the  Aurora  Borealis 
complexion,"  said  the  trooper,  with  a  smile  that  began  to 
cause  uneasiness  to  his  companion  ;  "  but  the  lady  was  not 
the  gentleman's  daughter,  only  his  medico-petticoat  attend- 
ant, and  the  Harvey  whose  name  was  made  to  rhyme  with 
every  word  in  her  song,  is  the  renowned  peddler-spy." 

<l  What !  he  who  unhorsed  you  ?  " 

"  No  man  ever  unhorsed  me,  Dr.  Sitgreaves,"  said  the 
dragoon,  gravely  ;  "  I  fell  by  a  mischance  of  Roanoke  ; 
rider  and  beast  kissed  the  earth  together." 

"  A  warm  embrace,  from  the  love-spots  it  left  on  your 
cuticle  ;  'tis  a  thousand  pities  that  you  cannot  find  where 
the  tattling  rascal  lies  hid." 

"  He  followed  his  father's  body." 

"And  you  let  him  pass  !  "  cried  the  surgeon,  checking 
his  horse  ;  "  let  us  return  immediately  and  take  him  ;  to- 
morrow you  shall  have  him  hanged,  Jack — and,  damn  him, 
I'll  dissect  him." 

"  Softly,  softly,  my  dear  Archibald  ;  would  you  arrest  a 
man  while  paying  the  last  offices  to  a  dead  father  ?  Leave 
him  to  me,  and  I  pledge  myself  he  shall  have  justice." 

The  doctor  muttered  his  dissatisfaction  at  any  postpone- 
ment of  vengeance,  but  he  was  compelled  to  acquiesce, 
from  a  regard  to  his  reputation  for  propriety  ;  and  they 
continued  their  ride  to  the  quarters  of  the  corps,  engaged 
in  various  discussions  concerning  the  welfare  of  the  human 
body. 

Birch  supported  the  grave  and  collected  manner  that 
was  thought  becoming  in  a  male  mourner  on  such  occa- 
sions, and  to  Katy  was  left  the  part  of  exhibiting  the  ten- 
derness of  the  softer  sex.  There  are  some  people  whose 
feelings  are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  cannot  weep  unless 
it  be  in  proper  company,  and  the  spinster  was  a  good  deal 
addicted  to  this  congregational  virtue.  After  casting  her 
eyes  round  the  small  assemblage,  the  housekeeper  found 
the  countenances  of  the  few  females  who  were  present 
fixed  on  her  in  solemn  expectation,  and  the  effect  was  in- 
stantaneous ;  the  maiden  really  wept,  and  she  gained  no 
inconsiderable  sympathy,  and  some  reputation  for  a  tender 
heart,  from  the  spectators.  The  muscles  of  the  peddler's 
face  were  seen  to  move,  and  as  the  first  clod  of  earth  fell  on 
the  tenement  of  his  father,  sending  up  that  dull,  hollow 
sound  that  speaks  so  eloquently  the  mortality  of  man,  his 
whole  frame  was  for  an  instant  convulsed.  He  bent  his  body 
down,  as  if  in  pain,  his  fingers  worked  while  the  hands 


160  THE   SPY. 

hung  lifeless  by  his  side,  and  there  was  an  expression  in 
his  countenance  that  seemed  to  announce  a  writhing  of 
the  soul ;  but  it  was  not  unresisted,  and  it  was  transient. 
He  stood  erect,  drew  a  long  breath,  and  looked  around  him 
with  an  elevated  face,  that  even  seemed  to  smile  with  a 
consciousness  of  having  obtained  the  mastery.  The  grave 
was  soon  filled  ;  a  rough  stone  placed  at  either  extremity 
marked  its  position,  and  the  turf,  whose  faded  vegetation 
was  adapted  to  the  fortunes  of  the  deceased,  covered  the 
little  hillock  with  the  last  office  of  seemliness.  This  office 
ended,  the  neighbors,who  had  officiously  pressed  forward  to 
offer  their  services  in  performing  this  solemn  duty,  paused, 
and  lifting  their  hats,  stood  looking  toward  the  mourner, 
who  now  felt  himself  to  be  really  alone  in  the  world.  Un- 
covering his  head  also,  the  peddler  hesitated  a  moment,  to 
gather  energy,  and  spoke. 

"  My  friends  and  neighbors,"  he  said,  "  I  thank  you  for 
assisting  me  to  bury  my  dead  out  of  my  sight." 

A  solemn  pause  succeeded  the  customary  address,  and 
the  group  dispersed  in  silence,  some  few  walking  with  the 
mourners  back  to  their  own  habitation,  but  respectfully 
leaving  them  at  its  entrance.  The  peddler  and  Katy  were 
followed  into  the  building  by  one  man,  however,  who  was 
well  known  to  the  surrounding  country  by  the  significant 
term  of  "a  speculator."  Katy  saw  him  enter  with  a  heart 
that  palpitated  with  dreadful  forebodings,  but  Harvey 
civilly  handed  him  a  chair,  and  evidently  was  prepared  for 
the  visit. 

The  peddler  went  to  the  door,  and,  taking  a  cautious 
glance  about  the  valley,  quickly  returned  and  commenced 
the  following  dialogue: 

"  The  sun  has  just  left  the  top  of  the  eastern  hill  ;  my 
time  presses  me  ;  here  is  the  deed  for  the  house  and  lot  ; 
everything  is  done  according  to  law." 

The  other  took  the  paper,  and  conned  its  contents  with 
a  deliberation  that  proceeded  partly  from  his  caution,  and 
partly  from  the  unlucky  circumstance  of  his  education  hav- 
ing been  much  neglected  when  a  youth.  The  time  occu- 
pied in  this  tedious  examination  was  employed  by  Harvey 
in  gathering  together  certain  articles,  which  he  intended  to 
include  in  the  stores  that  were  to  leave  the  habitation  with 
himself.  Katy  had  already  inquired  of  the  peddler,  whether 
the  deceased  had  left  a  will  ;  and  she  saw  the  Bible  placed 
in  the  bottom  of  a  new  pack,  which  she  had  made  for  his 
accommodation,  with  a  most  stoical  indifference  ;  but  as 


777^   SPY.  161 

the  six  silver  spoons  were  laid  carefully  by  its  side,  a  sud- 
den twinge  of  her  conscience  objected  to  such  a  palpable 
waste  of  property,  and  she  broke  silence. 

"  When  you  marry,  Harvey,  you  may  miss  those 
spoons." 

"  I  never  shall  marry." 

"Well,  if  you  don't,  there's  no  occasion  to  make  rash 
promises,  even  to  yourself.  One  never  knows  what  one 
may  do,  in  such  a  case.  I  should  like  to  know,  of  what  use 
so  many  spoons  can  be  to  a  single  man  ;  for  my  part,  I 
think  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who  is  well  provided,  to 
have  a  wife  and  family  to  maintain." 

At  the  time  Katy  expressed  this  sentiment,  the  fortune 
of  women  in  her  class  of  life  consisted  of  a  cow,  a  bed,  the 
labors  of  her  own  hands  in  the  shape  of  divers  pillow-cases, 
blankets,  and  sheets,  with,  where  fortune  was  unusually 
kind,  a  half-dozen  silver  spoons.  The  spinster  herself  had 
obtained  all  the  other  necessaries  by  her  own  industry  and 
prudence,  and  it  can  easily  be  imagined  that  she  saw  the 
articles  she  had  long  counted  her  own,  vanish  in  the  enor- 
mous pack,  with  a  dissatisfaction  that  was  in  no  degree 
diminished  by  the  declaration  that  had  preceded  the  act. 
Harvey,  however,  disregarded  her  opinions  and  feelings, 
and  continued  his  employment  of  filling  the  pack,  which 
soon  grew  to  something  like  the  ordinary  size  of  the  ped- 
dler's burden. 

"  I'm  rather  tiresome  about  this  conveyance,"  said  the 
purchaser,  having  at  length  waded  through  the  covenants 
of  the  deed. 

"  Why  so  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  it  won't  stand  good  in  law.  I  know  that 
two  of  the  neighbors  leave  home  to-morrow  morning,  to 
have  the  place  entered  for  confiscation  ;  and  if  I  should 
give  forty  pounds,  and  lose  it  all,  'twould  be  a  dead  pull- 
back  to  me." 

"  They  can  only  take  my  right,"  said  the  peddler  ;  "  pay 
me  two  hundred  dollars,  and  the  house  is  yours  ;  you  are  a 
well-known  Whig,  and  you  at  least  they  won't  trouble." 
As  Harvey  spoke,  there  was  a  strange  bitterness  of  man- 
ner, mingled  with  the  shrewd  care  he  expressed  concern- 
ing the  sale  of  his  property. 

"  Say  one  hundred,  and  it  is  a  bargain,"  returned  the  man, 
with  a  grin  that  he  meant  for  a  good-natured  smile. 

"  A    bargain  ! "    echoed    the   peddler,    in   surprise  ;    "  \ 
thought  the  bargain  already  made." 
ii 


:62  THE   SPY. 

"  Nothing  is  a  bargain,"  said  the  purchaser,  with  a 
chuckle,  "until  papers  are  delivered  and  the  money  paid 
in  hand." 

"You  have  the  paper." 

"Ay,  and  will  keep  it,  if  you  will  excuse  the  money; 
come,  say  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  I  won't  be  hard  ;  here 
— here  is  just  the  money." 

The  peddler  looked  from  the  window,  and  saw  with  dis- 
may that  the  evening  was  fast  advancing,  and  knew  well 
that  he  endangered  his  life  by  remaining  in  the  dwelling 
after  dark  ;  yet  he  could  not  tolerate  the  idea  of  being  de- 
frauded in  this  manner,  in  a  bargain  that  had  already  been 
fairly  made  ;  he  hesitated. 

"Well,"  said  the  purchaser,  rising,  "mayhap  you  can 
find  another  man  to  trade  with  between  this  and  morning  ; 
but,  if  you  don't,  your  title  won't  be  worth  much  after- 
ward." 

"  Take  it,  Harvey,"  said  Katy,  who  felt  it  impossible  to 
resist  a  tender  like  the  one  before  her  ;  for  the  purchase- 
money  was  in  English  guineas.  Her  voice  roused  the  ped- 
dler, and  a  new  idea  seemed  to  strike  him. 

"  I  agree  to  the  price,"  he  said  ;  and,  turning  to  the 
spinster,  he  placed  part  of  the  money  in  her  hand,  as  he 
continued — "  had  I  other  means  to  pay  you,  I  would  have 
lost  all,  rather  than  have  suffered  myself  to  be  defrauded 
of  part." 

"You  may  lose  all  yet,"  muttered  the  stranger,  with  a 
sneer,  as  he  rose  and  left  the  building. 

"Yes,"  said  Katy,  following  him  with  her  eyes;  "he 
knows  your  failing,  Harvey  ;  he  thinks  with  me,  now  the 
old  gentleman  is  gone,  you  will  want  a  careful  body  to  take 
care  of  your  concerns." 

The  peddler  was  busied  in  making  arrangements  for  his 
departure,  and  he  took  no  notice  of  this  insinuation,  while 
the  spinster  returned  again  to  the  attack.  She  had  lived 
so  many  years  in  expectation  of  a  termination  to  her  hopes, 
so  different  from  that  which  now  seemed  likely  to  occur, 
that  the  idea  of  separation  began  to  give  her  more  uneasi- 
ness than  she  had  thought  herself  capable  of  feeling,  about 
a  man  so  destitute  and  friendless. 

"  Have  you  another  house  to  go  to  ?"  inquired  Katy. 

"  Providence  will  provide  me  with  a  home." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  house-keeper  ;  "  but  maybe  'twill  not  be 
to  your  liking." 

"  The  poor  must  not  be  difficult." 


THE   SPY.  163 

"  I'm  sure  I'm  anything  but  a  difficult  body,"  cried  the 
spinster,  very  hastily  ;  "  but  I  love  to  see  things  becoming 
and  in  their  places  ;  yet  I  wouldn't  be  hard  to  persuade  to 
leave  this  place  myself.  I  can't  say  I  altogether  like  the 
ways  of  the  people  hereabouts." 

"The  valley  is  lovely,"  said  the  peddler,  with  fervor, 
"and  the  people  like  all  the  race  of  man.  But  to  me  it 
matters  nothing  ;  all  places  are  now  alike,  and  all  faces 
equally  strange  ;"  as  he  spoke  he  dropped  the  article  he 
was  packing  from  his  hand,  and  seated  himself  on  a  chest 
with  a  look  of  vacant  misery. 

"  Not  so,  not  so,"  said  Katy,  shoving  her  chair  nearer 
to  the  place  where  the  peddler  sat  ;  "  not  so,  Harvey,  you 
must  know  me  at  least  ;  my  face  cannot  be  strange  to  you, 
certainly." 

Birch  turned  his  eyes  slowly,  on  her  countenance,  which 
exhibited  more  of  feeling,  and  less  of  self,  than  he  had 
ever  seen  there  before  ;  he  took  her  hand  kindly,  and  his 
own  features  lost  some  of  their  painful  expression,  as  he 
said  : 

"  Yes,  good  woman,  you,  at  least,  are  not  a  stranger  to 
me  ;  you  may  do  me  partial  justice  ;  when  others  revile 
me,  possibly  your  feelings  may  lead  you  to  say  something 
in  my  defence." 

"  That  I  will  ;  that  I  would  !  "  said  Katy,  eagerly  ;  "  I 
will  defend  you  Harvey,  to  the  last  drop  ;  let  me  hear  them 
that  dare  revile  you  !  you  say  true,  Harvey,  I  am  partial 
and  just  to  you  ;  what  if  you  do  like  the  king  ?  I  have 
often  heard  it  said  he  was  at  the  bottom  a  good  man  ;  but 
there's  no  religion  in  the  old  country,  for  everybody  allows 
the  ministers  are  desperate  bad  ! " 

The  peddler  paced  the  floor  in  evident  distress  of  mind  ; 
his  eye  had  a  look  of  wildness  that  Katy  had  never  wit- 
nessed before,  and  his  step  was  measured,  with  a  dignity 
that  appalled  the  house-keeper. 

"While  my  father  lived,"  murmured  Harvey,  unable  to 
smother  his  feelings,  "  there  was  one  who  read  my  heart  , 
and  oh  !  what  a  consolation  to  return  from  my  secret 
marches  of  danger,  and  the  insults  and  wrongs  that  I  suf- 
fered, to  receive  his  blessing  and  his  praise  ;  but  he  is 
gone,"  he  continued,  stopping  and  gazing  wildly  toward 
the  corner  that  used  to  hold  the  figure  of  his  parent,  "and 
who  is  there  to  do  me  justice  ?  " 

"  Why,  Harvey  !   Harvey  !  " 

"Yes,  there  is  one  who  will,  who  must  know  me  before 


f64  THE   SPY. 

I  die  !  Oh  !  it  is  dreadful  to  die,  and  leave  such  a  name 
behind  me." 

"  Don't  talk  of  dying,  Harvey,"  said  the  spinster,  glanc- 
ing her  eyes  around  the  room,  and  pushing  the  wood  in  the 
fire  to  obtain  a  light  from  the  blaze. 

The  ebullition  of  feeling  in  the  peddler  was  over.  It 
had  been  excited  by  the  events  of  the  past  day,  and  a  vivid 
perception  of  his  sufferings.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
that  passion  maintained  an  ascendancy  over  the  reason  of 
this  singular  man  ;  and  perceiving  that  the  night  had  al- 
ready thrown  an  obscurity  around  objects  without  doors, 
he  hastily  threw  his  pack  over  his  shoulders,  and  taking 
Katy  kindly  by  the  hand,  in  leave-taking,  said: 

"It  is  painful  to  part  with  even  you,  good  woman,1'  he 
said  ;  "but  the  hour  has  come,  and  I  must  go.  What  is 
left  in  the  house  is  yours  ;  to  me  it  could  be  of  no  use,  and 
it  may  serve  to  make  you  more  comfortable.  Farewell — 
we  shall  meet  hereafter." 

"  In  the  regions  of  darkness,"  cried  a  voice  that  caused 
the  peddler  to  sink  on  the  chest  from  which  he  had  risen 
in  despair. 

"What!  another  pack,  Mr.  Birch,  and  so  well  stuffed 
so  soon  !  " 

"  Have  you  not  done  evil  enough  ? "  cried  the  peddler, 
regaining  his  firmness,  and  springing  on  his  feet  with 
energy  ;  "  is  it  not  enough  to  harass  the  last  moments  of 
a  dying  man  ;  to  impoverish  me  ;  what  more  would  you 
have?" 

"Your  blood,"  said  the  Skinner,  with  cool  malignity. 

"And  for  money,"  cried  Harvey,  bitterly;  "like  the 
ancient  Judas,  you  would  grow  rich  with  the  price  of 
blood  !  " 

"  Ay  !  and  a  fair  price  it  is,  my  gentleman  ;  fifty  guineas  ; 
nearly  the  weight  of  that  scare-crow  carcass  of  yours  in 
gold." 

"  Here,"  said  Katy,  promptly  ;  "  here  are  fifteen  guineas, 
and  these  drawers  and  this  bed,  are  all  mine  ;  if  you  will 
give  Harvey  but  one  hour's  start  from  the  door,  they  shall 
be  yours." 

"One  hour.'"  said  the  Skinner,  showing  his  teeth,  and 
looking  with  a  longing  eye  at  the  money. 

"But  a  single  hour  ;  here,  take  the  money." 

"  Hold  !  *'  cried  Harvey  ;  "  put  not  faith  in  the  mis- 
creant." 

"  She  may  do  what  she  pleases  with  her  faith,"  said  the 


THE   SPY.  165 

Skinner,  with  malignant  pleasure  ;  "but  I  have  the  money 
in  good  keeping  ;  as  for  you,  Mr.  Birch,  we  will  bear  your 
insolence,  for  the  fifty  guineas  that  are  to  pay  for  your 
gallows." 

"  Go  on,"  said  the  peddler,  proudly  ;  "  take  me  to  Major 
Dunwoodie  ;  he,  at  least,  may  be  kind,  although  he  may 
be  just." 

"  I  can  do  better  than  by  marching  so  far  in  such  dis- 

fraceful  company  ;  this  Mr.  Dunwoodie  has  let  one  or  two 
Dories  go  at  large  ;  but  the  troop  of  Captain  Lawton  is 
quartered  some  half-mile  nearer,  and  his  receipt  will  get 
me  the  reward  as  soon  as  his  major's;  how  relish  you  the 
idea  of  supping  with  Captain  Lawton  this  evening,  Mr. 
Birch  ? " 

"  Give  me  my  money,  or  set  Harvey  free,"  cried  the 
spinster,  in  alarm. 

"  Your  bribe  was  not  enough,  good  woman,  unless  there 
is  money  in  this  bed  ;"  thrusting  his  bayonet  through  the 
ticking,  and  ripping  it  for  some  distance,  he  took  a  malici- 
ous satisfaction  in  scattering  its.  contents  about  the  room. 

"  If,"  cried  the  house-keeper,  losing  sight  of  her  personal 
danger  in  care  for  her  newly-acquired  property,  "there  is 
law  in  the  land,  I  will  be  righted." 

"  The  law  of  the  neutral  ground  is  the  law  of  the  strong- 
est ;  but  your  tongue  is  not  as  long  as  my  bayonet  ;  you 
had,  therefore,  best  not  set  them  at  loggerheads,  or  you 
might  be  the  loser." 

A  figure  stood  in  the  shadow  of  the  door,  as  if  afraid  to 
be  seen  in  the  group  of  Skinners;  but  a  blaze  of  light, 
raised  by  some  articles  thrown  in  the  fire  by  his  persecu- 
tors, showed  the  peddler  the  face  of  the  purchaser  of  his 
little  domain.  Occasionally  there  was  some  whispering 
between  this  man  and  the  Skinner  nearest  him,  that  in- 
duced Harvey  to  suspect  he  had  been  the  dupe  of  a  con- 
trivance in  which  that  wretch  had  participated.  It  was, 
however,  too  late  to  repine  ;  and  he  followed  the  party 
from  the  house  with  a  firm  and  collected  tread,  as  if  march- 
ing to  a  triumph,  and  not  to  a  gallows.  In  passing 
through  the  yard,  the  leader  of  the  band  fell  over  a  billet 
of  wood,  and  received  a  momentary  hurt  from  the  fall  ; 
exasperated  at  the  incident,  the  fellow  sprang  on  his  feet, 
filling  the  air  with  execrations. 

"  The  curse  of  Heaven  light  on  the  log ! "  he  exclaimed ! 
"  the  night  is  too  dark  for  us  to  move  if  ;  throw  that  brand 
of  fire  in  yon  pile  of  tow,  to  light  up  the  scene." 


166  THE   SPY. 

"  Hold  ! "  roared  the  speculator  ;  "you'll  fire  the  house/ 

"And  see  the  farther,"  said  the  other,  hurling  the  brand 
in  the  midst  of  the  combustibles.  In  an  instant  the  build- 
ing was  in  flames.  "Come  on  ;  let  us  move  toward  the 
heights  while  we  have  light  to  pick  our  road." 

"Villain!"  cried  the  exasperated  purchaser,  "is  this 
your  friendship — this  my  reward  for  kidnapping  the  ped- 
dler ?" 

"  'Twould  be  wise  to  move  more  from  the  light,  if  you 
mean  to  entertain  us  with  abuse,  or  we  may  see  too  well 
to  miss  our  mark,"  cried  the  leader  of  the  gang.  The 
next  instant  he  was  as  good  as  his  threat,  but  happily 
missed  the  terrified  speculator  and  equally  appalled  spin- 
ster, who  saw  herself  again  reduced  from  comparative 
wealth  to  poverty,  by  the  blow.  Prudence  dictated  to  the 
pair  a  speedy  retreat  ;  and  the  next  morning,  the  only  re- 
mains of  the  dwelling  of  the  peddler  was  the  huge  chim- 
ney we  have  already  mentioned. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Trifles,  light  as  air, 

Are  to  the  jealous  confirmations  strong 
As  proofs  of  holy  writ. — Moor  of  Venice. 

THE  weather,  which  had  been  mild  and  clear  since  the 
storm,  now  changed  with  the  suddenness  of  an  American 
climate.  Toward  evening  the  cold  blasts  poured  down 
from  the  mountains,  and  flurries  of  snow  plainly  indicated 
that  the  month  of  November  had  arrived  ;  a  season  whose 
temperature  varies  from  the  heats  of  summer  to  the  cold 
of  winter.  Frances  had  stood  at  the  window  of  her  own 
apartment,  watching  the  slow  progress  of  the  funeral  pro- 
cession, with  a  melancholy  that  was  too  deep  to  be  excited 
by  the  spectacle.  There  was  something  in  the  sad  office 
that  was  in  unison  with  her  feelings.  As  she  gazed  around, 
she  saw  the  trees  bending  to  the  force  of  the  wind,  that 
swept  through  the  valley  with  an  impetuosity  that  shook 
even  the  buildings  ;  and  the  forest,  that  had  so  lately  glit- 
tered in  the  sun  with  its  variegated  hues,  was  fast  losing 
its  loveliness,  as  the  leaves  were  torn  from  the  branches, 
and  were  driving  If  regularly  before  the  eddies  of  the  blast. 
A  few  of  the  southern  dragoons,  who  were  patrolling  the 


THE   SPY.  167 

passes  which  led  to  the  encampment  of  the  corps,  could 
be  distinguished  at  a  distance  on  the  heights,  bending  to 
their  pommels  as  they  faced  the  keen  air  which  had  so 
lately  traversed  the  great  fresh  water  lakes,  and  drawing 
their  watch-coats  about  them  in  tighter  folds. 

Frances  witnessed  the  disappearance  of  the  wooden 
tenement  of  the  deceased,  as  it  was  slowly  lowered  from 
the  light  of  day  ;  and  the  sight  added  to  the  chilling  weari- 
ness of  the  view.  Captain  Singleton  was  sleeping  under 
the  care  of  his  own  man,  while  his  sister  had  been  per- 
suaded to  take  possession  of  her  own  room,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  the  repose  of  which  her  last  night's 
journeying  had  robbed  her.  The  apartment  of  Miss  Sin- 
gleton communicated  with  the  room  occupied  by  the  sis- 
ters, through  a  private  door,  as  well  as  through  the  ordi- 
nary passage  of  the  house  ;  this  door  was  partly  open,  and 
Frances  moved  toward  it,  with  the  benevolent  intention  of 
ascertaining  the  situation  of  her  guest,  when  the  surprised 
girl  saw  her  whom  she  had  thought  to  be  sleeping,  not 
only  awake,  but  employed  in  a  manner  that  banished  all 
probability  of  present  repose.  The  black  tresses,  that 
during  the  dinner  had  been  drawn  in  close  folds  over  the 
crown  of  the  head,  were  now  loosened,  and  fell  in  profu- 
sion over  her  shoulders  and  bosom,  imparting  a  slight  de- 
gree of  wildness  to  her  countenance  ;  the  chilling  white 
of  her  complexion  was  strongly  contrasted  with  eyes  of 
the  deepest  black,  that  were  tixed  in  rooted  attention  on 
a  picture  she  held  in  her  hand.  Frances  hardly  breathed, 
as  she  was  enabled,  by  a  movement  of  Isabella,  to  see  that 
it  was  the  figure  of  a  man  in  the  well-known  dress  of  the 
Southern  horse  ;  but  she  gasped  for  breath,  and  instinc- 
tively laid  her  hand  on  her  heart  to  quell  its  throbbings, 
as  she  thought  she  recognized  the  lineaments  that  were 
so  deeply  seated  in  her  own  imagination.  Frances  felt 
she  was  improperly  prying  into  the  sacred  privacy  of  an- 
other ;  but  her  emotions  were  too  powerful  to  permit  her 
to  speak,  and  she  drew  back  to  a  chair,  where  she  still  re- 
tained a  view  of  the  stranger,  from  whose  countenance  she 
felt  it  to  be  impossible  to  withdraw  her  eyes.  Isabella  was 
too  much  engrossed  by  her  own  feelings  to  discover  the 
trembling  figure  of  the  witness  to  her  actions,  and  she 
pressed  the  inanimate  image  to  her  lips  with  an  enthusiasm 
that  denoted  the  most  intense  passion.  The  expression  of 
the  countenance  of  the  fair  stranger  was  so  changeable, 
and  the  transitions  were  so  rapid,  that  Frances  had  scarcely 


,68  THE   SPY. 

time  to  distinguish  the  character  of  the  emotion,  before  it 
was  succeeded  by  another,  equally  powerful  and  equally 
attractive.  Admiration  and  sorrow  were,  however,  the 
preponderating  passions  ;  the  latter  was  indicated  by  large 
drops  that  fell  from  her  eyes  on  the  picture,  and  which 
followed  each  other  over  her  cheek  at  such  intervals,  as 
seemed  to  pronounce  the  grief  too  heavy  to  admit  of  the 
ordinary  demonstrations  of  sorrow.  Every  movement  of 
Isabella  was  marked  by  an  enthusiasm  that  was  peculiar 
to  her  nature,  and  every  passion  in  its  turn  triumphed  in 
her  breast.  The  fury  of  the  wind,  as  it  whistled  round  the 
angles  of  the  building,  was  in  consonance  with  those  feel- 
ings, and  she  rose  and  moved  to  a  window  of  her  apart- 
ment. Her  figure  was  now  hid  from  the  view  of  Frances, 
who  was  about  to  rise  and  approach  her  guest,  when  tones 
of  a  thrilling  melody  chained  her  in  breathless  silence  to 
the  spot.  The  notes  were  wild,  and  the  voice  not  power- 
ful, but  the  execution  exceeded  anything  that  Frances 
had  ever  heard  ;  and  she  stood,  endeavoring  to  stifle  the 
sounds  of  her  own  gentle  breathing,  until  the  following 
song  was  concluded  : 

Cold  blow  the  blasts  o'er  the  tops  of  the  mountain, 

And  bare  is  the  oak  on  the  hill  ; 
Slowly  the  vapors  exhale  from  the  fountain, 

And  bright  gleams  the  ice-border'd  rill; 
All  nature  is  seeking  its  annual  rest, 
But  the  slumbers  of  peace  have  deserted  my  breast. 

Long  has  the  storm  pour'd  its  weight  on  my  nation, 
And  long  have  her  brave  stood  the  shock  ; 

Long  has  our  chieftain  ennobled  his  station, 
A  bulwark  on  liberty's  rock  ; — 

Unlicensed  ambition  relaxes  its  toil, 

Yet  blighted  affection  represses  my  smile. 

Abroad  the  wild  fury  of  winter  is  lowering, 

And  leafless  and  drear  is  the  tree  ; 
But  the  vertical  sun  of  the  south  appears  pouring 

Its  fierce  killing  heats  upon  me  : — 
Without  all  the  season's  chill  symptoms  begin — 
But  the  fire  of  passion  is  raging  within. 

Frances  abandoned  her  whole  soul  to  the  suppressed 
melody  of  the  music,  though  the  language  of  the  song  ex- 
pressed a  meaning  which,  united  with  certain  events  of 
that  and  the  preceding  day,  left  a  sensation  of  uneasiness 
H*  the  bosom  of  the  warm-hearted  girl  to  which  she  had 


THE   SPy.  169 

hitherto  been  a  stranger.  Isabella  moved  from  the  window 
as  her  last  tones  melted  on  the  ear  of  her  admiring  listener, 
and,  for  the  first  time,  her  eye  rested  on  the  pallid  face  of 
the  intruder.  A  glow  of  fire  lighted  the  countenance  of 
both  at  the  same  instant,  and  the  blue  eye  of  Frances  met 
the  brilliant  black  one  of  her  guest  for  a  single  moment, 
and  both  fell  in  abashed  confusion  on  the  carpet  ;  they 
advanced,  however,  until  they  met,  and  had  taken  each 
other's  hand,  before  either  ventured  again  to  look  her 
companion  in  the  face. 

"  This  sudden  change  in  the  weather,  and  perhaps  the 
situation  of  my  brother,  have  united  to  make  me  melan- 
choly, Miss  Wharton,"  said  Isabella,  in  a  low  tone,  and  in 
a  voice  that  trembled  as  she  spoke. 

"  'Tis  thought  you  have  little  to  apprehend  for  your 
brother,"  said  Frances,  in  the  same  embarrassed  manner  ; 
"  had  you  seen  him  when  he  was  brought  in  by  Major 
Dunwoodie " 

Frances  paused,  with  a  feeling  of  conscious  shame,  for 
which  she  could  not  account  ;  and,  in  raising  her  eyes, 
she  saw  Isabella  studying  her  countenance  with  an  earn- 
estness that  again  drove  the  blood  tumultuously  to  her 
temples. 

"  You  were  speaking  of  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  Isa- 
bella, faintly. 

"He  was  with  Captain  Singleton." 

"  Do  you  know  Dunwoodie  ?  have  you  seen  him  often  ? " 
Once  more  Frances  ventured  to  look  her  guest  in  the  face, 
and  again  she  met  the  piercing  eyes  bent  on  her,  as  if  to 
search  her  inmost  heart.  "  Speak,  Miss  Wharton  ;  is 
Major  Dunwoodie  known  to  you  ? " 

"  He  is  my  relative,"  said  Frances,  appalled  at  the  man- 
ner of  the  other. 

"A  relative,"  echoed  Miss  Singleton  ;  "  in  what  degree  ? 
— speak,  Miss  Wharton,  I  conjure  you  to  speak." 

"  Our  parents  were  cousins,"  faintly  replied  Frances. 

"  And  he  is  to  be  your  husband  ? "  said  the  stranger,  im- 
petuously. 

Frances  felt  shocked,  and  all  her  pride  awakened,  by 
this  direct  attack  upon  her  feelings,  and  she  raised  her 
eyes  from  the  floor  to  her  interrogator  a  little  proudly, 
when  the  pale  cheek  and  quivering  lip  of  Isabella  re- 
moved her  resentment  in  a  moment. 

"  It  is  true  !  my  conjecture  is  true  ;  speak  to  me,  Miss 
Wharton  ;  I  conjure  you,  in  mercy  to  my  feelings,  to  tell 


I7o  THE   SPY. 

me — do  you  love  Dunvvoodie  ?  "  There  was  a  plaintive 
earnestness  in  the  voice  of  Miss  Singleton,  that  disarmed 
Frances  of  all  resentment,  and  the  only  answer  she  could 
make  was  hiding  her  burning  face  between  her  hands,  as 
she  sank  back  in  a  chair  to  conceal  her  confusion. 

Isabella  paced  the  floor  in  silence  for  several  minutes, 
until  she  had  succeeded  in  conquering  the  violence  of  her 
feelings,  when  she  approached  the  place  where  Frances 
yet  sat,  endeavoring  to  exclude  the  eyes  of  her  companion 
from  reading  the  shame  expressed  in  her  countenance,  and 
taking  the  hand  of  the  other,  she  spoke  with  an  evident 
effort  at  composure. 

"  Pardon  me,  Miss  Wharton,  if  my  ungovernable  feel- 
ings have  led  me  into  impropriety  ;  the  powerful  motive 
— the  cruel  reason — "  she  hesitated  ;  Frances  now  raised 
her  face,  and  their  eyes  once  more  met  ;  they  fell  in  each 
other's  arms,  and  laid  their  burning  cheeks  together.  The 
embrace  was  long — was  ardent  and  sincere — but  neither 
spoke  ;  and  on  separating,  Frances  retired  to  her  own  room 
without  further  explanation. 

While  this  extraordinary  scene  was  acting  in  the  room 
of  Miss  Singleton,  matters  of  great  importance  were  agi- 
tated in  the  drawing-room.  The  disposition  of  the  frag- 
ments of  such  a  dinner  as  the  one  we  have  recorded,  was 
a  task  that  required  no  little  exertion  and  calculation.  Not- 
withstanding several  of  the  small  game  had  nestled  in  the 
pocket  of  Captain  Lawton's  man,  and  even  the  assistant  of 
Dr.  Sitgreaves  had  calculated  the  uncertainty  of  his  re- 
maining long  in  such  good  quarters,  still  there  was  more 
left,  unconsumed,  than  the  prudent  Miss  Peyton  knew  how 
to  dispose  of  to  advantage.  Caesar  and  his  mistress  had, 
therefore,  a  long  and  confidential  communication  on  this 
important  business  ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  Colonel 
Wellmere  was  left  to  the  hospitality  of  Sarah  Wharton. 
All  the  ordinary  topics  of  conversation  were  exhausted, 
when  the  colonel,  with  a  little  of  the  uneasiness  that  is  in 
some  degree  inseparable  from  conscious  error,  touched 
lightly  on  the  transactions  of  the  preceding  day. 

"We  little  thought,  Miss  Wharton,  when  I  first  saw  this 
Mr.  Dunwoodie  in  your  house  in  Queen  Street,  that  he  was 
to  be  the  renowned  warrior  he  has  proved  himself,"  said 
Wellmere,  endeavoring  to  smile  away  his  chagrin. 

"  Renowned,  when  we  consider  the  enemy  he  overcame," 
said  Sarah,  with  consideration  for  her  companion's  feelings. 
"Twus  most  unfortunate,  indeed,  in  every  respect,  that 


THE   SPY.  171 

you  met  with  the  accident,  or  doubtless  the  royal  arms 
would  have  triumphed  in  their  usual  manner." 

"And  yet  the  pleasure  of  such  society  as  this  accident 
has  introduced  me  to,  would  more  than  repay  the  pain  of 
a  mortified  spirit  and  wounded  body,"  added  the  colonel, 
in  a  manner  of  peculiar  softness. 

"I  hope  the  latter  is  but  trifling,"  said  Sarah,  stooping 
to  hide  her  blushes  under  the  pretext  of  biting  a  thread 
from  the  work  on  her  knee. 

"Trifling,  indeed,  compared  to  the  former,"  returned  the 
colonel,  in  the  same  manner.  "  Ah  !  Miss  Wharton,  it  is 
in  such  moments  that  we  feel  the  full  value  of  friendship 
and  sympathy." 

Those  who  have  never  tried  it  cannot,  easily  imagine 
what  a  rapid  progress  a  warm-hearted  female  can  make  in 
love,  in  the  short  space  of  half  an  hour,  particularly  where 
there  is  a  predisposition  to  the  distemper.  Sarah  found 
the  conversation,  when  it  began  to  touch  on  friendship  and 
sympathy,  too  interesting  to  venture  her  voice  with  a  reply. 
She,  however,  turned  her  eyes  on  the  colonel,  and  saw  him 
gazing  at  her  fine  face  with  an  admiration  that  was  quite 
as  manifest,  and  much  more  soothing,  than  any  words  could 
make  it. 

Their  tcte-ci-tcte  was  uninterrupted  for  an  hour  ;  and  al- 
though nothing  that  would  be  called  decided,  by  an  experi- 
enced matron,  was  said  by  the  gentleman,  he  uttered  a 
thousand  things  that  delighted  his  companion,  who  retired 
to  her  rest  with  a  lighter  heart  than  she  had  felt  since  the 
arrest  of  her  brother  by  the  Americans. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

And  let  me  the  canakin  clink,  clink, 
And  let  me  the  canakin  clink, 

A  soldier's  a  man  ; 

A  life's  but  a  span  ; 
Why  then,  let  a  soldier  drink. — lago. 

THE  position  held  by  the  corps  of  dragoons,  we  have 
already  said,  was  a  favorite  place  of  halting  with  their 
commander.  A  cluster  of  some  half-dozen  small  and 
dilapidated  buildings  formed  what,  from  the  circumstance 
of  two  roads  intersecting  each  other  at  right  angles,  was 
called  the  village  of  the  Four  Corners.  As  usual,  one  of 


I72  THE   SPY. 

the  most  imposing  of  these  edifices  had  been  termed,  in 
the  language  of  the  day,  "a  house  of  entertainment  for 
man  and  beast."  On  a  rough  board  suspended  from  a 
gallows-looking  post,  that  had  supported  the  ancient  sign, 
was,  however,  written  in  red  chalk,  "  Elizabeth  Flanagan, 
her  hotel" 'an  ebullition  of  the  wit  of  some  of  the  idle  wags 
of  the  corps.  The  matron,  whose  name  had  thus  been  ex- 
alted to  an  office  of  such  unexpected  dignity,  ordinarily 
discharged  the  duties  of  a  female  sutler,  washerwoman, 
and,  to  use  the  language  of  Katy  Haynes,  petticoat  doctor 
to  the  troops.  She  was  the  widow  of  a  soldier  who  had 
been  killed  in  the  service,  and  who,  like  herself,  was  a 
native  of  a  distant  island,  and  had  early  tried  his  fortune 
in  the  colonies  of  North  America.  She  constantly  migrated 
with  the  troops  ;  and  it  was  seldom  that  they  became  sta- 
tionary for  two  days  at  a  time  but  the  little  cart  of  the 
bustling  woman  was  seen  driving  into  the  encampment, 
loaded  with  such  articles  as  she  conceived  would  make 
her  presence  most  welcome.  With  a  celerity  that  seemed 
almost  supernatural,  Betty  took  up  her  ground,  and  com- 
menced her  occupation.  Sometimes  the  cart  itself  was 
her  shop  ;  at  others  the  soldiers  made  her  a  rude  shelter 
of  such  materials  as  offered  ;  on  the  present  occasion,  she 
had  seized  on  a  vacant  building,  and,  by  dint  of  stuffing 
the  dirty  breeches  and  half-dried  linen  of  the  troopers  into 
the  broken  windows,  to  exclude  the  cold,  which  had  now 
become  severe,  she  formed,  what  she  herself  had  pro- 
nounced to  be,  "  most  illigant  lodgings."  The  men  were 
quartered  in  the  adjacent  barns,  and  the  officers  collected 
in  the  "Hotel  Flanagan,"  as  they  facetiously  called  head- 
quarters. Betty  was  well  known  to  every  trooper  in  the 
corps,  could  call  each  by  his  Christian  or  nickname,  as 
best  suited  her  fancy  ;  and,  although  absolutely  intolerable 
to  all  whom  habit  had  not  made  familiar  with  her  virtues, 
was  a  general  favorite  with  these  partisan  warriors.  Her 
faults  were,  a  trifling  love  of  liquor,  excessive  filthiness, 
and  a  total  disregard  of  the  decencies  of  language  ;  her 
virtues,  an  unbounded  love  for  her  adopted  country,  per- 
fect honesty  when  dealing  on  certain  known  principles 
with  the  soldiery,  and  great  good-nature.  Added  to  these, 
Betty  had  the  merit  of  being  the  inventor  of  that  beverage 
which  is  so  well  known,  at  the  present  hour,  to  all  the  pa- 
triots who  make  a  winter's  march  between  the  commercial 
and  political  capitals  of  this  great  State,  and  which  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  name  of  "  cocktail."  Elizabeth  Flanagan 


THE   SPY.  173 

was  peculiarly  well  qualified,  by  education  and  circum- 
stances, to  perfect  this  improvement  in  liquors,  having 
been  literally  brought  up  on  its  principal  ingredient,  and 
having  acquired  from  her  Virginian  customers  the  use  of 
mint,  from  its  flavor  in  a  julep  to  its  height  of  renown  in 
the  article  in  question.  Such,  then,  was  the  mistress  of 
the  mansion,  who,  reckless  of  the  cold  northern  blasts, 
showed  her  blooming  face  from  the  door  of  the  building 
to  welcome  the  arrival  of  her  favorite,  Captain  Lawton, 
and  his  companion,  her  master  in  matters  of  surgery. 

"  Ah  !  by  my  hopes  of  promotion,  my  gentle  Elizabeth, 
but  you  are  welcome  !  "  cried  the  trooper,  as  he  threw  him- 
self from  his  saddle  ;  u  this  villainous  fresh  water  gas  from 
the  Canadas  has  been  whistling  among  my  bones  till  they 
ache  with  the  cold,  but  the  sight  of  your  fiery  countenance 
is  as  cheering  as  a  Christmas  fire/' 

"  Now  sure,  Captain  Jack,  yee's  always  full  of  your 
complimentaries,"  replied  the  sutler,  taking  the  bridle  of 
her  customer  ;  "  but  hurry  in  for  the  life  of  you,  darling; 
the  fences  hereabouts  are  not  so  strong  as  in  the  High- 
lands, and  there's  that  within  will  warm  both  sowl  and 
body." 

"  So  you  have  been  laying  the  rails  under  contribution, 
I  see  ;  well,  that  may  do  for  the  body,  "  said  the  captain, 
coolly  ;  "  but  I  have 'had  a  pull  at  a  bottle  of  cut-glass  with 
a  silver  stand,  and  I  doubt  my  relish  for  your  whiskey  for 
a  month  to  come." 

"  If  it's  silver  or  goold  that  yee'r  thinking  of,  it's  but 
little  I  have,  though  I've  a  trifling  bit  of  the  continental," 
said  Betty,  with  a  look  of  humor;  "  but  there's  that  within 
that's  fit  to  be  put  in  vessels  of  di'monds." 

"  What  can  she  mean,  Archibald  ? "  asked  Lawton  ; 
"  the  animal  looks  as  if  it  meant  more  than  it  says  ?  " 

"  'Tis  probably  a  wandering  of  reasoning  powers,  created 
by  the  frequency  of  intoxicating  draughts,"  observed  the 
surgeon,  as  he  deliberately  threw  his  left  leg  over  the  pom- 
mel of  the  saddle,  and  slid  down  on  the  right  side  of  his 
horse. 

"  Faith,  my  dear  jewel  of  a  doctor,  but  it  was  this  side 
I  was  expicting  you  ;  the  whole  corps  came  down  on  this 
side  but  yeerself,"  said  Betty,  winking  at  the  trooper  ;  "  but 
I've  been  feeding  the  wounded,  in  yeer  absence,  with  the 
fat  of  the  land." 

"  Barbarous  stupidity  !  "  cried  the  panic-stricken  physi- 
cian, "  to  feed  men  laboring  under  the  excitement  of  fe- 


i-4  THE   SPY. 

ver  with  a  powerful  nutriment  ;  woman,  woman,  you  are 
enough  to  defeat  the  skill  of  Hippocrates  !  " 

"  Pooh  ! "  said  Betty,  with  infinite  composure,  "what  a 
botheration  yee  make  about  a  little  whiskey  ;  there  was 
but  a  gallon  betwixt  a  good  two  dozen  of  them,  and  I  gave 
it  to  the  boys  to  make  them  sleep  asy  ;  sure,  jist  as  slum- 
bering drops." 

Lawton  and  his  companion  now  entered  the  building, 
and  the  first  objects  which  met  their  eyes  explained  the 
hidden  meaning  of  Betty's  comfortable  declaration.  A  long 
table,  made  of  boards  torn  from  the  side  of  an  out-build- 
ing, was  stretched  through  the  middle  of  the  largest  apart- 
ment, or  the  bar-room,  and  on  it  was  a  very  scanty  display 
of  crockery  ware.  The  steams  of  cookery  arose  from  an 
adjoining  kitchen,  but  the  principal  attraction  was  in  a 
demijohn  of  fair  proportions,  which  had  been  ostenta- 
tiously placed  on  high  by  Betty  as  the  object  most  worthy 
of  notice.  Lawton  soon  learnt  that  it  was  teeming  with 
the  real  amber-colored  juice  of  the  grape,  and  had  been- 
sent  from  the  Locusts  as  an  offering  to  Major  Dunwoodie, 
from  his  friend  Captain  Wharton,  of  the  royal  army. 

"And  a  royal  gift  it  is,"  said  the  grinning  subaltern,  who 
made  the  explanation.  "The  major  gives  us  an  entertain- 
ment in  honor  of  our  victory,  and  you  see  the  principal  ex- 
pense is  borne,  as  it  should  be,  by  the  enemy.  Zounds,  I 
am  thinking  that  after  we  have  primed  with  such  stuff,  we 
could  charge  through  Sir  Henry's  headquarters,  and  carry 
off  the  knight  himself." 

The  captain  of  dragoons  was  in  no  manner  displeased  at 
the  prospect  of  terminating  so  pleasantly  a  day  that  had 
been  so  agreeably  commenced.  He  was  soon  surrounded 
,  by  his  comrades,  who  made  many  eager  inquiries  concern- 
ing his  adventures,  while  the  surgeon  proceeded,  with  cer- 
tain quakings  of  the  heart,  to  examine  into  the  state  of 
his  wounded.  Enormous  fires  were  snapping  in  the  chim- 
neys of  the  house,  superseding  the  necessity  of  candles 
by  the  bright  light  which  was  thrown  from  the  blazing 
piles.  The  group  within  were  all  young  men,  and  tried 
soldiers  ;  in  number  they  were  rather  more  than  a  dozen, 
and  their  manners  and  conversation  were  a  strange  mix- 
ture of  the  bluntness  of  the  partisan  with  the  manners  of 
gentlemen.  Their  dresses  were  neat,  though  plain  ;  and 
a  never-failing  topic  among  them  was  the  performance 
and  quality  of  their  horses.  Some  were  endeavoring  to 
sleep  on  the  benches  which  lined  the  walls,  some  were 


THE   SPY.  175 

walking  the  apartments,  and  others  were  seated  in  earnest 
discussion  on  subjects  connected  with  the  business  of  their 
lives.  Occasionally,  as  the  door  of  the  kitchen  opened, 
the  hissing  sounds  of  the  frying-pans  and  the  inviting  savor 
of  the  food  created  a  stagnation  in  all  other  employments  ; 
even  the  sleepers,  at  such  moments,  would  open  their  eyes 
and  raise  their  heads,  to  reconnoitre  the  state  of  the  prep- 
arations. All  this  time  Dunwoodie  sat  by  himself,  gazing 
at  the  fire,  and  lost  in  reflections  which  none  of  his  officers 
presumed  to  disturb.  He  had  made  earnest  inquiries  of 
Sitgreaves  after  the  condition  of  Singleton,  during  which 
a  profound  and  respectful  silence  was  maintained  in  the 
room  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  had  ended  and  resumed  his  seat, 
the  usual  ease  and  freedom  prevailed. 

The  arrangement  of  the  table  was  a  matter  of  but  little 
concern  to  Mrs.  Flanagan  :  and  Caesar  would  have  been 
sadly  scandalized  at  witnessing  the  informality  with  which 
various  dishes,  each  bearing  a  wonderful  resemblance  to 
the  others,  were  placed  before  so  many  gentlemen  of  con- 
sideration. In  taking  their  places  at  the  board,-  the  strict- 
est attention  was  paid  to  precedency  ;  for,  notwithstanding 
the  freedom  of  manners  which  prevailed  in  the  corps,  the 
points  of  military  etiquette  were  at  all  times  observed, 
with  something  approaching  to  religious  veneration. 
Most  of  the  guests  had  been  fasting  too  long  to  be  in  any 
degree  fastidious  in  their  appetites  ;  but  the  case  wras  dif- 
ferent with  Captain  Lawton  ;  he  felt  an  unaccountable 
loathing  at  the  exhibition  of  Betty's  food,  and  could  not 
refrain  from  making  a  few  passing  comments  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  knives,  and  the  clouded  aspects  of  the  plates. 
The  good-nature  and  the  personal  affection  of  Betty  for 
the  offender,  refrained*her,  for  some  time,  from  answering 
his  innuendoes,  until  Lawton,  having  ventured  to  admit  a 
piece  of  the  black  meat  into  his  mouth,  inquired,  with  the 
affectation  of  a  spoiled  child  : 

"  What  kind  of  animal  might  this  have  been  when  liv- 
ing, Mrs.  Flanagan?" 

"  Sure,  captain,  and  wasn't  it  the  ould  cow,"  replied  the 
sutler,  with  a  warmth  that  proceeded  partly  from  dissatis- 
faction at  the  complaints  of  her  favorite,  and  partly  from 
grief  at  the  loss  of  the  deceased. 

"What?"  roared  the  trooper,  stopping  short  as  he  was 
about  to  swallow  the  morsel,  "  ancient  jenny  !  " 

"  The  devil !  "  cried  another,  dropping  his  knife  and  fork, 
"  she  who  made  the  campaign  of  the  Jerseys  with  us  ?  " 


176  THE  SPY. 

"  The  very  same,"  replied  the  mistress  of  the  hotel,  with 
a  piteous  aspect  of  woe  ;  "  a  gentle  baste,  and  one  that 
could  and  did  live  on  less  than  air,  at  need.  Sure,  gentle- 
men, 'tis  awful  to  have  to  eat  sitch  an  ould  friend." 

"And  has  she  sunk  to  this?"  asked  Lawton,  pointing 
with  his  knife  to  the  remains  on  the  table. 

"  Nay,  captain,"  said  Betty,  with  spirit,  "  I  sould  two 
of  her  quarters  to  some  of  your  troop  ;  but  divil  the  word 
did  I  tell  the  boys  what  an  ould  friend  it  was  they  had 
bought,  for  fear  it  might  damage  their  appetites." 

"Fury!"  cried  the  trooper,  with  affected  anger,  "I 
shall  have  my  fellows  as  limber  as  supple-jacks  on  such 
fare  ;  afraid  of  an  Englishman  as  a  Virginia  negro  is  of  his 
driver." 

"Well,"  said  Lieutenant  Mason,  dropping  his  knife  and 
fork  in  a  kind  of  despair  ;  "my  jaws  have  more  sympathy 
than  many  men's  hearts.  They  absolutely  decline  making 
any  impression  on  the  relics  of  their  old  acquaintance." 

"Try  a  drop  of  the  gift,"  said  Betty,  soothingly,  pour- 
ing a  large  allowance  of  the  wine  into  a  bowl,  and  drink- 
ing it  off  as  taster  to  the  corps.  "  Faith,  'tis  but  a  wishy- 
washy  sort  of  stuff  after  all  !  " 

The  ice  once  broken,  however,  a  clear  glass  of  wine  was 
handed  to  Dunwoodie,  who,  bowing  to  his  companions, 
drank  the  liquor  in  the  midst  of  a  profound  silence.  For 
a  few  glasses  there  was  much  formality  observed,  and  sun- 
dry patriotic  toasts  and  sentiments  were  duly  noticed  by 
the  company.  The  liquor,  however,  performed  its  wonted 
office  ;  and  before  the  second  sentinel  at  the  door  had  been 
relieved,  all  recollection  of  the  dinner  and  their  cares  was 
lost  in  the  present  festivity.  Dr.  Sitgreaves  did  not  re- 
turn in  season  to  partake  of  Jenny?  but  he  was  in  time  to 
receive  his  fair  proportion  of  Captain  Wharton's  present. 

"A  song,  a  song  from  Captain  Lawton  !"  cried  two  or 
three  of  the  party  in  a  breath,  on  observing  the  failure  of 
some  of  the  points  of  good-fellowship  in  the  trooper  ; 
"  silence,  for  the  song  of  Captain  Lawton." 

"  Gentlemen,"  returned  Lawton,  his  dark  eyes  swim- 
ming with  the  bumpers  he  had  finished,  though  his  head 
was  as  impenetrable  as  a  post  ;  "  I  am  not  much  of  a  night- 
ingale, but,  under  the  favor  of  your  good  wishes,  I  consent 
to  comply  with  the  demand." 

"  Now,  Jack,"  said  Sitgreaves,  nodding  on  his  seat,  "  re- 
member the  air  I  taught^you,  and — stop,  I  have  a  copy  of 
the  words  in  my  pocket." 


THE   SPY.  177 

"  Forbear,  forbear,  good  doctor,"  said  the  trooper,  filling 
his  glass  with  great  deliberation  ;  "  I  never  could  wheel 
round  these  hard  names.  Gentlemen,  I  will  give  you  an 
humble  attempt, of  my  own." 

"  Silence,  for  Captain  Lawton's  song  !  "  roared  five  or 
six  at  once  ;  when  the  trooper  proceeded,  in  a  fine,  full 
tone,  to  sing  the  following  words  to  a  well-known  baccha- 
nalian air,  several  of  his  comrades  helping  him  through 
the  chorus  with  a  fervor  that  shook  the  crazy  edifice  they 
were  in — 

Now  push  the  mug,  my  jolly  boys, 

And  live,  while  live  we  can, 
To-morrow's  sun  may  end  your  joys, 

For  brief's  the  hour  of  man. 
And  he  who  bravely  meets  the  foe 
His  lease  of  life  can  never  know. 

Old  mother  Flanagan, 
Come  and  fill  the  can  again  ; 
For  you  can  fill,  and  we  can  swill, 
Good  Betty  Flanagan. 

If  love  of  life  pervades  your  breast, 

Or  love  of  ease  your  frame, 
Quit  honor's  path  for  peaceful  rest, 

And  bear  a  coward's  name. 
For  soon  and  late,  we  danger  know, 
And  fearless  on  the  saddle  go. 
Old  mother,  etc. 

When  foreign  foes  invade  the  land, 

And  wives  and  sweethearts  call  ; 
In  freedom's  cause  we'll  bravely  stand, 

Or  will  as  bravely  fall. 
In  this  fair  home  the  fates  have  given, 
We'll  live  as  lords,  or  live  in  heaven. 
Old  mother,  etc. 

At  each  appeal  made  to  herself,  by  the  united  voices  ot 
the  choir,  Betty  invariably  advanced  and  complied  liter- 
ally with  the  request  contained  in  the  chorus,  to  the  infi- 
nite delight  of  the  singers,  and  with  no  small  participation 
in  the  satisfaction  on  her  own  account.  The  hostess  was 
provided  with  a  beverage  more  suited  to  the  high  season- 
ing to  which  she  had  accustomed  her  palate,  than  the 
tasteless  present  of  Captain  Wharton  ;  by  which  means 
Betty  had  managed,  with  tolerable  facility,  to  keep  even 
pace  with  the  exhilaration  of  her  guests.  The  applause 
received  by  Captain  Lawton  was  general,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  surgeon,  who  rose  from  the  bench  during  the 
12 


178  THE   SPY. 

first  chorus,  and  paced  the  floor,  in  a  flow  of  classical  in- 
dignation. The  bravos  and  bravissimos  drowned  all  other 
noises  for  a  short  time  ;  but  as  they  gradually  ceased,  the 
doctor  turned  to  the  musician,  and  exclaimed  with  heat  : 

"  Captain  Lawton,  I  marvel  that  a  gentleman,  and  a 
gallant  officer,  can  find  no  other  subject  for  his  muse,  in 
these  times  of  trial,  than  in  such  beastly  invocations  to  that 
notorious  follower  of  the  camp,  the  filthy  Elizabeth  Flana- 
gan. Methinks  the  goddess  of  Liberty  could  furnish  a 
more  noble  inspiration,  and  the  sufferings  of  your  country 
a  more  befitting  theme." 

"  Heydey  !  "  shouted  the  hostess,  advancing  toward  him 
in  a  threatening  attitude;  "and  who  is  it  that  calls  me 
filthy?  Master  Squirt  !  Master  pop-gun " 

"  Peace  !  "  said  Dunwoodie,  in  a  voice  that  was  exerted 
but  a  little  more  than  common,  but  which  was  succeeded 
by  the  stillness  of  death  ;  "  woman,  leave  the  room.  Dr. 
Sitgreaves,  I  call  you  to  your  seat  to  wait  the  order  of  the 
revels." 

"  Proceed,  proceed,"  said  the  surgeon,  drawing  himself 
up  in  an  attitude  of  dignified  composure  ;  "  I  trust,  Major 
Dunwoodie,  I  am  not  unacquainted  with  the  rules  of  de- 
corum, nor  ignorant  of  the  by-laws  of  good  fellowship." 
Betty  made  a  hasty  but  somewhat  devious  retreat  to  her 
own  dominions,  being  unaccustomed  to  dispute  the  orders 
of  the  commanding  officer. 

"  Major  Dunwoodie  will  honor  us  with  a  sentimental 
song,"  said  Lawton,  bowing  to  his  leader,  with  the  col- 
lected manner  he  so  well  knew  how  to  assume. 

The  major  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  sang,  with  fine 
execution,  the  following  words  : 

Some  love  the  heats  of  southern  suns, 
Where  life's  warm  current  maddening  runs, 

In  one  quick  circling  stream  ; 
But  dearer  far's  the  mellow  light 
Which  trembling  shines,  reflected  bright 

In  Luna's  milder  beam. 

Some  love  the  tulip's  gaudier  dyes, 
Where  deepening  blue  with  yellow  vies, 

And  gorgeous  beauty  glows  ; 
But  happier  he,  whose  bridal  wreath, 
By  love  entwined,  is  found  to  breathe 

The  sweetness  of  the  rose. 

The  voice  of  Dunwoodie  never  lost  its  authority  with 
his  inferiors  ;  and  the  applause  which  followed  his  song, 


THE   SPY.  179 

though  by  no  means  so  riotous  as  that  which  succeeded 
the  effort  of  the  captain,  was  much  more  flattering, 

"  If,  sir,"  said  the  doctor,  after  joining  in  the  plaudits 
of  his  companions,  "you  would  but  learn  to  unite  classical 
allusions  with  your  delicate  imagination,  you  would  be- 
come a  pretty  amateur  poet." 

"  He  who  criticises  ought  to  be  able  to  perform,"  said 
Dunvvoodie,  with  a  smile.  "  I  call  on  Dr.  Sitgreaves  for  a 
specimen  of  the  style  he  admires." 

"Dr.  Sitgreaves'  song!  Dr.  Sitgreaves'  song!"  echoed 
all  at  the  table  with  delight ;  "  a  classical  ode  from  Dr. 
Sitgreaves !  " 

The  surgeon  made  a  complacent  bow,  took  the  remnant 
of  his  glass,  and  gave  a  few  preliminary  hems,  that  served 
hugely  to  delight  three  or  four  young  cornets  at  the  foot  of 
the  table.  He  then  commenced  singing,  in  a  cracked 
voice,  and  to  anything  but  a  tune,  the  following  ditty- 
Hast  thou  ever  felt  love's  dart,  dearest, 

Or  breathed  his  trembling  sigh — 
Thought  him,  afar,  was  ever  nearest, 

Before  that  sparkling  eye  ? 
Then  hast  thou  known  what  'tis  to  feel 
The  pain  that  Galen  could  not  heal. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  shouted  Lawton  ;  "  Archibald  eclipses  the 
muses  themselves ;  his  words  flow  like  the  sylvan  stream 
by  moonlight,  and  his  melody  is  a  cross-breed  of  the  night- 
ingale and  the  owl." 

"  Captain  Lawton,"  cried  the  exasperated  operator,  "  it 
is  one  thing  to  despise  the  lights  of  classical  learning,  and 
another  to  be  despised  for  your  own  ignorance!" 

A  loud  summons  at  the  door  of  the  building  created 
a  dead  halt  in  the  uproar,  anofe  the  dragoons  instinct- 
ively caught  up  their  arms  to  be  prepared  for  the  worst. 
The  door  was  opened,  and  the  Skinners  entered,  drag- 
ging in  the  peddler,  bending  beneath  the  load  of  his 
pack. 

"Which  is  Captain  Lawton  ?"  said  the  leader  of  the 
gang,  gazing  around  him  in  some  little  astonishment. 

"  He  waits  your  pleasure,"  said  the  trooper,  dryly. 

"Then  here  I  deliver  to  your  hands  a  condemned 
traitor ;  this  is  Harvey  Birch,  the  peddler-spy." 

Lawton  started  as  he  looked  his  old  acquaintance  in  the 
face,  and  turning  to  the  Skinner  with  a  lowering  look,  he 
asked : 


i8o  THE   SPY. 

"  And  who  are  you,  sir,  that  speak  so  freely  of  your 
neighbors  ?  But,"  bowing  to  Dunwoodie,  "  your  pardon, 
sir  ;  here  is  the  commanding  officer ;  to  him  you  will  please 
address  yourself." 

"  No,"  said  the  man,  sullenly,  "  it  is  to  you  I  deliver  the 
peddler,  and  from  you  I  claim  my  reward." 

"Are  you  Harvey  Birch  ?"  said  Dunwoodie,  advancing 
with  an  air  of  authority  that  instantly  drove  the  Skinner  to 
a  corner  of  the  room. 

"  I  am,"  said  Birch,  proudly. 

"  And  a  traitor  to  your  country,"  continued  the  major, 
with  sternness  ;  "do  you  know  that  I  should  be  justified  in 
ordering  your  execution  this  night  ?" 

"  Tis  not  the  will  of  God  to  call  a  soul  so  hastily  to  his 
presence,"  said  the  peddler,  with  solemnity. 

"You  speak  the  truth,"  said  Dunwoodie  ;  "  and  a  few 
brief  hours  shall  be  added  to  your  life.  But  as  your  of- 
fence is  most  odious  to  a  soldier,  so  it  will  be  sure  to  meet 
a  soldier's  vengeance  ;  you  die  to-morrow." 

"  Tis  as  God  wills." 

"I  have  spent  many  a  good  hour  to  entrap  the  villain," 
said  the  Skinner,  advancing  a  little  from  his  corner,  "and 
I  hope  you  will  give  me  a  certificate  that  will  entitle  us  to 
the  reward." 

"Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  the  officer  of  the  day,  enter- 
ing the  room,  "the  patrols  report  a  house  to  be  burnt 
near  yesterday's  battle-ground." 

" 'Twas  the  hut  of  the  peddler,"  muttered  the  leader  of 
the  gang  ;  "we  have  not  left  him  a  shingle  for  shelter  ;  I 
should  have  burnt  it  months  ago,  but  I  wanted  his  shed 
for  a  trap  to  catch  the  sly  fox  in." 

"You  seem  a  most  ingenious  patriot,"  said  Lawton. 
"  Major  Dunwoodie,  I  s^pond  the  request  of  this  worthy 
gentleman,  and  crave  the  office  of  bestowing  the  reward 
on  him  and  his  fellows." 

"  Take  it  ; — and  you,  miserable  man,  prepare  for  the 
fate  which  will  surely  befall  you  before  the  setting  of  to- 
morrow's sun." 

"  Life  offers  but  little  to  tempt  me  with,"  said  Harvey, 
slowly  raising  his  eyes,  and  gazing  wildly  at  the  strange 
faces  in  the  apartment. 

"  Come,  worthy  children  of  America  ! "  said  Lawton, 
"follow  and  receive  your  reward." 

The  gang  eagerly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  followed 
the  captain  toward  the  quarters  assigned  to  his  troop. 


THE   SPY.  ^  181 

Dunwoodie  paused  a  moment,  from  reluctance  to  triumph 
over  a  fallen  foe,  before  he  proceeded. 

"  You  have  already  been  tried,  Harvey  Birch  ;  and  the 
truth  has  proved  you  to  be  an  enemy  too  dangerous  to  the 
liberties  of  America  to  be  suffered  to  live." 

"  The  truth  ! "  echoed  the  peddler,  starting,  and  raising 
himself  in  a  manner  that  disregarded  the  weight  of  his 
pack. 

"Ay  !  the  truth  :  you  were  charged  with  loitering  near 
the  continental  army,  to  gain  intelligence  of  its  movements, 
and,  by  communicating  them  to  the  enemy,  to  enable  him 
to  frustrate  the  intentions  of  Washington." 

"Will  Washington  say  so,  think  you  ?" 

"Doubtless  he  would  ;  even  the  justice  of  Washington 
condemns  you." 

"  No,  no,  no,"  cried  the  peddler,  in  a  voice  and  with  a 
manner  that  startled  Dunwoodie  ;  "Washington  can  see 
beyond  the  hollow  views  of  pretended  patriots.  Has  he 
not  risked  his  all  on  the  cast  of  a  die  ?  If  the  gallows  is 
ready  for  me,  was  there  not  one  for  him  also  ?  No,,  no,  no, 
no— Washington  would  never  say,  'Lead  him  to  the  gal- 
lows.' " 

"  Have  you  anything,  wretched  man,  to  urge  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  why  you  should  not  die  ?  "  said  the  major, 
recovering  from  the  surprise  created  by  the  manner  of  the 
other. 

Birch  trembled,  for  violent  emotions^were  contending 
in  his  bosom.  His  face  assumed  the  ghastly  paleness  of 
death,  and  his  hand  drew  a  box  of  tin  from  the  folds  of  his 
shirt  ;  he  opened  it,  showing  by  the  act  that  it  contained  a 
small  piece  of  paper  ;  on  this  document  his  eye  was  for  an 
instant  fixed — he  had  already  held  it  toward  Dunwoodie, 
when,  suddenly  withdrawing  his  hand,  he  exclaimed  : 

"No — it  dies  with  me;  I  know  the  conditions  of  my 
service,,  and  will  not  purchase  life  with  their  forfeiture — it 
dies  with  me." 

"  Deliver  that  paper  and  you  may  possibly  find  favor," 
cried  Dunwoodie,  expecting  a  discovery  of  importance  to 
the  cause. 

"  It  dies  with  me,"  repeated  Birch,  a  flush  passing  over 
his  pallid  features,  and  lighting  them  with  extraordinary 
brilliancy. 

"Seize  the  traitor!"  cried  the  major,  "and  wrest  the 
secret  from  his  hands." 

The  order  was  immediately  obeyed  ;  but  the  movements 


182  THE   SPY. 

of  the  peddler  were  too  quick  ;  in  an  instant  he  swallowed 
the  paper.  The  officers  paused  in  astonishment  ;  but  the 
surgeon  cried  eagerly  : 

"  Hold  him,  while  I  administer  an  emetic." 

"Forbear!  "  said  Dunwoodie,  beckoning  him  back  with 
his  hand  ;  "  if  the  crime  is  great,  so  will  the  punishment 
be  heavy." 

"  Lead  on,"  cried  the  peddler,  dropping  his  pack  from 
his  shoulders,  and  advancing  toward  the  door  with  a  man- 
ner of  incomprehensible  dignity. 

"  Whither  ?  "  asked  Dunwoodie,  in  amazement. 

"  To  the  gallows." 

"  No,"  said  the  major,  recoiling  in  horror  at  his  own  jus- 
tice. "My  duty  requires  that  I  order  you  to  be  executed, 
but  surely  not  so  hastily  ;  take  until  nine  to-morrow  to 
prepare  for  the  awful  change." 

Dunwoodie  whispered  his  orders  in  the  ear  of  a  subal- 
tern, and  motioned  to  the  peddler  to  withdraw.  The  inter- 
ruption caused  by  this  scene  prevented  further  enjoyment 
around  the  table,  and  the  officers  dispersed  to  their  several 
places  of  rest.  In  a  short  time  the  only  noise  to  be  heard 
was  the  heavy  tread  of  the  sentinel,  as  he  paced  the  frozen 
ground  in  front  of  the  Hotel  Flanagan. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"  There  are,  whose  changing  lineaments 

Express  each  guileless  passion  of  the  breast, 
Where  Love,  and  Hope,  and  tender-hearted  Pity 
Are  seen  reflected,  as  from  a  mirror's  face  ; 
But  cold  experience  can  veil  these  hues 
With  looks,  invented  shrewdly  to  encompass 
The  cunning  purposes  of  base  deceit." — Duo. 

THE  officer  to  whose  keeping  Dunwoodie  had  com- 
mitted the  peddler  transferred  his  charge  to  the  custody 
of  the  regular  sergeant  of  the  guard.  The  gift  of  Captain 
Wharton  had  not  been  lost  on  the  youthful  lieutenant  ; 
and  a  certain  dancing  motion  that  had  taken  possession 
of  objects  before  his  eyes,  gave  him  warning  of  the  neces- 
sity of  recruiting  nature  by  sleep.  After  admonishing  the 
non-commissioned  guardian  of  Harvey  to  omit  no  watch- 
fulness in  securing  the  prisoner,  the  youth  wrapped  him- 
self in  his  cloak,  and  stretched  on  a  bench  before  a  fire, 


THE   SPY.  183 

soon  found  the  repose  he  needed.  A  rude  shed  extended 
the  whole  length  of  the  rear  of  the  building,  and  from  off 
one  of  its  ends  had  been  partitioned  a  small  apartment, 
that  was  intended  as  a  repository  for  many  of  the  lesser 
implements  of  husbandry.  The  lawless  times  had,  how- 
ever, occasioned  its  being  stripped  of  everything  of  value  ; 
and  the  searching  eyes  of  Betty  Flanagan  selected  this 
spot,  on  her  arrival,  as  the  storehouse  for  her  movables, 
and  a  sanctuary  for  her  person.  The  spare  arms  and  bag- 
gage of  the  corps  had  also  been  deposited  here,  and  the 
united  treasures  were  placed  under  the  eye  of  the  sentinel 
who  paraded  the  shed  as  a  guardian  of  the  rear  of  the 
headquarters.  A  second  soldier,  who  was  stationed  near 
the  house  to  protect  the  horses  of  the  officers,  could  com- 
mand a  view  of  the  outside  of  the  apartment  ;  and,  as  it 
was  without  window  or  outlet  of  any  kind,  excepting  its 
door,  the  considerate  sergeant  thought  this  the  most  be- 
fitting place  in  which  to  deposit  his  prisoner  until  the  mo- 
ment of  his  execution.  Several  inducements  urged  Ser- 
geant Hollister  to  this  determination,  among  which  was 
the  absence  of  the  washerwoman,  who  lay  before  the  kit- 
chen fire,  dreaming  that  the  corps  was  attacking  a  party 
of  the  enemy,  and  mistaking  the  noise  that  proceeded 
from  her  own  nose  for  the  bugles  of  the  Virginians  sound- 
ing the  charge.  Another  was  the  peculiar  opinion  that 
the  veteran  entertained  of  life  and  death,  and  by  which  he 
was  distinguished  in  the  corps  as  a  man  of  most  exem- 
plary piety  and  holiness  of  life.  The  sergeant  was  more 
than  fifty  years  of  age,  and  for  half  that  period  he  had 
borne  arms.  The  constant  recurrence  of  sudden  deaths 
before  his  eyes,  had  produced  an  effect  on  him  differing 
greatly  from  that  which  was  the  usual  moral  consequence 
of  such  scenes  ;  and  he  had  become  not  only  the  most 
steady,  but  the  most  trustworthy  soldier  in  his  troop. 
Captain  Lawton  had  rewarded  his  fidelity  by  making  him 
its  orderly. 

Followed  by  Birch,  the  sergeant  proceeded  in  silence 
to  the  door  of  the  intended  prison,  and,  throwing  it  open 
with  one  hand,  he  held  a  lantern  with  the  other  to  light 
the  peddler  to  his  prison.  Seating  himself  on  a  cask  that 
contained  some  of  Betty's  favorite  beverage,  the  sergeant 
motioned  to  Birch  to  occupy  another  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  lantern  was  placed  on  the  floor,  when  the 
dragoon,  after  looking  his  prisoner  steadily  in  the  face, 
observed  : 


i84  THE   SPY. 

"  You  look  as  if  you  would  meet  death  like  a  man  ;  and 
I  have  brought  you  to  a  spot  where  you  can  tranquilly 
arrange  your  thoughts,  and  be  quiet  and  undisturbed." 

"  'Tis  a  fearful  place  to  prepare  for  the  last  change  in," 
said  Harvey,  gazing  around  his  little  prison  with  a  vacant 
eye. 

"Why,  for  the  matter  of  that,"  returned  the  veteran, 
"  it  can  reckon  but  little,  in  the  great  account,  where  a 
man  parades  his  thoughts  for  the  last  review,  so  that  lie 
finds  them  fit  to  pass  the  muster  of  another  world.  I  have 
a  small  book  here,  which  I  make  it  a  point  to  read  a  little 
in  whenever  we  are  about  to  engage,  and  I  find  it  a  great 
strengthener  in  time  of  need."  While  speaking,  he  took 
a  Bible  from  his  pocket,  and  offered  it  to  the  peddler. 
Birch  received  the  volume  with  habitual  reverence  ;  but 
there  was  an  abstracted  air  about  him,  and  a  wandering 
of  the  eye,  that  induced  his  companion  to  think  that  alarm 
was  getting  the  mastery  of  the  peddler's  feelings  ;  accord- 
ingly, he  proceeded  in  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  offices 
of  consolation. 

"  If  anything  lies  heavy  on  your  mind,  now  is  the  best 
time  to  get  rid  of  it — if  you  have  done  any  wrong  to  any 
one,  I  promise  you,  on  the  word  of  an  honest  dragoon,  to 
lend  you  a  helping  hand  to  see  them  righted." 

"  There  are  few  who  have  not  done  so,"  said  the  peddler, 
turning  his  vacant  gaze  once  more  on  his  companion. 

"True — 'tis  natural  to  sin — but  it  sometimes  happens 
that  a  man  does  what  at  other  times  he  may  be  sorry  for. 
One  wrould  not  wish  to  die  with  any  very  heavy  sin  on  his 
conscience,  after  all." 

Harvey  had  by  this  time  thoroughly  examined  the  place 
in  which  he  was  to  pass  the  night,  and  saw  no  means  of 
escape.  But  as  hope  is  ever  the  last  feeling  to  desert  the 
human  breast,  the  peddler  gave  the  dragoon  more  of  his 
attention,  fixing  on  his  sunburnt  features  such  searching 
looks,  that  Sergeant  Hollister  lowered  his  eyes  before  the 
wild  expression  which  he  met  in  the  gaze  of  his  prisoner. 

"  I  have  been  taught  to  lay  the  burden  of  my  sins  at  the 
feet  of  my  Saviour,"  replied  the  peddler. 

"  Why — yes,  all  that  is  well  enough,"  returned  the  other  ; 
"but  justice  should  be  done  while  there  is  opportunity. 
There  have  been  stirring  times  in  this  country  since  the 
war  began,  and  many  have  been  deprived  of  their  rightful 
goods.  I  oftentimes  find  it  hard  to  reconcile  even  my  law* 
ful  plunder  to  a  tender  conscience." 


THE   SPY.  185 

"These  hands,"  said  the  peddler,  stretching  forth  his 
meagre,  bony  fingers,  "  have  spent  years  in  toil,  but  not  a 
moment  in  pilfering." 

"  It  is  well  that  it  is  so,"  said  the  honest-hearted  soldier; 
"and,  no  doubt,  you  now  feel  it  a  great  consolation. 
There  are  three  great  sins,  that,  if  a  man  can  keep  his  con- 
science clear  of,  why,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  he  may  hope 
to  pass  muster  with  the  saints  in  heaven  ;  they  are  stealing, 
murdering,  and  desertion." 

"Thank  God!"  said  Birch,  with  fervor,  "I  have  never 
yet  taken  the  life  of  a  fellow-creature." 

"  As  to  killing  a  man  in  lawful  battle,  that  is  no  more 
than  doing  one's  duty.  If  the  cause  is  wrong,  the  sin  of 
such  a  deed,  you  know,  falls  on  the  nation,  and  a  man  re- 
ceives his  punishment  here  with  the  rest  of  the  people  ; 
but  murdering  in  cold  blood  stands  next  to  desertion  as  a 
crime  in  the  eye  of  God." 

"  I  never  was  a  soldier,  therefore  never  could  desert," 
said  the  peddler,  resting  his  face  on  his  hand  in  a  melan- 
choly attitude. 

"Why,  desertion  consists  of  more  than  quitting  your 
colors,  though  that  is  certainly  the  worst  kind  ;  a  man  may 
desert  his  country  in  the  hour  of  need." 

Birch  buried  his  face  in  both  his  hands,  and  his  whole 
frame  shook  ;  the  sergeant  regarded  him  closely,  but  good 
feelings  soon  got  the  better  of  his  antipathies,  and  he  con- 
tinued, more  mildly  : 

"  But  still  that  is  a  sin  which  I  think  may  be  forgiven,  if 
sincerely  repented  of  ;  and  it  matters  but  little  when  or 
how  a  man  dies,  so  that  he  dies  like  a  Christian  and  a  man. 
I  recommend  you  to  say  your  prayers,  and  then  to  get 
some  rest,  in  order  that  you  may  do  both.  There  is  no 
hope  of  your  being  pardoned ;  for  Colonel  Singleton  has 
sent  down  the  most  positive  orders  to  take  your  life  when- 
ever we  met  you.  No — no — nothing  can  save  you." 

"  You  say  the  truth,"  cried  Birch.  "  It  is  now  too  late 
— I  have  destroyed  my  only  safeguard.  But  he  will  do  my 
memory  justice  at  least." 

"  What  safeguard  ? "  asked  the  sergeant,  with  awakened 
curiosity. 

"  'Tis  nothing,"  replied  the  peddler,  recovering  his  nat- 
ural manner,  and  lowering  his  face  to  avoid  the  earnest 
looks  of  his  companion. 

"  And  who  is  he?" 

"  No  one,"  added  Harvey,  anxious  to  say  no  more 


1 86  THE   SPY. 

"  Nothing,  and  no  one,  can  avail  but  little  now,"  said 
the  sergeant,  rising  to  go  ;  "  lay  yourself  on  the  blanket  of 
Mrs.  Flanagan,  and  get  'a  little  sleep  ;  I  will  call  you  be- 
times in  the  morning  ;  and  from  the  bottom  of  my  soul,  I 
wish  I  could  be  of  some  service  to  you,  for  I  dislike  greatly 
to  see  a  man  hung  up  like  a  dog." 

"  Then  you  might  save  me  from  this  ignominious  deaih," 
said  Birch,  springing  on  his  feet,  and  catching  the  dragoon 
by  the  arm — "  And,  oh  !  what  will  I  not  give  you  in  re- 
ward ! " 

"In  what  manner?"  asked  the  sergeant,  looking  at  him 
in  surprise. 

"  See,"  said  the  peddler,  producing  several  guineas  from 
his  person  ;  "  these  are  nothing  to  what  I  will  give  you,  if 
you  will  assist  me  to  escape." 

"  Were  you  the  man  whose  picture  is  on  the  gold,  I 
would  not  listen  to  such  a  crime,"  said  the  trooper,  throw- 
ing the  money  on  the  floor  with  contempt.  "  Go — go — 
poor  wretch,  and  make  your  peace  with  God  ;  for  it  is  He 
only  that  can  be  of  service  to  you  now." 

The  sergeant  took  up  the  lantern,  and,  with  some  indig- 
nation in  his  manner,  he  left  the  peddler  to  sorrowful  medi- 
tations on  his  approaching  fate.  Birch  sank,  in  momentary 
despair,  on  the  pallet  of  Betty,  while  his  guardian  pro- 
ceeded to  give  necessary  instructions  to  the  sentinels  for 
his  safe-keeping. 

Hollister  concluded  his  injunctions  to  the  man  in  the 
shed,  by  saying,  "  Your  life  will  depend  on  his  not  escaping. 
Let  none  enter  or  quit  the  room  till  morning." 

"  But,"  said  the  trooper,  "  my  orders  are,  to  let  the 
washerwoman  pass  in  and  out,  as  she  pleases." 

"  Well,  let  her  then  ;  but  be  careful  that  this  wily  ped- 
dler does  not  get  out  in  the  folds  of  her  petticoats."  He 
then  continued  his  walk,  giving  similar  orders  to  each  of 
the  sentinels  near  the  spot. 

For  some  time  after  the  departure  of  the  sergeant,  si- 
lence prevailed  within  the  solitary  prison  of  the  peddler, 
until  the  dragoon  at  his  door  heard  his  loud  breathings, 
which  soon  rose  into  the  regular  cadence  of  one  in  a  deep 
sleep.  The  man  continued  walking  his  post,  musing  on 
an  indifference  to  life  which  could  allow  nature  its  cus- 
tomary rest,  even  on  the  threshold  of  the  grave.  Harvey 
Birch  had,  however,  been  a  name  too  long  held  in  detesta- 
tion by  every  man  in  the  corps,  to  suffer  any  feelings  of 
commiseration  to  mingle  with  these  reflections  of  the  sen- 


THE   SPY.  187 

\ 

tinel  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  consideration  and  kindness 
manifested  by  the  sergeant,  there  probably  was  not  another 
man  of  his  rank  in  the  whole  party  who  would  have  dis- 
covered equal  benevolence  to  the  prisoner,  or  who  would 
not  have  imitated  the  veteran  in  rejecting  the  bribe,  al- 
though probably  from  a  less  worthy  motive.  There  was 
something  of  disappointed  vengeance  in  the  feelings  of  the 
man  who  watched  the  door  of  the  room,  on  finding  his 
prisoner  enjoyinga  sleep  of  which  he  himself  was  deprived, 
and  at  his  exhibiting  such  obvious  indifference  to  the  ut- 
most penalty  that  military  rigor  could  inflict  on  all  his  trea- 
son to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  America.  More  than  once 
he  felt  prompted  to  disturb  the  repose  of  the  peddler  by 
taunts  and  revilings  ;  but  the  discipline  he  was  under,  and 
a  secret  sense  of  shame  at  the  brutality  of  the  act,  held  him 
in  subjection. 

His  meditations  were,  however,  soon  interrupted  by  the 
appearance  of  the  washerwoman,  who  came  staggering 
through  the  door  that  communicated  with  the  kitchen, 
muttering  execrations  against  the  servants  of  the  officers, 
who,  by  their  waggery,  had  disturbed  her  slumbers  before 
the  fire.  The  sentinel  understood  enough  of  her  maledic- 
tions to  comprehend  the  case  ;  but  all  his  efforts  to  enter 
into  conversation  with  the  enraged  woman  were  useless, 
and  he  suffered  her  to  enter  her  room  without  explaining 
that  it  contained  another  inmate.  The' noise  of  her  huge 
frame  falling  on  the  bed  was  succeeded  by  a  silence  that 
was  soon  interrupted  by  the  renewed  respiration  of  the 
peddler,  and  within  a  few  minutes  Harvey  continued 
to  breathe  aloud,  as  if  no  interruption  had  occurred.  The 
relief  arrived  at  this  moment.  The  sentinel,  who  felt  net- 
tled at  the  contempt  of  the  peddler,  after  communicating 
his  orders,  while  he  was  retiring,  exclaimed  to  his  suc- 
cessor : 

"You  may  keep  yourself  warm  by  dancing,  John  ;  the 
peddler  spy  has  tuned  his  fiddle,  you  hear,  and  it  will  not 
be  long  before  Betty  will  strike  up,  in  her  turn." 

The  joke  was  followed  by  a  general  laugh  from  the 
party,  who  marched  on  in  the  performance  of  their  duty. 
At  this  instant  the  door  of  the  prison  was  opened,  and 
Betty  reappeared,  staggering  back  again  toward  her  former 
quarters. 

"  Stop,"  said  the  sentinel,  catching  her  by  her  clothes  ; 
"  are  you  sure  the  spy  is  not  in  your  pocket  ? " 

"  Can't  you  hear  the  rascal  snoring   in  my  room,  you 


1 88  THE   SPY. 

dirty  blackguard  ?"  sputtered  Betty,  her  whole  frame  shak- 
ing with  rage  ;  "and  is  it  so  yee  would  sarve  a  dacent  fe- 
male, that  a  man  must  be  put  to  sleep  in  the  room  wid  her, 
you  rapscallion  ?  " 

"  Pooh  !  do  you  mind  a  fellow  who's  to  be  hanged  in  the 
morning  ?  You  see  he  sleeps  already  ;  to-morrow  he'll 
take  a  long  nap." 

"  Hands  off,  ye  villain  ! "  cried  the  washerwoman,  relin- 
quishing a  small  bottle  that  the  trooper  had  succeeded  in 
wrestling  from  her.  "But  I'll  go  to  Captain  Jack,  and 
know  if  it's  orders  to  put  a  hang-gallows  spy  in  my  room, 
ay,  even  in  my  widowed  bed,  you  tief !  " 

"Silence,  old  Jezebel  !"  said  the  fellow  with  a  laugh, 
taking  the  bottle  from  his  mouth  to  breathe,  "  or  you  will 
wake  the  gentleman — would  you  disturb  a  man  in  his  last 
sleep  ? " 

"  I'll  wake  Captain  Jack,  you  reprobate  villain,  and 
bring  him  here  to  see  me  righted  ;  he  will  punish  ye 
all,  for  imposing  on  a  dacent  widowed  body,  you  ma- 
rauder !  " 

With  these  words,  which  only  extorted  a  laugh  from  the 
sentinel,  Betty  staggered  round  the  end  of  the  building, 
and  made  the  best  of  her  way  toward  the  quarters  of  her 
favorite,  Captain  John  Lawton,  in  search  of  redress. 
Neither  the  officer  nor  the  woman,  however,  appeared 
during  the  night,  and  nothing  further  occurred  to  disturb 
the  repose  of  the  peddler,  who,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
different  sentinels,  continued  by  his  breathing  to  manifest 
how  little  the  gallows  could  affect  his  slumbers. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

"A  Daniel  come  to  judgment — yea,  a  Daniel ! — 
O  wise  young  judge,  how  I  do  honor  thee  !  " 

— Merchant  of  Venice. 

THE  Skinners  followed  Captain  Lawton  with  alacrity, 
toward  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  troop  of  that  gentle- 
man. The  captain  of  dragoons  had  on  all  occasions  mani- 
fested so  much  zeal  for  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
was  so  regardless  of  personal  danger  when  opposed  to  the 
enemy,  and  his  stature  and  stern  countenance  contributed 
so  much  to  render  him  terrific,  that  these  qualities  had,  in 


THE  SPY.  189 

some  measure,  procured  him  a  reputation  distinct  from  the 
corps  in  which  he  served.  His  intrepidity  was  mistaken 
for  ferocity  ;  and  his  hasty  zeal  for  the  natural  love  of 
cruelty.  On  the  other  hand,  a  few  acts  of  clemency,  or, 
more  properly  speaking,  of  discriminating  justice,  had,  with 
one  portion  of  the  community,  acquired  for  Dunwoodie  the 
character  of  undue  forbearance.  It  is  seldom  that  either 
popular  condemnation  or  popular  applause  falls,  exactly  in 
the  quantities  earned,  where  it  is  merited. 

While  in  the  presence  of  the  major,  the  leader  of  the 
gang  had  felt  himself  under  that  restraint  which  vice  must 
ever  experience  in  the  company  of  acknowledged  virtue  ; 
but  having  left  the  house,  he  at  once  conceived  that  he 
was  under  the  protection  of  a  congenial  spirit.  There  was 
a  gravity  in  the  manner  of  Lawton  that  deceived  most  of 
those  who  did  not  know  him  intimately  ;  and  it  was  a 
common  saying  in  his  troop,  "that  when  the  captain 
laughed,  he  was  sure  to  punish."  Drawing  near  his  con- 
ductor, therefore,  the  leader  commenced  a  confidential  dia- 
logue : 

"  'Tis  always  well  for  a  man  to  know  his  friends  from  his 
enemies,"  said  the  half-licensed  freebooter. 

To  this  prefatory  observation  the  captain  made  no 
other  reply  than  a  sound,  which  the  other  interpreted  into 
assent. 

"I  suppose  Major  Dunwoodie  has  the  good  opinion  of 
Washington  ?  "  continued  the  Skinner,  in  a  tone  that  rather 
expressed  a  doubt  than  asked  a  question. 

"  There  are  some  who  think  so." 

"  Many  of  the  friends  of  Congress  in  this  county,"  the 
man  proceeded,  "  wish  the  horse  was  led  by  some  other 
officer ;  for  my  part,  if  I  could  only  be  covered  by  a  troop 
now  and  then,  I  could  do  many  an  important  piece  of  ser- 
vice to  the  cause,  to  which  this  capture  of  the  peddler 
would  be  a  trifle." 

"  Indeed  !  such  as  what  ? " 

"  For  the  matter  of  that,  it  could  be  made  as  profit- 
able to  the  officer  as  it  would  be  to  us  who  did  it,"  said 
the  Skinner,  with  a  look  of  the  most  significant  mean- 
ing. 

"But  how?"  asked  Lawton,  a  little  impatiently,  and 
quickening  his  step  to  get  out  of  the  hearing  of  the  rest  of 
the  party. 

"  Why,  near  the  royal  lines,  even  under  the  very  guns  of 
the  heights,  might  be  good  picking  if  we  had  a  force  to 


J9o  THE   SPY. 

guard  us  from  De  Lancey's*  men,  and  to  cover  our  retreat 
from  being  cut  off  by  the  way  of  Kingsbridge." 

"  I  thought  the  refugees  took  all  that  game  to  them- 
selves." 

"  They  do  a  little  at  it  ;  but  they  are  obliged  to  be  spar- 
ing among  their  own  people.  I  have  been  down  twice, 
under  an  agreement  with  them  :  the  first  time  they  acted 
with  honor  ;  but  the  second  they  came  upon  us  and  drove 
us  off,  and  took  the  plunder  to  themselves." 

"That  was  a  very  dishonorable  act,  indeed;  I  wonder 
that  an  honorable  man  will  associate  with  such  rascals." 

"  It  is  necessary  to  have  an  understanding  with  some  of 
them,  or  we  might  be  taken  ;  but  a  man  without  honor  is 
worse  than  a  brute.  Do  you  think  Major  Dunwoodie  is 
to  be  trusted  ?" 

"  You  mean  on  honorable  principles  ?  " 

"Certainly  ;  you  know  Arnold  was  thought  well  of  until 
the  royal  major  was  taken." 

"Why,  I  do  not  believe  Dunwoodie  would  sell  his  com- 
mand as  Arnold  wished  to  do  ;  neither  do  I  think  him  ex- 
actly trustworthy  in  a  delicate  business  like  this  of  yours." 

"That's  just  my  notion,"  rejoined  the  Skinner,  with  a 
self-approving  manner  that  showed  how  much  he  was  sat- 
isfied with  his  own  estimate  of  character. 

By  this  time  they  had  arrived  at  a  better  sort  of  farm- 
house, the  very  extensive  out-buildings  of  which  were  in 
tolerable  repair,  for  the  times.  The  barns  were  occupied 
by  the  men  of  the  troop,  while  the  horses  were  arranged 
under  the  long  sheds  which  protected  the  yard  from  the 
cold  north  wind.  The  latter  were  quietly  eating,  with  sad- 
dles on  their  backs  and  bridles  thrown  on  their  necks, 
ready  to  be  bitted  and  mounted  at  the  shortest  warning. 
Lawton  excused  himself  for  a  moment,  and  entered  his 

*The  partisan  corps,  called  Cow-boys  in  the  parlance  of  the  country,  was 
commanded  by  a  Colonel  De  Lancey.  This  gentleman,  for  such  he  was 
by  birth  and  education,  rendered  himself  very  odious  to  the  Americans  by 
his  fancied  cruelty,  though  there  is  no  evidence  of  his  being  guilty  of  any 
acts  unusual  in  this  species  of  warfare. 

Colonel  De  Lancey  belonged  to  a  family  of  the  highest  consequence  in 
the  American  colonies,  his  uncle  having  died  in  the  administration  of  the 
government  of  that  of  New  York.  He  should  not  be  confounded  with 
other  gentlemen  of  his  name  and  family,  many  of  whom  served  in  the  royal 
army.  His  cousin,  Colonel  Oliver  De  Lancey,  was  at  the  time  of  our  tale 
adjutant-general  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  having  succeeded  to  the 
unfortunate  Andre.  The  Cow-boys  were  sometimes  called  Refugees,  in 
consequence  of  their  having  taken  refuge  under  the  protection  of  the 


THE   SPY.  191 

quarters.  He  soon  returned,  holding  in  his  hand  one  of 
the  common  stable  lanterns,  and  led  the  way  to  a  large 
orchard  that  surrounded  the  building  on  three  sides.  The 
gang  followed  the  trooper  in  silence,  believing  his  object 
to  be  facility  of  communicating  further  on  this  interesting 
topic,  without  the  danger  of  being  overheard. 

Approaching  the  captain,  the  Skinner  renewed  the  dis- 
course, with  a  view  of  establishing  further  confidence,  and 
of  giving  his  companion  a  more  favorable  opinion  of  his 
own  intellect. 

"  Do  you  think  the  colonies  will  finally  get  the  better  of 
the  king  ?"  he  inquired,  with  a  little  of  the  impatience  of 
a  politician. 

"  Get  the  better  !  "  echoed  the  captain,  with  impetuosity 
• — then  checking  himself,  he  continued,  "  no  doubt  they 
will.  If  the  French  will  give  us  arms  and  money,  we  can 
drive  out  the  royal  troops  in  six  months." 

"  Well,  so  I  hope  we  shall  soon  ;  and  then  we  shall  have 
a  free  government,  and  we,  who  fight  for  it,  will  get  our 
reward." 

"Oh  !"  cried  Lawton,  "your  claims  will  be  indisputa- 
ble ;  while  all  these  vile  Tories  who  live  at  home  peaceably, 
to  take  care  of  their  farms,  will  be  held  in  the  contempt 
they  merit.  You  have  no  farm,  I  suppose  ?" 

"  Not  yet — but  it  will  go  hard  if  I  do  not  find  one  before 
the  peace  is  made." 

"Right  ;  study  your  own  interests,  and  you  study  the 
interests  of  your  country  ;  press  the  point  of  your  own 
services,  and  rail  at  the  Tories,  and  I'll  bet  my  spurs 
against  a  rusty  nail  that  you  get  to  be  a  county  clerk,  at 
least." 

"  Don't  you  think  Paulding's*  party  were  fools  in  not 
letting  the  royal  adjutant-general  escape  ?  "  said  the  man, 
thrown  off  his  guard  by  the  freedom  of  the  captain's  man- 
ner. 

"  Fools!  "  cried  Lawton,  with  a  bitter  laugh  ;  "ay,  fools 
indeed  ;  King  George  would  have  paid  them  better,  for  he 
is  richer.  He  would  have  made  them  gentlemen  for  their 
lives.  But,  thank  God  !  there  is  a  pervading  spirit  in  the 

*  The  author  must  have  intended  some  allusion  to  an  individual,  which 
is  too  local  to  be  understood  by  the  general  reader. 

Andre,  as  is  well  known,  was  arrested  by  three  countrymen,  who  were 
on  the  lookout  for  predatory  parties  of  the  enemy  ;  the  principal  man  of 
this  party  was  named  Paulding.  The  disinterested  manner  in  which  they 
refused  the  offers  of  their  captive  is  a  matter  of  history. 


192  THE   SPY. 

people  that  seems  miraculous.  Men  who  have  nothing, 
act  as  if  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  depended  on  their 
fidelity  ;  all  are  not  villains  like  yourself,  or  we  should 
have  been  slaves  to  England  years  ago." 

"How!"  exclaimed  the  Skinner,  starting  back,  and 
dropping  his  musket  to  the  level  of  the  other's  breast  ; 
"am  I  betrayed,  and  are  you  my  enemy  ?" 

"  Miscreant !  "  shouted  Lawton,  his  sabre  ringing  in  its 
steel  scabbard  as  he  struck  the  musket  of  the  fellow  from 
his  hands,  "offer  but  again  to  point  your  gun  at  me,  and 
I'll  cleave  you  to  the  middle." 

"  And  you  will  not  pay  us,  then,  Captain  Lawton  ? " 
said  the  Skinner,  trembling  in  every  joint ;  for  just  then  he 
saw  a  party  of  mounted  dragoons  silently  encircling  the 
whole  party. 

"  Oh  !  pay  you — yes,  you  shall  have  the  full  measure  of 
your  reward.  There  is  the  money  that  Colonel  Singleton 
sent  down  for  the  captors  of  the  spy,"  throwing  a  bag  of 
guineas  with  disdain  at  the  other's  feet.  "  But  ground 
your  arms,  you  rascals,  and  see  that  the  money  is  truly 
told." 

The  intimidated  band  did  as  they  were  ordered  ;  and 
while  they  were  eagerly  employed  in  this  pleasing  avoca- 
tion, a  few  of  Lawton's  men  privately  knocked  the  flints 
out  of  their  muskets. 

V  Well,"  cried  the  impatient  captain,  "  is  it  right  ?  have 
you  the  promised  reward  ?" 

"There  is  just  the  money,"  said  the  leader;  "  and  we 
will  now  go  to  our  homes,  with  your  permission." 

"  Hold  !  so  much  to  redeem  our  promise — now  for  jus- 
tice ;  we  pay  you  for  taking  a  spy,  but  we  punish  you  for 
burning,  robbing,  and  murdering.  Seize  them,  my  lads, 
and  give  each  of  them  the  law  of  Moses — forty,  save  one." 

This  command  was  given  to  no  unwilling  listeners;  and 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  Skinners  were  stripped  and 
fastened,  by  the  halters  of  the  party,  to  as  many  of  the 
apple-trees  as  were  necessary  to  furnish  one  to  each  of  the 
gang.  Swords  were  quickly  drawn,  and  fifty  branches  cut 
from  the  trees,  like  magic  ;  from  these  were  selected  a  few 
of  the  most  supple  of  the  twigs,  and  a  willing  dragoon  was 
soon  found  to  wield  each  of  the  weapons.  Captain  Law- 
ton  gave  the  word,  humanely  cautioning  the  men  not  to 
exceed  the  discipline  prescribed  by  the  Mosaic  law,  and 
the  uproar  of  Babel  commenced  in  the  orchard.  The  cries 
of  the  leader  were  easily  to  be  distinguished  above  those 


THE  SPY.  193 

of  his  men  ;  a  circumstance  which  might  be  accounted 
for,  by  Captain  Lawton's  reminding  his  corrector  that  he 
had  to  deal  with  an  officer,  and  he  should  remember  and 
pay  him  unusual  honor.  The  flagellation  was  executed 
with  great  neatness  and  despatch,  and  it  was  distinguished 
by  no  irregularity,  excepting  that  none  of  the  disciplinar- 
ians began  to  count  until  they  had  tried  their  whips  by  a 
dozen  or  more  blows,  by  the  way,  as  they  said  themselves, 
of  finding  out  the  proper  places  to  strike.  As  soon  as  this 
summary  operation  was  satisfactorily  completed,  Lawton 
directed  his  men  to  leave  the  Skinners  to  replace  their  own 
clothes,  and  to  mount  their  horses  ;  for  they  were  a  party 
who  had  been  detached  for  the  purpose  of  patrolling  lower 
down  in  the  county. 

"  You  see,  my  friend,"  said  the  captain  to  the  leader  of 
the  Skinners,  after  he  had  prepared  himself  to  depart,  "  I 
can  cover  you  to  some  purpose,  when  necessary.  If  we 
meet  often,  you  will  be  covered  with  scars,  which,  if  not 
very  honorable,  will  at  least  be  merited." 

The  fellow  made  no  reply.  He  was  busy  with  his 
musket,  and  hastening  his  comrades  to  march  ;  when, 
everything  being  ready,  they  proceeded  sullenly  toward 
some  rocks  at  no  great  distance,  which  were  overhung  by 
a  deep  wood.  The  moon  was  just  rising,  and  the  group 
of  dragoons  could  easily  be  distinguished  where  they  had 
been  left.  Suddenly  turning,  the  whole  gang  levelled  their 
pieces  and  drew  the  triggers.  The  action  was  noticed,  and 
the  snapping  of  the  locks  was  heard  by  the  soldiers,  who 
returned  their  futile  attempt  with  a  laugh  of  derision,  the 
captain  crying  aloud  : 

"  Ah  !  rascals,  I  knew  you,  and  have  taken  away  your 
flints." 

"You  should  have  taken  away  that  in  my  pouch  too," 
shouted  the  leader,  firing  his  gun  in  the  next  instant.  The 
bullet  grazed  the  ear  of  Lawton,  who  laughed  as  he  shook 
his  head,  saying,  "A  miss  was  as  good  as  a  mile."  One  of 
the  dragoons  had  seen  the  preparations  of  the  Skinner — 
who  had  been  left  alone  by  the  rest  of  his  gang  as  soon  as 
they  had  made  their  abortive  attempt  at  revenge — and  was 
in  the  act  of  plunging  his  spurs  into  his  horse  as  the  fellow 
fired.  The  distance  to  the  rocks  was  but  small,  yet  the 
speed  of  the  horse  compelled  the  leader  to  abandon  both 
money  and  musket,  to  effect  his  escape.  The  soldier  re- 
turned with  his  prizes,  and  offered  them  to  the  acceptance 
of  his  captain,  but  Lawton  rejected  them,  telling  the  man 
'3 


194  THE   SPY. 

to  retain  them  himself,  until  the  rascal  appeared  in  person 
to  claim  his  property.  It  would  have  been  a  business  of 
no  small  difficulty  for  any  tribunal  then  existing  in  the  new 
states  to  have  enforced  a  restitution  of  the  money  ;  for  it 
was  shortly  after  most  equitably  distributed,  by  the  hands 
of  Sergeant.  Hollister,  among  a  troop  of  horse.  The  patrol 
departed,  and  the  captain  slowly  returned  to  his  quarters, 
with  an  intention  of  retiring  to  rest.  A  figure  moving 
rapidly  among  the  trees,  in  the  direction  of  the  wood 
whither  the  Skinners  had  retired,  caught  his  eye,  and, 
wheeling  on  his  heel,  the  cautious  partisan  approached  it, 
and,  to  his  astonishment,  saw  the  washerwoman  at  that 
hour  of  the  night,  and  in  such  a  place. 

"What,  Betty?  walking  in  your  sleep,  or  dreaming 
while  awake?"  cried  the  trooper  ;  "are  you  not  afraid  of 
meeting  with  the  ghost  of  ancient  Jenny  in  this  her  favor- 
ite pasture  ? " 

"Ah,  sure,  Captain  Jack,"  returned  the  sutler  in  her 
native  accent,  and  reeling  in  a  manner  that  made  it  diffi- 
cult for  her  to  raise  her  head,  "it's  not  Jenny  or  her  ghost 
that  I'm  saaking,  but  some  yarbs  for  the  wounded.  And 
it's  the  vartue  of  the  rising  moon,  as  it  just  touches  them, 
that  I  want.  They  grow  under  yon  rocks,  and  I  must 
hasten,  or  the  charm  will  lose  its  power." 

**  Fool,  you  are  fitter  for  your  pallet  than  for  wandering 
among  those  rocks  :  a  fall  from  one  of  them  would  break 
your  bones;  besides,  the  Skinners  have  fled  to  these 
heights,  and  should  you  fall  in  with  them,  they  would  re- 
venge on  you  a  sound  flogging  they  have  just  received 
from  me.  Better  return,  old  woman,  and  finish  your  nap  ; 
we  march  in  the  morning." 

Betty  disregarded  his  advice,  and  continued  her  devious 
route  to  the  hillside.  For  an  instant,  as  Lawton  men- 
tioned the  Skinners,  she  had  paused,  but  immediately  re- 
suming her  course,  she  was  soon  out  of  sight  among  the 
trees. 

As  the  captain  entered  his  quarters,  the  sentinel  at  the 
door  inquired  if  he  had  met  Mrs.  Flanagan,  and  added 
that  she  had  passed  there,  filling  the  air  with  threats  against 
her  tormentors  at  the  "  Hotel,"  and  inquiring  for  the  cap- 
tain, in  search  of  redress.  Lawton  heard  the  man  in  as- 
tonishment— appeared  struck  with  a  new  idea — walked 
several  yards  toward  the  orchard,  and  returned  again  ; 
for  several  minutes  he  paced  rapidly  to  and  fro  before  the 
door  of  the  house,  and  then  hastily  entering  it,  he  threw 


THE   SPY.  195 

himself  on  a  bed  in  his  clothes,  and  was  soon  in  a  pro- 
found sleep. 

In  the  meantime,  the  gang  of  marauders  had  success- 
fully gained  the  summit  of  the  rocks,  and,  scattering  in 
every  direction,  they  buried  themselves  in  the  depths  of 
the  wood.  Finding,  however,  there  was  no  pursuit,  which 
indeed  would  have  been  impracticable  for  horse,  the 
leader  ventured  to  call  his  band  together  with  a  whistle, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  succeeded  in  collecting  his  dis- 
comfited party,  at  a  point  where  they  had  but  little  to  ap- 
prehend from  any  enemy. 

"  Well,"  said  one  of  the  fellows,  while  a  fire  was  light- 
ing to  protect  them  against  the  air,  which  was  becoming 
extremely  cold,  "there  is  an  end  of  our  business  in  West- 
chester.  The  Virginia  Horse  will  soon  make  the  country 
too  hot  to  hold  us." 

"  I'll  have  his  blood,"  muttered  the  leader,  "  if  I  die  for 
it  the  next  instant." 

"  Oh,  you  are  very  valiant  "here,  in  the  wood,"  cried  the 
other,  with  a  savage  laugh  ;  "  why  did  you,  who  boast  so 
much  of  your  aim,  miss  your  man,  at  thirty  yards  ? " 

"'Twas  the  horseman  that  disturbed  me,  or  I  would 
have  ended  this  Captain  Lavvton  on  the  spot ;  besides,  the 
cold  had  set  me  a-shivering,  and  I  had  no  longer  a  steady 
hand." 

"  Say  it  was  fear,  and  you  will  tell  no  lie,"  said  his  com- 
rade, with  a  sneer.  "  For  my  part,  I  think  I  shall  never 
be  cold  agtiin  ;  my  back  burns  as  if  a  thousand  gridirons 
were  laid  on  it." 

"And  you  would  tamely  submit  to  such  usage,  and  kiss 
the  rod  that  beat  you  ?  " 

"  As  for  kissing  the  rod,  it  would  be  no  easy  matter. 
Mine  was  broken  into  so  small  pieces,  on  my  own  shoul- 
ders, that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  one  big  enough  to 
kiss  ;  but  I  would  rather  submit  to  lose  half  my  skin  than 
to  lose  the  whole  of  it,  with  my  ears  in  the  bargain.  And 
such  will  be  our  fate,  if  we  tempt  this  mad  Virginian  again. 
God  willing,  I  would  at  any  time  give  him  enough  of  my 
hide  to  make  a  pair  of  jack-boots,  to  get  out  of  his  hands 
with  the  remainder.  If  you  had  known  when  you  were 
well  off,  you  would  have  stuck  to  Major  Dunwoodie,  who 
don't  know  half  so  much  of  our  evil-doings." 

"Silence,  you  talking  fool!"  shouted  the  enraged 
leader  ;  "your  prating  is  sufficient  to  drive  a  man  mad  ;  is 
it  not  enough  to  be  robbed  and  beaten,  but  we  must  be 


196  THE   SPY. 

tormented  with  your  folly  ? — help  to  get  out  the  provi- 
sions, if  any  is  left  in  the  wallet,  and  try  and  stop  your 
mouth  with  food." 

This  injunction  was  obeyed,  and  the  whole  party,  amidst 
sundry  groans  and  contortions,  excited  by  the  disordered 
state  of  their  backs,  made  their  arrangements  for  a  scanty 
meal.  A  large  fire  of  dry  wood  was  burning  in  the  cleft 
of  a  rock,  and  at  length  they  began  to  recover  from  the 
confusion  of  their  flight,  and  to  collect  their  scattered 
senses.  Their  hunger  being  appeased,  and  many  of  their 
garments  thrown  aside  for  the  better  opportunity  of  dress- 
ing their  wounds,  the  gang  began  to  plot  measures  of  re- 
venge. An  hour  was  spent  in  this  manner,  and  various 
expedients  were  proposed  ;  but  as  they  all  depended  upon 
personal  prowess  for  their  success,  and  were  attended  by 
great  danger,  they  were  of  course  rejected.  There  was  not 
possibility  of  approaching  the  troops  by  surprise,  their 
vigilance  being  ever  on  the  watch  ;  and  the  hope  of  meet- 
ing Captain  Lawton,  away  from  his  men,  was  equally  for- 
lorn, for  the  trooper  was  constantly  engaged  in  his  duty, 
and  his  movements  were  so  rapid  that  any  opportunity  of 
meeting  with  him,  at  all,  must  depend  greatly  on  accident. 
Besides,  it  was  by  no  means  certain  that  such  an  inter- 
view would  result  happily  for  themselves.  The  cunning 
of  the  trooper  was  notorious  ;  and  rough  and  broken  as 
was  Westchester,  the  fearless  partisan  was  known  to  take 
some  desperate  leaps,  and  stone  walls  were  but  slight  im- 
pediments to  the  charges  of  the  Southern  Horse.  Grad- 
ually, the  conversation  took  another  direction,  until  the 
gang  determined  on  a  plan  which  should  both  revenge 
themselves,  and  at  the  same  time  offer  some  additional 
stimulus  to  their  exertions.  The  whole  business  was  ac- 
curately discussed,  the  time  fixed,  and  the  manner  adopted  ; 
in  short,  nothing  was  wanting  to  the  previous  arrange- 
ment for  this  deed  of  villainy,  when  they  were  aroused  by 
a  voice  calling  aloud  : 

"This  way,  Captain  Jack — here  are  the  rascals  ating  by 
a  fire — this  way  and  murder  the  tieves  where  they  sit — 
quick,  lave  your  horses  and  shoot  your  pistols!  " 

This  terrific  summons  was  enough  to  disturb  all  the 
philosophy  of  the  gang.  Springing  on  their  feet,  they 
rushed  deeper  into  the  wood,  and  having  already  agreed 
upon  a  place  of  rendezvous  previously  to  their  intended 
expedition,  they  dispersed  toward  the  four  quarters  of  the 
heavens.  Certain  sounds  and  different  voices  were  heard 


THE   SPY.  197 

calling  on  each  other,  but  as  the  marauders  were  well 
trained  to  speed  of  foot,  they  were  soon  lost  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

It  was  not  long  before  Betty  Flanagan  emerged  from 
the  darkness,  and  very  coolly  took  possession  of  what  the 
Skinners  had  left  behind  them  ;  namely,  food  and  divers 
articles  of  dress.  The  washerwoman  deliberately  seated 
herself,  and  made  a  meal  with  great  apparent  satisfaction. 
For  an  hour,  she  sat  with  her  head  upon  her  hand,  in  deep 
musing;  then  she  gathered  together  such  articles  of  the 
clothes  as  seemed  to  suit  her  fancy,  and  retired  into  the 
wood,  leaving  the  fire  to  throw  its  glimmering  light  on 
the  adjacent  rocks,  until  its  last  brand  died  away,  and  the 
place  was  abandoned  to  solitude  and  darkness. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

No  longer  then  perplex  the  breast — 

When  thoughts  torment,  the  first  are  best ; 

'Tismad  to  go,  'tis  death  to  stay  ! 

Away,  to  Orra,  haste  away. — Lapland  Love  Song. 

WHILE  his  comrades  were  sleeping  in  perfect  forgetful- 
ness  of  their  hardships  and  dangers,  the  slumbers  of  Dun- 
woodie  were  broken  and  unquiet.  After  spending  a  night 
of  restlessness,  he  arose,  unrefreshed,  from  the  rude  bed 
where  he  had  thrown  himself  in  his  clothes,  and,  without 
awaking  any  of  the  group  around  him,  he  wandered  into 
the  open  air  in  search  of  relief.  The  soft  rays  of  the  moon 
were  just  passing  away  in  the  more  distinct  light  of  the 
morning  ;  the  wind  had  fallen,  and  the  rising  mists  gave  the 
promise  of  another  of  those  autumnal  days  which,  in  this 
unstable  climate,  succeed  a  tempest  with  the  rapid  transi- 
tions of  magic.  The  hour  had  not  yet  arrived  when  he  in- 
tended moving  from  his  present  position  ;  and,  willing  to 
allow  his  warriors  all  the  refreshment  that  circumstances 
would  permit,  he  strolled  toward  the  scene  of  the  Skinners' 
punishment,  musing  upon  the  embarrassments  of  his  situa- 
tion, and  uncertain  how  he  should  reconcile  his  sense  of 
duty  with  his  love.  Although  Dunwoodie  himself  placed 
the  most  implicit  reliance  on  the  captain's  purity  of  inten- 
tion, he  was  by  no  means  assured  that  a  board  of  officers 
would  be  equally  credulous  ;  and,  independently  of  all  feel* 
ings  of  private  regard,  he  felt  certain  that  with  the  execu- 


198  THE   SPY. 

tion  of  Henry  would  be  destroyed  all  hopes  of  a  union  with 
his  sister.  He  had  despatched  an  officer,  the  preceding 
evening,  to  Colonel  Singleton,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
advance  posts,  reporting  the  capture  of  the  British  captain, 
and,  after  giving  his  own  opinion  of  his  innocence,  request- 
ing orders  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  was  to  dispose  of 
his  prisoner.  These  orders  might  be  expected  every  hour, 
and  his  uneasiness  increased  in  proportion  as  the  moment 
approached  when  his  friend  might  be  removed  from  his 
protection.  In  this  disturbed  state  of  mind,  the  major  wan- 
dered through  the  orchard,  and  was  stopped  in  his  walk  by 
arriving  at  the  base  of  those  rocks  which  had  protected  the 
Skinners  in  their  flight  before  he  was  conscious  whither  his 
steps  had  carried  him.  He  was  about  to  turn  and  retrace 
his  path  to  his  quarters,  when  he  was  startled  by  a  voice, 
bidding  him: 

"  Stand  or  die  !  " 

Dunwoodie  turned  in  amazement,  and  beheld  the  figure 
of  a  man  placed  at  a  little  distance  above  him  on  a  shelving 
rock,  with  a  musket  levelled  at  himself.  The  light  was  not 
yet  sufficiently  powerful  to  reach  the  recesses  of  that 
gloomy  spot,  and  a  second  look  was  necessary  before  he 
discovered,  to  his  astonishment,  that  the  peddler  stood  be- 
fore him.  Comprehending,  in  an  instant,  the  danger  of 
his  situation,  and  disdaining  to  implore  mercy  or  to  re- 
treat, had  the  latter  been  possible,  the  youth  cried  firmly  : 

"  If  I  am  to  be  murdered,  fire  !  I  will  never  become 
your  prisoner." 

"  No,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  Birch,  lowering  his  mus- 
ket, "  it  is  neither  my  intention  to  capture  nor  to  slay." 

"  What  then  would  you  have,  mysterious  being  ? "  said 
Dunwoodie,  hardly  able  to  persuade  himself  that  the  form 
he  saw  was  not  a  creature  of  the  imagination. 

"  Your  good  opinion,"  answered  the  peddler,  with  emo- 
tion ;  "  I  would  wish  all  good  men  to  judge  me  with 
lenity." 

"  To  you  it  must  be  indifferent  what  may  be  the  judg- 
ment of  men  ;  for  you  seem  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
their  sentence." 

"  God  spares  the  lives  of  his  servants  to  his  own  time," 
said  the  peddler,  solemnly  ;  "a  few  hours  ago  I  was  your 
prisoner,  and  threatened  with  the  gallows  ;  now  you  are 
mine  ;  but,  Major  Dunwoodie,  you  are  free.  There  are 
men  abroad  who  would  treat  you  less  kindly.  Of  what 
service  would  that  sword  be  to  you  against  my  weapon 


THE   SPY.  199 

and  a  steady  hand  ?  Take  the  advice  of  one  who  has  never 
harmed  you,  and  who  never  will.  Do  not  trust  yourself  in 
the  skirts  of  any  wood,  unless  in  company  and  mounted." 

"  And  have  you  comrades,  who  have  assisted  you  to 
escape,  and  who  are  less  generous  than  yourself  ?" 

"  No — no,  I  am  alone  truly — none  know  me  but  my  God 
and  Him" 

"  And  who  ?  "  asked  the  major,  with  an  interest  he  could 
not  control. 

"  None,"  continued  the  peddler,  recovering  his  compos- 
ure. "  But  such  is  not  your  case,  Major  Dunwoodie ;  you 
are  young  and  happy  ;  there  are  those  that  are  dear  to 
you,  and  such  are  not  far  away — danger  is  near  them  you 
love  most — danger  within  and  without  ;  double  your 
watchfulness;  strengthen  your  patrols — and  be  silent. 
With  your  opinion  of  me,  should  I  tell  you  more,  you 
would  suspect  an  ambush.  But  remember  and  guard 
them  you  love  best." 

The  peddler  discharged  the  musket  in  the  air,  and  threw 
it  at  the  feet  of  his  astonished  auditor.  When  surprise 
and  the  smoke  allowed  Dunwoodie  to  look  again  on  the 
rock  where  he  had  stood,  the  spot  was  vacant. 

The  youth  was  aroused  from  the  stupor,  which  had  been 
created  by  this  strange  scene,  by  the  trampling  of  horses 
and  the  sound  of  the  bugles.  A  patrol  was  drawn  to  the 
spot  by  the  report  of  the  musket,  and  the  alarm  had  been 
given  to  the  corps.  Without  entering  into  any  explanation 
with  his  men,  the  major  returned  quickly  to  his  quarters, 
where  he  found  the  whole  squadron  under  arms,  in  battle 
array,  impatiently  awaiting  the  appearance  of  their  leader. 
The  officer  whose  duty  it  was  to  superintend  such  matters, 
had  directed  a  party  to  lower  the  sign  of  the  Hotel  Flana- 
gan, and  the  post  was  already  arranged  for  the  execution 
of  the  spy.  On  hearing  from  the  major  that  the  musket 
was  discharged  by  himself,  and  was  probably  one  of  those 
dropped  by  the  Skinners  (for  by  this  time  Dunwoodie  had 
learnt  the  punishment  inflicted  by  Lawton,  but  chose  to 
conceal  his  own  interview  with  Birch),  his  officers  sug- 
gested the  propriety  of  executing  their  prisoner  before 
they  marched. .  Unable  to  believe  that  all  he  had  seen  was 
not  a  dream,  Dunwoodie,  followed  by  many  of  his  officers, 
and  preceded  by  Sergeant  Hollister,  went  to  the  place 
which  was  supposed  to  contain  the  peddler. 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  the  major  to  the  sentinel  who  guarded 
the  door,  "  I  trust  you  have  your  prisoner  in  safety." 


200  THE  SPY. 

'•  He  is  yet  asleep,"  replied  the  man,  "  and  he  makes 
such  a  noise,  I  could  hardly  hear  the  bugles  sound  the 
alarm." 

<l  Open  the  door,  and  bring  him  forth." 

The  order  was  obeyed  ;  but  to  the  utter  amazement  of 
the  honest  veteran  who  entered  the  prison,  he  found  the 
room  in  no  little  disorder — the  coat  of  the  peddler  where 
his  body  ought  to  have  been,  and  part  of  the  wardrobe  of 
Betty  scattered  in  disorder  on  the  floor.  The  washer- 
woman herself  occupied  the  pallet,  in  profound  mental 
oblivion,  clad  as  when  last  seen,  excepting  a  little  black 
bonnet,  which  she  so  constantly  wore,  that  it  was  com- 
monly thought  she  made  it  perform  the  double  duty  of 
both  day  and  night  cap.  The  noise  of  their  entrance  and 
the  exclamations  of  the  party  awoke  the  woman. 

"Is  it  the  breakfast  that's  wanting  ?"  said  Betty,  rub- 
bing her  eyes  ;  "  faith,  yee  look  as  if  yee  would  ate  myself 
— but  patience  a  little,  darlings,  and  ye'll  see  sich  a  fry  as 
never  was." 

"  Fry ! "  echoed  the  sergeant,  forgetful  of  his  religious 
philosophy  and  the  presence  of  his  officers  ;  "  we'll  have 
you  roasted,  Jezebel  ! — you  have  helped  that  damn'd  ped- 
dler to  escape." 

"Jezebel  back  agin  in  your  teeth,  and  damn'd  pidler  too, 
Mister  Sargeant  !  "  cried  Betty,  who  was  easily  aroused  ; 
"  what  have  I  to  do  with  pidlers,  or  escapes  ?  I  might 
have  been  a  pidler's  lady,  and  worn  my  silks,  if  I'd  had 
Sawny  M'Twill,  instead  of  tagging  at  the  heels  of  a  parcel 
of  dragooning  rapscallions,  who  don't  know  how  to  trate 
a  lone  body  with  dacency." 

"The  fellow  has  left  my  Bible,"  said  the  veteran,  taking 
the  book  from  the  floor  ;  "  instead  of  spending  his  time  in 
reading  it  to  prepare  for  his  end,  like  a  good  Christian,  he 
has  been  busy  in  laboring  to  escape." 

"  And  who  would  stay  and  be  hanged  like  a  dog  ? "  cried 
Betty,  beginning  to  comprehend  the  case  ;  "'tisn't  every- 
one that's  born  to  meet  sich  an  ind — like  yourself,  Mister 
Hollister." 

"SUencct"  said  Dunwoodie.  "This  must  be  inquired 
into  closely,  gentlemen  ;  there  is  no  outlet  but  the  door, 
and  he  could  not  pass,  unless  the  sentinel  connived  at  his 
escape,  or  was  asleep  on  his  post.  Call  up  the  guard." 

As  these  men  were  not  paraded,  curiosity  had  already 
drawn  them  to  the  place,  and  they  one  and  all,  with  the 
exception  of  him  before  mentioned,  denied  that  any  per- 


THE   SPY.  201 

son  had  passed  out.  The  individual  in  question  acknowl- 
edged that  Betty  had  gone  by  him,  but  pleaded  his  orders 
in  justification. 

"You  lie,  you  tief — you  lie  !"  shouted  Betty,  who  had 
impatiently  listened  to  his  exculpation  ;  "  would  yee 
slanderize  a  lone  woman,  by  saying  she  walks  a  camp  at 
midnight  ? — Here  have  I  been  slaaping  the  long  night, 
svvaately  as  the  sucking  ,babe." 

"  Here,  sir,"  said  the  sergeant,  turning  respectfully  to 
Dunwoodie,  "  is  something  written  in  my  Bible  that  was 
not  in  it  before  ;  for  having  no  family  record,  I  would 
never  suffer  any  scribbling  in  the  sacred  book." 

One  of  the  officers  read  aloud  :  "  These  certify,  that  if 
suffered  to  get  free,  it  is  by  God's  help  alone,  to  whose  divine 
aid  I  hunibly  riccommind  myself.  I  am  forced  to  take  the 
woman's  clothes,  but  in  her  pocket  is  a  ricompinse. —  Witness  my 
hand — Harvey  Birch." 

u  What !  "  roared  Betty,  "  has  the  tief  robbed  a  lone 
woman  of  her  all  ? — hang  him — catch  him  and  hang  him, 
major  ;  if  there's  law  or  justice  in  the  land." 

"  Examine  your  pocket,"  said  one  of  the  youngsters, 
who  was  enjoying  the  scene,  careless  of  the  consequences. 

"Ah!  faith,"  cried  the  washerwoman,  producing  a 
guinea,  "  but  he  is  a  jewel  of  a  pidler  !  Long  life  and  a 
brisk  trade  to  him,  say  I  ;  he  is  wilcome  to  the  duds — and 
if  he  is  ever  hanged,  many  a  bigger  rogue  will  go  free." 

Dunwoodie  turned  to  leave  the  apartment,  and  he  saw 
Captain  Lawton  standing  with  folded  arms,  contemplating 
the  scene  in  profound  silence.  His  manner,  so  different 
from  his  usual  impetuosity  and  zeal,  struck  his  com- 
mander as  singular.  Their  eyes  met,  and  they  walked  to- 
gether for  a  few  minutes  in  close  conversation,  when  Dun- 
woodie returned,  and  dismissed  the  guard  to  their  place 
of  rendezvous.  Sergeant  Hollister,  however,  continued 
along  with  Betty,  who  having  found  none  of  her  vest- 
ments-disturbed but  such  as  the  guinea  more  than  paid 
for,  was  in  high  good  humor.  The  washerwoman  had  for 
a  long  time  looked  on  the  veteran  with  the  eyes  of  affec- 
tion !  and  she  had  determined  within  herself  to  remove 
certain  delicate  objections  which  had  long  embarrassed 
her  peculiar  situation,  as  respected  the  corps,  by  making 
the  sergeant  the  successor  of  her  late  husband.  For  some 
time  past  the  trooper  had  seemed  to  flatter  this  prefer- 
ence ;  and  Betty,  conceiving  that  her  violence  might  have 
mortified  her  suitor,  was  determined  to  make  him  all  the 


202  THE   SPY. 

amends  in  her  power.  Besides,  rough  and  uncouth  as 
she  was,  the  washerwoman  had  still  enough  of  the  sex  to 
know  that  the  moments  of  reconciliation  were  the  mo- 
ments of  power.  She  therefore  poured  out  a  glass  of  her 
morning  beverage,  and  handed  it  to  her  companion  as  a 
peace-offering. 

"  A  few  warm  words  between  f rinds  are  a  trifle,  yee 
must  be  knowing,  sargeant,"  said  the  washerwoman  ;  "  it 
was  Michael  Flanagan  that  I  ever  calumnated  the  most 
when  I  was  loving  him  the  best." 

"Michael  was  a  good  soldier  and  a  brave  man,"  said 
the  trooper,  finishing  the  glass  ;  "  our  troop  was  covering 
the  flank  of  his  regiment  when  he  fell,  and  I  rode  over  his 
body  myself  during  the  day  ;  poor  fellow  !  he  lay  on  his 
back,  and  looked  as  composed  as  if  he  had  died  a  natural 
death  after  a  year's  consumption." 

"  Oh  !  Michael  was  a  great  consumer,  arid  be  sartain  ; 
two  such  as  us  make  dreadful  inroads  in  the  stock,  sar- 
geant. But  yee'r  a  sober,  discrate  man,  Mister  Hollister, 
and  would  be  a  helpmate  indeed." 

"Why,  Mrs.  Flanagan,  I've  tarried  to  speak  on  a  sub' 
ject  that  lies  heavy  at  my  heart,  and  I  will  now  open  my 
mind,  if  you've  leisure  to  listen." 

"  Is  it  listen  ? "  cried  the  impatient  woman  ;  "  and  I'd 
listen  to  you,  s-argeant,  if  the  officers  never  ate  another 
mouthful  ;  but  take  a  second  drop,  dear,  'twill  encourage 
you  to  spake  freely." 

"  I  am  already  bold  enough  in  so  good  a  cause,"  re- 
turned the  veteran,  rejecting  her  bounty.  "  Betty,  do  you 
think  it  was  really  the  peddler-spy  that  I  placed  in  this 
room,  the  last  night  ?  " 

"  And  who  should  it  be  else,  darling  ? " 

"The  evil  one." 

"What,  thedivil?" 

"Ay,  even  Beelzebub,  disguised  as  the  peddler;  and 
them  fellows  we  thought  to  be  Skinners  were  his  imps  !  " 

"Well,  sure,  sargeant,  dear,  yee'r  but  little  out  this 
time  anyway  ;  for  if  the  divil's  imps  go  at  large  in  the 
county  Westchester,  sure  it  is  the  Skinners,  themselves." 

"  Mrs.  Flanagan,  I  mean  in  their  incarnate  spirits  ;  the 
evil  one  knew  that  there  was  no  one  we  would  arrest 
sooner  than  the  peddler  Birch,  and  he  took  on  his  ap- 
pearance to  gain  admission  to  your  room." 

"  And  what  should  the  divil  be  wanting  of  me  ?  "  cried 
Betty,  tartly  ;  "  and  isn't  there  divils  enough  in  the  corps 


THE   SPY.  203 

already,  without  one's  coming  from  the  bottomless  pit  to 
frighten  a  lone  body  ?" 

"  'Twas  in  mercy  to  you,  Betty,  that  he  was  permitted  to 
come.  You  see  he  vanished  through  the  door  in  your 
form,  which  is  a  symbol  of  your  fate,  unless  you  mend 
your  life.  Oh  !  I  noticed  how  he  trembled  when  I  gave 
him  the  good  book.  Would  any  Christian,  think  you,  my 
dear  Betty,  write  in  a  Bible  in  this  way  ;  unless  it  might 
be  the  matter  of  births  and  deaths,  and  such  lawful  chron- 
icles?" 

The  washerwoman  was  pleased  with  the  softness  of  her 
lover's  manner,  but  dreadfully  scandalized  at  his  insinua- 
tion. She,  however,  preserved  her  temper,  and  with  the 
quickness  of  her  own  country's  people,  rejoined  : 

"And  would  the  divil  have  paid  for  the  clothes,  think 
ye  ? — ay,  and  overpaid  ? " 

"Doubtless  the  money  is  base,"  said  the  sergeant,  a  lit- 
tle staggered  at  such  an  evidence  of  honesty  in  one  of 
whom,  as  to  generals,  he  thought  so  meanly.  "  He  tempted 
me  with  his  glittering  coin,  but  the  Lord  gave  me  strength 
to  resist." 

"  The  goold  looks  well  ;  but  I'll  change  it,  anyway,  with 
Captain  Jack,  the  day.  He  is  niver  a  bit  afeard  of  any 
divil  of  them  all  !  " 

"  Betty,  Betty,"  said  her  companion,  "  do  not  speak  so 
disreverently  of  the  evil  spirit  ;  he  is  ever  at  hand,  and  will 
owe  you  a  grudge  for  your  language." 

"  Pooh  !  if  he  has  any  bowels  at  all,  he  won't  mind  a  fil- 
lip or  two  from  a  poor  lone  woman  ;  I'm  sure  no  other 
Christian  would." 

"  But  the  dark  one  has  no  bowels,  except  to  devour  the 
children  of  men,"  said  the  sergeant,  looking  round  him  in 
horror;  "and  it's  best  to  make  friends  everywhere,  for 
there  is  no  telling  what  may  happen  till  it  comes.  But, 
Betty,  no  man  could  have  got  out  of  this  place  and  passed 
all  the  sentinels  without  being  known  ;  take  awful  warning 
from  the  visit,  therefore " 

Here  the  dialogue  was  interrupted  by  a  peremptory  sum- 
mons to  the  sutler  to  prepare  the  morning's  repast,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  separate  ;  the  woman  secretly  hoping 
that  the  interest  the  sergeant  manifested  was  more  earthly 
than  he  imagined,  and  the  man  bent  on  saving  a  soul  from 
the  fangs  of  the  dark  spirit  that  was  prowling  through 
their  camp  in  quest  of  victims. 

During  the  breakfast  several  expresses  arrived,  one  of 


204 


THE    SPY. 


which  brought  intelligence  of  the  actual  force  and  destina- 
tion of  the  enemy's  expedition  that  was  out  on  the  Hud- 
son ;  and  another,  orders  to  send  Captain  Wharton  to  the 
first  post  above,  under  the  escort  of  a  body  of  dragoons. 
These  last  instructions,  or  rather  commands,  for  they  ad- 
mitted of  no  departure  from  their  letter,  completed  the 
sum  of  Dunwoodie's  uneasiness.  The  despair  and  misery 
of  Frances  were  constantly  before  his  eyes,  and  fifty  times 
he  was  tempted  to  throw  himself  on  his  horse  and  gallop 
to  the  Locusts  ;  but  an  uncontrollable  feeling  prevented. 
In  obedience  to  the  commands  of  his  superior,  an  officer, 
with  a  small  party,  was  sent  to  the  cottage  to  conduct 
Henry  Wharton  to  the  place  directed  ;  and  the  gentleman 
who  was  intrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  order  was 
charged  with  a  letter  from  Dunwoodie  to  his  friend,  con- 
taining the  most  cheering  assurances  of  his  safety,  as  well 
as  the  strongest  pledges  of  his  own  unceasing  exertions  in 
his  favor.  Lawton  was  left  with  part  of  his  own  troop,  in 
charge  of  the  few  wounded  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  men  were 
refreshed,  the  encampment  broke  up,  the  main  body  march- 
ing toward  the  Hudson.  Dunwoodie  repeated  his  injunc- 
tions to  Captain  Lawton  again  and  again — dwelt  on  every 
word  that  had  fallen  from  the  peddler,  and  canvassed,  in 
every  possible  manner  that  his  ingenuity  could  devise, 
the  probable  meaning  of  his  mysterious  warnings,  until 
no  excuse  remained  for  delaying  his  own  departure.  Sud- 
denly recollecting,  however,  that  no  directions  had  been 
given  for  the  disposal  of  Colonel  Wellmere,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing the  rear  of  the  column,  the  major  yielded  to  his 
desires,  and  turned  down  the  road  which  led  to  the  Lo- 
custs. The  horse  of  Dunwoodie  was  fleet  as  the  wind, 
and  scarcely  a  minute  seemed  to  have  passed  before  he 
gained  sight,  from  an  eminence,  of  the  lonely  vale  ;  and  as 
he  was  plunging  into  the  bottom  lands  that  formed  its 
surface,  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Henry  Wharton  and  his 
escort,  at  a  distance,  defiling  through  a  pass  which  led  to 
the  posts  above.  This  sight  added  to  the  speed  of  the 
anxious  youth,  who  now  turned  the  angle  of  the  hill  that 
opened  to  the  valley,  and  came  suddenly  on  the  object  of 
his  search.  Frances  had  followed  the  party  which  guarded 
her  brother  at  a  distance  ;  and  as  they  vanished  from  her 
sight,  she  felt  deserted  by  all  that  she  most  prized  in  this 
world.  The  unaccountable  absence  of  Dunwoodie,  with 
the  shock  of  parting  from  Henry  under  such  circumstances, 
had  entirely  subdued  her  fortitude,  and  she  had  sunk  on 


THE    SPY.  205 

a  stone  by  the  roadside,  sobbing  as  if  her  heart  would 
break.  Dunvvoodie  sprang  from  his  charger,  threw  the 
reins  over,  the  neck  of  the  animal,  and  in  a  moment  he 
was  by  the  side  of  the  weeping  girl. 

"  Frances — my  own  Frances  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "why  this 
distress  ?  let  not  the  situation  of  your  brother  create  any 
alarm.  As  soon  as  the  duty  I  am  now  on  is  completed,  I 
will  hasten  to  the  feet  of  Washington,  and  beg  his  release. 
The  Father  of  his  Country  will  never  deny  such  a  boon  to 
one  of  his  favorite  pupils." 

"  Major  Dunwoodie,  for  your  interest  in  behalf  of  my  poor 
brother,  I  thank  you,"  said  the  trembling  girl,  drying  her 
eyes,  and  rising  with  dignity  ;  "  but  such  language  ad- 
dressed to  me,  is  surely  improper." 

"  Improper  !  are  you  not  mine — by  the  consent  of  your 
father — your  aunt — your  brother — nay,  by  your  own  con- 
sent, my  sweet  Frances  ?  " 

"  I  wish  not,  Major  Dunwoodie,  to  interfere  with  the 
prior  claims  that  any  other  lady  may  have  to  your  affec- 
tions," said  Frances,  struggling  to  speak  with  firmness. 

"  None  other,  I  swear  by  Heaven,  none  other  has  any 
claim  on  me  !  "  cried  Dunwoodie,  with  fervor  :  "  you  alone 
are  mistress  of  my  inmost  soul." 

"  You  have  practised  so  much,  and  so  successfully,  Major 
Dunwoodie,  that  it  is  no  wonder  you  excel  in  deceiving  the 
credulity  of  my  sex,"  returned  Frances,  attempting  a  smile, 
which  the  tremulousness  of  her  muscles  smothered  in  its 
birth. 

"Am  la  villain,  Miss  Wharton,  that  you  receive  me 
with  such  language  ? — when  have  I  ever  deceived  you, 
Frances  ?  who  has  practised  in  this  manner  on  your  purity 
of  heart  ? " 

"Why  has  not  Major  Dunwoodie  honored  the  dwelling 
of  his  intended  father  with  his  presence  lately  ?  Did  he  for- 
get it  contained  one  friend  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  and 
another  in  deep  distress  ?  Has  it  escaped  his  memory  that 
it  held  his  intended  wife  ?  Or  is  he  fearful  of  meeting 
more  than  one  that  can  lay  a  claim  to  that  title  ?  Oh,  Pey- 
ton— Peyton,  how  have  I  been  deceived  in  you !  with  the 
foolish  credulity  of  my  youth,  I  thought  you  all  that  was 
brave,  noble,  generous,  and  loyal." 

"  Frances,  I  see  how  you  have  deceived  yourself,"  cried 
Dunwoodie,  his  face  in  a  glow  of  fire  ;  "you  do  me  injus- 
tice ;  I  swear  by  all  that  is  most  dear  to  me,  that  you  do 
me  injustice." 


206  THE   SPY. 

"  Swear  not,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  interrupted  Frances, 
her  fine  countenance  lighting  with  the  lustre  of  womanly 
pride  ;  "the  time  is  gone  by  for  me  to  credit  oaths." 

"Miss  Wharton,  would  you  have  me  a  coxcomb — make 
me  contemptible  in  my  own  eyes,  by  boasting  with  the  hope 
of  raising  myself  in  your  estimation  ? " 

"  Flatter  not  yourself  that  the  task  is  so  easy,  sir,"  re- 
turned Frances,  moving  toward  the  cottage  ;  "  we  converse 
together  in  private  for  the  last  time  ;  but — possibly — my 
father  would  welcome  my  mother's  kinsman." 

"No,  Miss  Wharton,  I  cannot  enter  his  dwelling  now  ;  I 
should  act  in  a  manner  unworthy  of  myself.  You  drive 
me  from  you,  Frances,  in  despair.  I  am  going  on  desper- 
ate service,  and  may  not  live  to  return.  Should  fortune 
prove  severe,  at  least  do  my  memory  justice  ;  remember 
that  the  last  breathings  of  my  soul  will  be  for  your  happi- 
ness." So  saying,  he  had  already  placed  his  foot  in  the 
stirrup,  but  his  youthful  mistress  turning  on  him  an  eye 
that  pierced  his  soul,  arrested  the  action.  ' 

"  Peyton — Major  Dunwoodie,"  she  said,  "  can  you  ever 
forget  the  sacred  cause  in  which  you  are  enlisted  ?  Duty 
both  to  your  God  and  to  your  country  forbids  you  doing 
anything  rashly.  The  latter  has  need  of  your  services  ; 

besides "  but  her  voice  became  choked,  and  she  was 

unable  to  proceed. 

"  Besides  what  ? "  echoed  the  youth,  springing  to  her  side, 
and  offering  to  take  her  hand  in  his  own.  Frances  having, 
however,  recovered  herself,  coldly  repulsed  him,  and  con- 
tinued her  walk  homeward. 

"  Is  this  our  parting  !  "  cried  Dunwoodie,  in  agony  ;  "  am 
I  a  wretch,  that  you  treat  me  so  cruelly  ?  You  have  never 
loved  me,  and  wish  to  conceal  your  own  fickleness  by  ac- 
cusations that  you  will  not  explain." 

Frances  stopped  short  in  her  walk,  and  turned  on  him  a 
look  of  so  much  purity  and  feeling,  that,  heart-stricken, 
Dunwoodie  would  have  knelt  at  her  feet  for  pardon  ;  but 
motioning  him  for  silence,  she  once  more  spoke  : 

"  Hear  me,  Major  Dunwoodie,  for  the  last  time  ;  it  is  a 
bitter  knowledge  when  we  first  discover  our  own  inferior- 
ity ;  but  it  is  a  truth  that  I  have  lately  learnt.  Against  you 
I  bring  no  charges — make  no  accusations  ;  no,  not  willingly 
in  my  thoughts.  Were  my  claims  to  your  heart  just,  I  am 
not  worthy  of  you.  It  is  not  a  feeble,  timid  girl  like  me 
that  could  make  you  happy.  No,  Peyton,  you  are  formed 
for  great  and  glorious  actions,  deeds  of  daring  and  renown, 


THE   SPY.  207 

and  should  be  united  to  a  soul  like  your  own  ;  one  that  can 
rise  above  the  weakness  of  her  sex.  I  should  be  a  weight 
to  drag  you  to  the  dust  ;  but  with  a  different  spirit  in  your 
companion,  you  might  soar  to  the  very  pinnacle  of  earthly 
glory.  To  such  a  one,  therefore,  I  resign  you  freely,  if  not 
cheerfully  ;  and  pray,  oh,  how  fervently  do  I  pray  !  that 
with  such  a  one  you  maybe  happy." 

"  Lovely  enthusiast !  "  cried  Dunwoodie,  "  you  know  not 
yourself,  nor  me.  It  is  a  woman,  mild  and  gentle,  and  de- 
pendent as  yourself,  that  my  very  nature  loves  ;  deceive 
not  yourself  with  visionary  ideas  of  generosity,  which  will 
only  make  me  miserable." 

"  Farewell,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  the  agitated  girl, 
pausing  for  a  moment  to  gasp  for  breath  ;  "  forget  that  you 
ever  knew  me — remember  the  claims  of  your  bleeding 
country  ;  and  be  happy." 

"  Happy  ! "  repeated  the  youthful  soldier,  bitterly,  as  he 
saw  her  light  form  gliding  through  the  gate  of  the  lawn, 
and  disappearing  behind  its  shrubbery  ;  "  yes,  I  am  now 
happy,  indeed  ! " 

Throwing  himself  into  the  saddle,  he  plunged  his  spurs 
into  his  horse,  and  soon  overtook  his  squadron,  which  was 
marching  slowly  over  the  hilly  roads  of  the  country,  to 
gain  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 

But  painful  as  were  the  feelings  of  Dunwoodie  at  this 
unexpected  termination  of  the  interview  with  his  mistress, 
they  were  but  light  compared  with  those  which  were  ex- 
perienced by  the  fond  girl  herself.  Frances  had,  with  the 
keen  eye  of  jealous  love,  easily  detected  the  attachment  of 
Isabella  Singleton  to  Dunwoodie.  Delicate  and  retiring 
herself,  it  never  could  present  itself  to  her  mind  that  this 
love  had  been  unsought.  Ardent  in  her  own  affections, 
and  artless  in  their  exhibition,  she  had  early  caught  the  eye 
of  the  young  soldier  ;  but  it  required  all  the  manly  frank- 
ness of  Dunwoodie  to  court  her  favor,  and  the  most  pointed 
devotion  to  obtain  his  conquest.  This  done,  his  power  was 
durable,  entire,  and  engrossing.  But  the  unusual  occur- 
rences of  the  few  preceding  days,  the  altered  mien  of  her 
lover  during  those  events,  his  unwonted  indifference  to 
herself,  and  chiefly  the  romantic  idolatry  of  Isabella,  had 
aroused  new  sensations  in  her  bosom.  With  a  dread  of  her 
lover's  integrity  had  been  awakened  the  never-failing  con- 
comitant of  the  purest  affection,  a  distrust  of  her  own 
merits.  In  the  moment  of  enthusiasm,  the  task  of  resign- 
ing her  lover  to  another,  who  might  be  more  worthy  of  him, 


208  THE   SPY. 

seemed  easy  ;  but  it  is  in  vain  that  the  imagination  attempts 
to  deceive  the  heart.  Dunwoodie  had  no  sooner  disap- 
peared than  our  heroine  felt  all  the  misery  of  her  situa- 
tion ;  and  if  the  youth  found  some  relief  in  the  cares  of  his 
command,  Frances  was  less  fortunate  in  the  performance 
of  a  duty  imposed  on  her  by  filial  piety.  The  removal  of 
his  son  had  nearly  destroyed  the  little  energy  of  Mr.  Whar- 
ton,  who  required  all  the  tenderness  of  his  remaining  chil- 
dren to  convince  him  that  he  was  able  to  perform  the  or- 
dinary functions  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Flatter,  and  praise,  commend,  extol  their  graces  ; 
Though  ne'er  so  black,  say,  they  have  angels'  faces. 
That  man  that  hath  a  tongue,  I  say,  is  no  man, 
If  with  his  tongue  he  cannot  win  a  woman. 

— Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

IN  making  the  arrangements  by  which  Captain  Lawton 
had  been  left,  with  Sergeant  Hollister  and  twelve  men,  as  a 
guard  over  the  wounded,  and  heavy  baggage  of  the  corps, 
Dunwoodie  had  consulted  not  only  the  information  which 
had  been  conveyed  in  the  letter  of  Colonel  Singleton,  but 
the  bruises  of  his  comrade's  body.  In  vain  Lawton  de- 
clared himself  fit  for  any  duty  that  man  could  perform,  and 
plainly  intimated  that  his  men  would  never  follow  Tom 
Mason  to  a  charge  with  the  alacrity  and  confidence  with 
which  they  followed  himself  ;  his  commander  was  firm,  and 
the  reluctant  captain  was  compelled  to  comply  with  as  good 
a  grace  as  he  could  assume.  Before  parting,  Dunwoodie 
repeated  his  caution  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  inmates 
of  the  cottage  ;  and  especially  enjoined  him,  if  any  move- 
ments of  a  particularly  suspicious  nature  were  seen  in  the 
neighborhood,  to  break  up  from  his  present  quarters,  and 
to  move  down  with  his  party,  and  take  possession  of  the 
domains  of  Mr.  Wharton.  A  vague  suspicion  of  danger  to 
the  family  had  been  awakened  in  the  breast  of  the  major, 
by  the  language  of  the  peddler,  although  he  was  unable  to 
refer  it  to  any  particular  source,  or  to  understand  why  it 
was  to  be  apprehended. 

For  some  time  after  the  departure  of  the  troops,  the 
captain  was  walking  before  the  door  of  the  "  Hotel,"  in- 
wardly cursing  his  fate,  that  condemned  him  to  an  inglor- 


THE  SPY.  209 

ious  idleness,  at  a  moment  when  a  meeting  with  the  enemy 
might  be  expected,  and  replying  to  the  occasional  queries 
of  Betty,  who,  from  the  interior  of  the  building,  ever  and 
anon  demanded,  in  a  high  tone  of  voice,  an  explanation  of 
various  passages  in  the  peddler's  escape,  which  as  yet  she 
could  not  comprehend.  At  this  instant  he  was  joined  by 
the  surgeon,  who  had  hitherto  been  engaged  among  his  pa- 
tients in  a  distant  building,  and  was  profoundly  ignorant 
of  everything  that  had  occurred,  even  to  the  departure  of 
the  troops. 

"  Where  are  all  the  sentinels,  John  ?  "  he  inquired,  as  he 
gazed  around  with  a  look  of  curiosity,  "  and  why  are  you 
here  alone  ? " 

"  Off — all  off,  with  Dunwoodie,  to  the  river.  You  and 
I  are  left  here  to  take  care  of  a  few  sick  men  and  some 
women." 

"  I  am  glad,  however,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  that  Major 
Dunwoodie  had  consideration  enough  not  to  move  the 
wounded.  Here,  you  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Flanagan,  hasten 
with  some  food,  that  I  may  appease  my  appetite.  I  have 
a  dead  body  to  dissect,  and  am  in  haste." 

"And  here,  you  Mister  Doctor  Archibald  Sitgreaves," 
echoed  Betty,  showing  her  blooming  countenance  from  a 
broken  window  of  the  kitchen,  "you  are  ever  a  coming  too 
late  ;  here  is  nothing  to  ate  but  the  skin  of  Jenny,  and  the 
body  yee'r  mintioning." 

"  Woman  !"  said  the  surgeon,  in  anger,  "  do  you  take 
me  for  a  cannibal,  that  you  address  your  filthy  discourse 
to  me  in  this  manner  ?  I  bid  you  hasten  with  such  food 
as  may  be  proper  to  be  received  into  the  stomach  fasting." 

"  And  I'm  sure  it's  for  a  pop-gun  that  I  should  be  taking 
you  sooner  than  for  a  cannon-ball,"  said  Betty,  winking  at 
the  captain  ;  "and  I  tell  yee  that  it's  fasting  you  must  be, 
unless  yee'l  let  me  cook  you  a  steak  from  the  skin  of  Jenny. 
The  boys  have  ate  me  up  intirely." 

Lawton  now  interfered  to  preserve  the  peace,  and  as- 
sured the  surgeon  that  he  had  already  despatched  the 
proper  persons  in  quest  of  food  for  the  party.  A  little  mol- 
lified with  this  explanation,  the  operator  soon  forgot  his 
hunger,  and  declared  his  intention  of  proceeding  to  busi- 
ness at  once. 

"  And  where  is  your  subject  ?  "  asked  Lawton. 

"The  peddler,"  said  the  other,  glancing  a  look  at  the 
sign-post.  "I  made  Hollister  put  a  stage  so  high  that  the 
neck  would  not  be  dislocated  by  the  fall,  and  I  intend 


2io  THE   SPY. 

making  as  handsome  a  skeleton  of  him  as  there  is  in  the 
States  of  North  America  ;  the  fellow  has  good  points,  and 
his  bones  are  well  knit.  I  will  make  a  perfect  beauty  of 
him.  I  have  long  been  wanting  something  of  this  sort  to 
send  as  a  present  to  my  old  aunt  in  Virginia,  who  was  so 
kind  to  me  when  a  boy." 

"  The  devil  ! "  cried  Lawton  ;  "  would  you  send  the  old 
woman  a  dead  man's  bones  ?  " 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  the  surgeon  ;  *'  what  nobler  object  is 
there  in  nature  than  the  figure  of  a  man — and  the  skeleton 
may  be  called  his  elementary  parts.  But  what  has  been 
done  with  the  body  ? " 

"  Off  too." 

"Off  !  and  who  has  dared  to  interfere  with  my  perquis- 
ites ? " 

"  Sure,  jist  the  devil,"  said  Betty  ;  "  and  who'll  be  taking 
yerself  away,  some  of  these  times,  too,  without  asking  yeer 
lave." 

"  Silence,  you  witch  !  "  said  Lawton,  with  difficulty  sup- 
pressing a  laugh  ;  "  is  this  the  manner  in  which  to  address 
an  officer?" 

"  Who  called  me  the  filthy  Elizabeth  Flanagan  ? "  cried 
the  washerwoman,  snapping  her  fingers  contemptuously  ; 
"I  can  remember  a  frind  for  a  year,  and  don't  forgit  an 
inimy  for  a  month." 

But  the  friendship  or  enmity  of  Mrs.  Flanagan  was  alike 
indifferent  to  the  surgeon,  who  could  think  of  nothing  but 
his  loss  ;  and  Lawton  was  obliged  to  explain  to  his  friend 
the  apparent  manner  in  which  it  had  happened. 

"  And  a  lucky  escape  it  was  for  yee,  my  jewel  of  a  doc- 
tor," cried  Betty,  as  the  captain  concluded.  "  Sergeant 
Hollister,  who  saw  him  face  to  face,  as  it  might  be,  says 
it's  Beelzeboob,  and  no  pidler,  unless  it  may  be  in  a  small 
matter  of  lies  and  thefts,  and  sich  wickedness.  Now  a 
pretty  figure  yee  would  have  been  in  cutting  up  Beelze- 
boob, if  the  major  had  hanged  him.  I  don't  think  it's  very 
asy  he  would  have  been  under  yeer  knife." 

Thus  doubly  disappointed  in  his  meal  and  his  business, 
Sitgreaves  suddenly  declared  his  intention  of  visiting  the 
"Locusts,"  and  inquiring  into  the  state  of  Captain  Single- 
ton. Lawton  was  ready  for  the  excursion  ;  and  mounting, 
they  were  soon  on  the  road,  though  the  surgeon  was 
obliged  to  submit  to  a  few  more  jokes  from  the  washer- 
woman before  he  could  get  out  of  hearing.  For  some 
time  the  two  rode  in  silence,  when  Lawton,  perceiving  that 


THE   SPY.  211 

his  companion's  temper  was  somewhat  ruffled  by  his  disap- 
pointments and  Betty's  attack,  made  an  effort  to  restore 
the  tranquillity  of  his  feelings. 

''That  was  a  charming  song,  Archibald,  that  you  com- 
menced last  evening,  when  we  were  interrupted  by  the 
party  that  brought  in  the  peddler,"  he  said  :  "the  allusion 
to  Galen  was  much  to  the  purpose." 

"  I  knew  you  would  like  it,  Jack,  when  you  had  got  the 
fumes  of  the  wine  out  of  your  head.  Poetry  is  a  respect- 
able art,  though  it  wants  the  precision  of  the  exact  sciences, 
and  the  natural  beneficence  of  the  physical.  Considered 
in  reference  to  the  wants  of  life,  I  should  define  poetry  as 
an  emollient,  rather  than  as  a  succulent." 

"  And  yet  your  ode  was  full  of  the  meat  of  wit." 

"  Ode  is  by  no  means  a  proper  term  for  the  composi- 
tion ;  I  should  term  it  a  classical  ballad." 

"  Very  probably,"  said  the  trooper  ;  "  hearing  only  one 
verse,  it  was  difficult  to  class  the  composition." 

The  surgeon  involuntarily  hemmed,  and  began  to  clear 
his  throat,  although  scarcely  conscious  himself  to  what  the 
preparation  tended.  But  the  captain,  rolling  his  dark  eyes 
toward  his  companion,  and  observing  him  to  be  sitting 
with  great  uneasiness  on  his  horse,  continued  : 

"  The  air  still,  and  the  road  solitary — why  not  give  the 
remainder?  It  is  never  too  late  to  repair  a  loss." 

"My  dear  John,  if  I  thought  it  would  correct  the  errors 
you  have  imbibed,  from  habit  and  indulgence,  nothing 
could  give  me  more  pleasure." 

"  We  are  fast  approaching  some  rocks  on  our  left  ;  the 
echo  will  double  my  satisfaction." 

Thus  encouraged,  and  somewhat  impelled  by  the  opinion 
that  he  both  sang  and  wrote  with  taste,  the  surgeon  set 
about  complying  with  the  request  in  sober  earnest.  Some 
little  time  was  lost  in  clearing  his  throat,  and  getting  the 
proper  pitch  of  his  voice  ;  but  no  sooner  were  these  two 
points  achieved,  than  Lawton  had  the  secret  delight  of 
hearing  his  friend  commence  : 

"  '  Hast  thou  ever '  " 

"Hush!"  interrupted  the  trooper  ;  "what  rustling  noise 
is  that  among  the  rocks  ?" 

"  It  must  have  been  the  rushing  of  the  melody.  A  pow- 
erful voice  is  like  the  breathing  of  the  winds. 

"  '  Hast  thou  ever '» 


212  THE   SPY. 

"Listen  !"  said  Lawton,  stopping  his  horse.  He  had  not 
done  speaking,  when  a  stone  fell  at  his  feet,  and  rolled 
harmlessly  across  the  path. 

"A  friendly  shot,  that,"  cried  the  trooper  ;  "  neither  the 
weapon  nor  its  force  implies  much  ill-will." 

"  Blows  from  stones  seldom  produce  more  than  contu- 
sions," said  the  operator,  bending  his  gaze  in  every  direc- 
tion in  vain,  in  quest  of  the  hand  from  which  the  missile 
had  been  hurled  ;  "  it  must  be  meteoric  ;  there  is  no  living 
being  in  sight,  except  ourselves." 

"It.  would  be  easy  to  hide  a  regiment  behind  those 
rocks,"  returned  the  trooper,  dismounting  and  taking  the 
stone  in  his  hand — "  Oh  !  here  is  the  explanation  along 
with  the  mystery."  So  saying,  he  tore  a  piece  of  paper 
that  had  been  ingeniously  fastened  to  the  small  fragment 
of  rock  which  had  thus  singularly  fallen  before  him  ;  and 
opening  it,  the  captain  read  the  following  words,  written 
in  no  very  legible  hand  : 

' '  A  musket  bullet  will  go  farther  than  a  stone,  and  things  more 
dangerous  than  yarbs  for  wounded  men  lie  hid  in  the  rocks  of 
Westchester.  The  horse  may  be  good,  but  can  he  mount  a  preci- 
piceT* 

"  Thou  sayest  the  truth,  strange  man,"  said  Lawton  ; 
"  courage  and  activity  would  avail  but  little  against  assas- 
sination and  these  rugged  passes."  Remounting  his  horse, 
he  cried  aloud — "Thanks,  unknown  friend  ;  your  caution 
will  be  remembered." 

A  meagre  hand  was  extended  for  an  instant  over  a  rock, 
in  the  air,  and  afterward  nothing  further  was  seen  or 
heard,  in  that  quarter,  by  the  soldiers. 

"Quite  an  extraordinary  interruption,"  said  the  aston- 
ished Sitgreaves,  "  and  a  letter  of  a  very  mysterious  mean- 
ing." 

"  Oh  !  'tis  nothing  but  the  wit  of  some  bumpkin,  who 
thinks  to  frighten  two  of  the  Virginians  by  an  artifice  of 
this  kind,"  said  the  trooper,  placing  the  billet  in  his  pocket ; 
"  but  let  me  tell  you,  Mr.  Archibald  Sitgreaves,  you  were 
wanting  to  dissect,  just  now,  a  damn'd  honest  fellow." 

"It  was  the  peddler — one  of  the  most  notorious  spies  in 
the  enemy's  service  ;  and  I  must  say  that  I  think  it  would 
be  an  honor  to  such  a  man  to  be  devoted  to  the  use  of 
science." 

"  He  may  be  a  spy — he  must  be  one,"  said  Lawton, 
musing  ;  "  but  he  has  a  heart  above  enmity,  and  a  soul  that 
would  honor  a  soldier." 


THE   SPY.  213 

The  surgeon  turned  a  vacant  eye  on  his  companion  as 
he  uttered  this  soliloquy,  while  the  penetrating  looks  of 
the  trooper  had  already  discovered  another  pile  of  rocks, 
which,  jutting  forward,  nearly  obstructed  the  highway  that 
wound  directly  around  its  base. 

"What  the  steed  cannot  mount,  the  foot  of  man  can 
overcome,"  exclaimed  the  wary  partisan.  Throwing  him- 
self again  from  his  saddle,  and  leaping  a  wall  of  stone,  he 
began  to  ascend  the  hill  at  a  pace  which  would  soon  have 
given  him  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  rocks  in  question,  to- 
gether with  all  their  crevices.  This  movement  was  no 
sooner  made,  than  Lawton  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  figure 
of  a  man  stealing  rapidly  from  his  approach,  and  disap- 
pearing on  the  opposite  side  of  the  precipice. 

"  Spur,  Sitgreaves — spur,"  shouted  the  trooper,  dashing 
over  every  impediment  in  pursuit,  "and  murder  the  villain 
as  he  flies." 

The  former  part  of  the  request  was  promptly  complied 
with,  and  a  few  moments  brought  the  surgeon  in  full  view 
of  a  man  armed  with  a  musket,  who  was  crossing  the  road, 
and  evidently  seeking  the  protection  of  the  thick  w^ood  on 
its  opposite  side. 

"  Stop,  my  friend — stop  until  Captain  Lawton  comes  up, 
if  you  please,"  cried  the  surgeon,  observing  him  to  flee 
with  a  rapidity  that  baffled  his  horsemanship.  But  as  if 
the  invitation  contained  new  terrors,  the  footman  redoubled 
his  efforts,  nor  paused  even  to  breathe,  until  he  had  reached 
his  goal,  when,  turning  on  his  heel,  he  discharged  his 
musket  toward  the  surgeon,  and  was  out  of  sight  in  an  in- 
stant. To  gain  the  highway,  and  throw  himself  into  his 
saddle,  detained  Lawton  but  a  moment,  and  he  rode  to  the 
side  of  his  comrade  just  as  the  figure  disappeared. 

"  Which  way  has  he  fled  ? "  cried  the  trooper. 

"  John,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  am  I  not  a  non-combatant  ?  " 

"Whither  has  the  rascal  fled?"  cried  Lawton,  impa- 
tiently. 

"  Where  you  cannot  follow — into  that  wood.  But  I  re- 
peat, John,  am  I  not  a  non-combatant  ?  " 

The  disappointed  trooper,  perceiving  that  his  enemy  had 
escaped  him,  now  turned  his  eyes,  which  were  flashing  with 
anger,  upon  his  comrade,  and  gradually  his  muscles  lost 
their  rigid  compression,  his  brow  relaxed,  and  his  look 
changed  from  its  fierce  expression  to  the  covert  laughter 
which  so  often  distinguished  his  countenance.  The  sur- 
geon sat  in  dignified  composure  on  his  horse  ;  his  thin 


*I4  THE   SPY. 

body  erect,  and  his  head  elevated  with  the  indignation  of 
one  conscious  of  having  been  unjustly  treated. 

"Why  did  you  suffer  the  villain  to  escape  ?"  demanded 
the  captain.  "  Once  within  reach  of  my  sabre,  and  I  would 
have  given  you  a  subject  for  the  dissecting  table." 

"'Twas  impossible  to  prevent  it,"  said  the  surgeon, 
pointing  to  the  bars  before  which  he  had  stopped  his  horse. 
— "  The  rogue  threw  himself  on  the  other  side  of  this  fence, 
and  left  me  where  you  see  ;  nor  would  the  man  in  the  least 
attend  to  my  remonstrances,  or  to  an  intimation  that  you 
wished  to  hold  discourse  with  him." 

"  He  was  truly  a  discourteous  rascal  ;  but  why  did  you 
not  leap  the  fence,  and  compel  him  to  halt  ? — you  see  but 
three  of  the  bars  are  up,  and  Betty  Flanagan  could  clear 
them  on  her  cow." 

The  surgeon,  for  the  first  time,  withdrew  his  eyes  from 
the  place  where  the  fugitive  had  disappeared,  and  turned 
his  look  on  his  comrade.  His  head,  however,  was  not  per- 
mitted to  lower  itself  in  the  least,  as  he  replied : 

"  I  humbly  conceive,  Captain  Lawton,  that  neither  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Flanagan,  nor  her  cow,  is  an  example  to  be  em- 
ulated by  Doctor  Archibald  Sitgreaves  ;  it  would  be  but  a 
sorry  compliment  to  science,  to  say  that  a  doctor  of  medi- 
cine had  fractured  both  his  legs  by  injudiciously  striking 
them  against  a  pair  of  bar-posts."  While  speaking,  the 
surgeon  raised  the  limbs  in  question  to  a  nearly  horizontal 
position,  an  attitude  which  really  appeared  to  bid  defiance 
to  anything  like  a  passage  for  himself  through  the  defile  ; 
but  the  trooper,  disregarding  this  ocular  proof  of  the  im- 
possibility of  the  movement,  cried  hastily  : 

"  Here  was  nothing  to  stop  you,  man  ;  I  could  leap  a 
platform  through,  boot  and  thigh,  without  pricking  with  a 
single  spur.  Pshaw  !  I  have  often  charged  upon  the  bayo- 
nets of  infantry,  over  greater  difficulties  than  this." 

"You  will  please  to  remember,  Captain  John  Lawton, 
that  I  am  not  the  riding-master  of  the  regiment — nor  a  drill 
sergeant — nor  a  crazy  cornet  ;  no,  sir — and  I  speak  it  with 
a  due  respect  for  the  commission  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress— nor  an  inconsiderate  captain,  who  regards  his  own 
life  as  little  as  that  of  his  enemies.  I  am  only,  sir,  a  poor 
humble  man  of  letters,  a  mere  doctor  of  medicine,  an  un- 
worthy graduate  of  Edinburgh,  and  a  surgeon  of  dragoons  ; 
nothing  more,  I  do  assure  you,  Captain  John  Lawton."  So 
saying,  he  turned  his  horse's  head  toward  the  cottage,  and 
recommenced  his  ride. 


THE   SPY.  215 

"Ay!  you  speak  the  truth,"  muttered  the  dragoon; 
"  had  I  but  the  meanest  rider  of  my  troop  with  me,  I  should 
have  taken  the  scoundrel,  and  given  at  least  one  victim  to 
the  laws.  But,  Archibald,  no  man  can  ride  well  who  strad- 
dles in  this  manner,  like  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes.  You 
should  depend  less  on  your  stirrup,  and  keep  your  seat  by 
the  power  of  the  knee." 

"  With  proper  deference  to  your  experience,  Captain 
Lawton,"  returned  the  surgeon,  "  I  conceive  myself  to  be 
no  incompetent  judge  of  muscular  action,  whether  in  the 
knee,  or  any  other  part  of  the  human  frame.  And  al- 
though but  humbly  educated,  I  am  now  to  learn  that  the 
wider  the  base,  the  more  firm  is  the^  superstructure." 

"Would  you  fill  a  highway  in  this  manner,  with  one 
pair  of  legs,  when  half  a  dozen  might  pass  together  in  com- 
fort, stretching  them  abroad  like  the  scythes  of  the  ancient 
chariot  wheels  ? " 

The  allusion  to  the  practice  of  the  ancients  somewhat 
softened  the  indignation  of  the  surgeon,  and  he  replied, 
with  rather  less  hauteur  : 

"You  should  speak  with  reverence  of  the  usages  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  who,  however  ignorant 
they  were  in  matters  of  science,  and  particularly  that  of 
surgery,  yet  furnished  many  brilliant  hints  to  our  own  im- 
provements. Now,  sir,  I  have  no  doubt  that  Galen  has 
operated  on  wounds  occasioned  by  these  very  scythes  that 
you  mention,  although  we  can  find  no  evidence  of  the  fact 
in  contemporary  writers.  Ah !  they  must  have  given 
dreadful  injuries,  and,  I  doubt  not,  caused  great  uneasi- 
ness to  the  medical  gentlemen  of  that  day." 

"  Occasionally  a  body  must  have  been  left  in  two  pieces, 
to  puzzle  the  ingenuity  of  those  gentry  to  unite.  Yet,  ven- 
erable and  learned  as  they  were,  I  doubt  not  they  did  it." 

"  What !  unite  two  parts  of  the  human  body,  that  have 
been  severed  by  an  edged  instrument,  to  any  of  the  pur- 
poses of  animal  life  ?  " 

"  That  have  been  rent  by  a  scythe,  and  are  united  to  do 
military  duty,"  said  Lawton. 

"  'Tis  impossible — quite  impossible,"  cried  the  surgeon  ; 
"it  is  in  vain,  Captain  Lawton,  that  human  ingenuity  en- 
deavors to  baffle  the  efforts  of  nature.  Think,  my  dear  sir, 
in  this  case  you  separate  all  the  arteries  ;  injure  all  of  the 
intestines  ;  sever  all  of  the  nerves  and  sinews  ;  and  what  is 
of  more  consequence,  you 

"You  have  said  enough,  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  to  convince  a 


2I6  THE   SPY. 

member  of  a  rival  school.  Nothing  shall  ever  tempt  me 
willingly  to  submit  to  be  divided  in  this  irretrievable  man- 
ner." 

"  Certes,  there  is  little  pleasure  in  a  wound  which,  from 
its  nature,  is  incurable." 

"I  should  think  so,"  said  Lavvton,  dryly. 

"What  do  you  think  is  the  greatest  pleasure  in  life  ?" 
asked  the  operator,  suddenly. 

"  That  must  greatly  depend  on  taste." 

"  Not  at  all,"  cried  the  surgeon  ;  "  it  is  in  witnessing,  or 
rather  feeling,  the  ravages  of  disease  repaired  by  the  lights 
of  science  co-operating  with  nature.  I  once  broke  my 
little  finger  intentionally,  in  order  that  I  might  reduce  the 
fracture  and  watch  the  cure  ;  it  was  only  on  a  small  scale, 
you  know,  dear  John  ;  still  the  thrilling  sensation  excited 
by  the  knitting  of  the  bone,  aided  by  the  contemplation  of 
the  art  of  man  thus  acting  in  unison  with  nature,  exceeded 
any  other  enjoyment  that  I  have  ever  experienced.  Now, 
had  it  been  one  of  the  more  important  members,  such  as 
the  leg  or  arm,  how  much  greater  must  the  pleasure  have 
been  ! " 

"  Or  the  neck,"  said  the  trooper;  but  their  desultory 
discourse  was  interrupted  by  their  arrival  at  the  cottage 
of  Mr.  Wharton.  No  one  appearing  to  usher  them  into  an 
apartment,  the  captain  proceeded  to  the  door  of  the  par- 
lor, where  he  knew  visitors  were  commonly  received.  On 
opening  it,  he  paused  for  a  moment,  in  admiration  at  the 
scene  within.  The  person  of  Colonel  Wellmere  first  met 
his  eye,  bending  toward  the  figure  of  the  blushing  Sarah, 
with  an  earnestness  of  manner  that  prevented  the  noise  of 
Lawton's  entrance  from  being  heard  by  either  of  the  par- 
ties. Certain  significant  signs,  which  were  embraced  at  a 
glance  by  the  prying  gaze  of  the  trooper,  at  once  made 
him  a  master  of  their  secret ;  and  he  was  about  to  retire 
as  silently  as  he  had  advanced,  when  his  companion,  push- 
ing himself  through  the  passage,  abruptly  entered  the 
room.  Advancing  instantly  to  the  chair  of  Wellmere,  the 
surgeon  instinctively  laid  hold  of  his  arm,  and  exclaimed  : 

"  Bless  me  ! — a  quick  and  irregular  pulse — flushed  cheek 
and  fiery  eye — strong  febrile  symptoms,  and  such  as  must 
be  attended  to."  While  speaking,  the  doctor,  who  was 
much  addicted  to  practising  in  a  summary  way — a  weak- 
ness of  most  medical  men  in  military  practice,  had  already 
produced  his  lancet,  and  was  making  certain  other  indica- 
tions of  his  intentions  to  proceed  at  once  to  business.  But 


THE   SPY.  21 7 

Colonel  Wellmere,  recovering  from  the  confusion  of  the 
surprise,  arose  from  his  seat  haughtily  and  said  : 

"  Sir,  it  is  the  warmth  of  the  room  that  lends  me  the 
color,  and  I  am  already  too  much  indebted  to  your  skill  to 
give  you  any  farther  trouble  ;  Miss  Wharton  knows  that  I 
am  quite  well,  and  I  do  assure  you  that  I  never  felt  better 
or  happier  in  my  life." 

There  was  a  peculiar  emphasis  on  the  latter  part  of  this 
speech  that,  however  it  might  gratify  the  feelings  of  Sarah, 
brought  the  color  to  her  cheeks  again  ;  and  Sitgreaves,  as 
his  eye  followed  the  direction  of  those  of  his  patient,  did 
not  fail  to  observe  it. 

"  Your  arm,  if  you  please,  madam,"  said  the  surgeon, 
advancing  with  a  bow  ;  "  anxiety  and  watching  have  done 
their  work  on  your  delicate  frame,  and  there  are  symptoms 
about  you  that  must  not  be  neglected." 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,"  said  Sarah,  recovering  herself  with 
womanly  pride  ;  "  the  heat  is  oppressive,  and  I  will  retire 
and  acquaint  Miss  Peyton  with  your  presence." 

There  was  but  little  difficulty  in  practising  on  the  ab- 
stracted simplicity  of  the  surgeon  ;  but  it  was  necessary 
for  Sarah  to  raise  her  eyes  to  return  the  salutation  of  Law- 
ton,  as  he  bowed  his  head  nearly  to  a  level  with  the  hand 
that  held  open  the  door  for  her  passage.  One  look  was 
sufficient  ;  she  was  able  to  control  her  steps  sufficiently  to 
retire  with  dignity  ;  but  no  sooner  was  she  relieved  from 
the  presence  of  all  observers,  than  she  fell  into  a  chair, 
and  abandoned  herself  to  a  feeling  of  mingled  shame  and 
pleasure. 

A  little  nettled  at  the  contumacious  deportment  of  the 
British  colonel,  Sitgreaves,  after  once  more  tendering  ser- 
vices that  were  again  rejected,  withdrew  to  the  chamber 
of  young  Singleton,  whither  Lawton  had  already  preceded 
him. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

Oh,  Henry,  when  thou  deign' st  to  sue, 

Can  I  thy  suit  withstand  ? 
When  thou,  loved  youth,  hast  won  my  heart, 

Can  I  refuse  my  hand  ? — Hermit  of  Warkworth. 

THE  graduate  of  Edinburgh  found  his  patient  rapidly 
improving  in  health,  and  entirely  free  from  fever.  His  sis- 
ter, with  a  cheek  that  was,  if  possible,  paler  than  on  her  ar- 


218  THE   SPY. 

rival,  watched  around  his  couch  with  tender  care,  and  the 
ladies  of  the  cottage  had  not,  in  the  midst  of  their  sorrows 
and  varied  emotions,  forgotten  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
hospitality.  Frances  felt  herself  impelled  toward  their 
disconsolate  guest,  with  an  interest  for  which  she  could  not 
account,  and  with  a  force  that  she  could  not  control.  She 
had  unconsciously  connected  the  fates  of  Dumvoodie  and 
Isabella  in  her  imagination,  and  she  felt,  with  the  romantic 
ardor  of  a  generous  mind,  that  she  was  serving  her  former 
lover  most  by  exhibiting  kindness  to  her  he  loved  best. 
Isabella  received  her  attentions  with  gratitude,  but  neither 
of  them  indulged  in  any  allusions  to  the  latest  source  of 
their  uneasiness.  The  observation  of  Miss  Peyton  seldom 
penetrated  beyond  things  that  were  visible,  and  to  her  the 
situation  of  Henry  Wharton  seemed  to  furnish  an  awful 
excuse  for  the  fading  cheeks  and  tearful  eyes  of  her  niece. 
If  Sarah  manifested  less  of  care  than  her  sister,  still  the 
unpractised  aunt  was  not  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  the  rea- 
son. Love  is  a  holy  feeling  with  the  virtuous  of  the  fe- 
male sex,  and  it  hallows  all  that  comes  within  its  influence. 
Although  Miss  Peyton  mourned  with  sincerity  over  the 
danger  which  threatened  her  nephew,  she  well  knew  that 
an  active  campaign  was  not  favorable  to  love,  and  the 
moments  that  were  thus  accidentally  granted  were  not  to 
be  thrown  away. 

Several  days  now  passed  without  any  interruption  of  the 
usual  avocations  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  cottage,  or  the 
party  at  the  Four  Corners.  The  former  were  supporting 
their  fortitude  with  the  certainty  of  Henry's  innocence, 
and  a  strong  reliance  on  Dunwoodie's  exertions  in  his  be- 
half, and  the  latter,  waiting  with  impatience  the  intelli- 
gence, that  was  hourly  expected,  of  a  conflict,  and  their 
orders  to  depart.  Captain  Lawton,  however,  waited  for 
both  these  events  in  vain.  Letters  from  the  major  an- 
nounced that  the  enemy,  finding  that  the  party  which  was 
to  co-operate  with  them  had  been  defeated  and  was  with- 
drawn, had  retired  also  behind  the  works  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, where  they  continued  inactive,  threatening  constantly 
to  strike  a  blow  in  revenge  for  their  disgrace.  The  trooper 
was  enjoined  to  vigilance,  and  the  letter  concluded  with  a 
compliment  to  his  honor,  zeal,  and  undoubted  bravery. 

"  Extremely  flattering,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  muttered  the 
dragoon,  as  he  threw  down  this  epistle,  and  stalked  across 
the  floor  to  quiet  his  impatience.  "  A  proper  guard  have 
you  selected  for  this  service  :  let  me  see — I  have  to  watch 


THE   SPY.  219 

over  the  interests  of  a  crazy,  irresolute  old  man,  who  does 
not  know  whether  he  belongs  to  us  or  to  the  enemy  ;  four 
women,  three  of  whom  are  well  enough  in  themselves,  but 
who  are  not  immensely  flattered  by  my  society  ;  and  the 
fourth,  who,  good  as  she  is,  is  on  the  wrong  side  of  forty  ; 
some  two  or  three  blacks  ;  a  talkative  house-keeper,  that 
does  nothing  but  chatter  about  gold  and  despisables,  arid 
signs  and  omens  ;  and  poor  George  Singleton.  Well,  a 
comrade  in  suffering  has  a  claim  on  a  man — so  I'll  make 
the  best  of  it." 

As  he  concluded  this  soliloquy,  the  trooper  took  a  seat 
and  began  to  whistle,  to  convince  himself  how  little  he 
cared  about  the  matter,  when,  by  throwing  his  booted  leg 
carelessly  round,  he  upset  the  canteen  that  held  his  whole 
stock  of  brandy.  The  accident  was  soon  repaired,  but  in 
replacing  the  wooden  vessel,  he  observed  a  billet  lying  on 
the  bench  on  which  the  liquor  had  been  placed.  It  was 
soon  opened,  and  he  read  :  "  The  moon  will  not  rise  till  after 
midnight — a  fit  time  for  deeds  of  darkness."  There  was  no 
mistaking  the  hand  ;  it  was  clearly  the  same  which  had 
given  him  the  timely  warning  against  assassination,  and 
the  trooper  continued,  for  a  long  time,  musing  on  the 
nature  of  these  two  notices,  and  the  motives  that  could 
induce  the  peddler  to  favor  an  implacable  enemy  in  the 
manner  that  he  had  latterly  done.  That  he  was  a  spy  of 
the  enemy,  Lawton  knew  ;  for  the  fact  of  his  conveying 
intelligence  to  the  English  commander-in-chief,  of  a  party 
of  Americans  that  were  exposed  to  the  enemy,  was  proved 
most  clearly  against  him  on  the  trial  for  his  life.  The 
consequences  of  his  treason  had  been  avoided,  it  is  true, 
by  a  lucky  order  from  Washington,  which  withdrew  the 
regiment  a  short  time  before  the  British  appeared  to  cut 
if  off,  but  still  the  crime  was  the  same  ;  perhaps,  thought 
the  partisan,  he  wishes  to  make  a  friend  of  me  against  the 
event  of  another  capture  ;  but,  at  all  events,  he  spared  my 
life  on  one  occasion,  and  saved  it  on  another.  I  will  en- 
deavor to  be  as  generous  as  himself,  and  pray  that  my  duty 
may  never  interfere  with  my  feelings." 

Whether  the  danger,  intimated  in  the  present  note, 
threatened  the  cottage  or  his  own  party,  the  captain  was 
uncertain,  but  he  inclined  to  the  latter  opinion,  and  de- 
termined to  beware  how  he  rode  abroad  in  the  dark.  To 
a  man  in  a  peaceable  country,  and  in  times  of  quiet  and 
order,  the  indifference  with  which  the  partisan  regarded 
the  impending  danger  would  be  inconceivable.  His  reflec- 


220  THE    SPY. 

tions  on  the  subject  were  more  directed  toward  devising 
means  to  entrap  his  enemies  than  to  escape  their  machina- 
tions. But  the  arrival  of  the  surgeon,  who  had  been  to 
pay  his  daily  visit  to  the  Locusts,  interrupted  his  medita- 
tions. Sitgreaves  brought  an  invitation  from  the  mistress 
of  the  mansion  to  Captain  Lawton,  desiring  that  the  cot- 
tage might  be  honored  with  his  presence  at  an  early  hour 
that  evening. 

"  Ha  !  "  cried  the  trooper  ;  "  then  they  have  received  a 
letter,  also." 

"I  think  nothing  more  probable,"  said  the  surgeon; 
"  there  is  a  chaplain  at  the  cottage  from  the  royal  army, 
who  has  come  out  to  exchange  the  British  wounded,  and 
who  has  an  order  from  Colonel  Singleton  for  their  de- 
livery. But  a  more  mad  project  than  to  remove  them  now 
was  never  adopted." 

"  A  priest,  say  you ! — is  he  a  hard  drinker — a  real  camp 
idler — a  fellow  to  breed  a  famine  in  a  regiment  ?  or  does 
he  seem  a  man  who  is  in  earnest  in  his  trade  ? " 

"  A  very  respectable  and  orderly  gentleman,  and  not 
unreasonably  given  to  intemperance,  judging  from  the 
outward  symptoms,"  returned  the  surgeon  ;  "and  a  man 
who  really  says  grace  in  a  very  regular  and  appropriate 
manner." 

"  And  does  he  stay  the  night  ? " 

"  Certainly,  he  waits  for  his  cartel  ;  but  hasten,  John, 
we  have  but  little  time  to  waste.  I  will  just  step  up  and 
bleed  two  or  three  of  the  Englishmen  who  are  to  move  in 
the  morning,  in  order  to  anticipate  inflammation,  and  be 
with  you  immediately." 

The  gala  suit  of  Captain  Lawton  was  easily  adjusted  to 
his  huge  frame,  and  his  companion  being  ready,  they 
once  more  took  their  route  toward  the  cottage.  Roanoke 
had  been  as  much  benefited  by  the  few  days'  rest  as  his 
master  ;  and  Lawton  ardently  wished,  as  he  curbed  his 
gallant  steed  on  passing  the  well-remembered  rocks,  that 
his  treacherous  enemy  stood  before  him,  mounted  and 
armed  as  himself.  But  no  enemy,  nor  any  disturbance 
whatever,  interfered  with  their  progress,  and  they  reached 
the  Locusts  just  as  the  sun  was  throwing  his  setting  rays 
on  the  valley,  and  tinging  the  tops  of  the  leafless  trees 
with  gold.  It  never  required  more  than  a  single  look  to 
acquaint  the  trooper  with  the  particulars  of  every  scene 
that  was  not  uncommonly  veiled,  and  the  first  survey  that 
he  took  on  entering  the  house,  told  him  more  than  the  ob- 


THE   SPY.  221 

servations  of  a  day  had  put  into  the  possession  of  Dr.  Sit- 
greaves.  Miss  Peyton  accosted  him  with  a  smiling  wel- 
come that  exceeded  the  bounds  of  ordinary  courtesy,  and 
which  evidently  flowed  more  from  feelings  that  were 
connected  with  the  heart,  than  from  manner.  Frances 
glided  about  tearful  and  agitated,  while  Mr.  Wharton 
stood  ready  to  receive  them,  decked  in  a  suit  of  velvet 
that  would  have  been  conspicuous  in  the  gayest  drawing- 
room.  Colonel  Wellmere  was  in  the  uniform  of  an  officer 
of  the  Household  troops  of  his  prince,  and  Isabella  Single- 
ton sat  in  the  parlor,  clad  in  the  habiliments  of  joy,  but 
with  a  countenance  thaf  belied  her  appearance  ;  while  her 
brother  by  her  side  looked,  with  a  cheek  of  fitting  color, 
and  an  eye  of  intense  interest,  like  anything  but  an  inva- 
lid. As  it  was  the  third  day  that  he  had  left  his  room,  Dr. 
Sitgreaves,  who  began  to  stare  about  him  in  stupid  won- 
der, forgot  to  reprove  his  patient  for  imprudence.  Into 
this  scene  Captain  Lawton  moved  with  all  the  composure 
and  gravity  of  a  man  whose  nerves  were  not  easily  dis- 
composed by  novelties.  His  compliments  were  received 
as  graciously  as  they  \vere  offered,  and  after  exchanging  a 
few  words  with  the  different  individuals  present,  he  ap- 
proached the  surgeon,  who  had  withdrawn,  in  a  kind  of 
confused  astonishment,  to  rally  his  senses. 

"John,"  whispered  the  surgeon,  with  awakened  curios- 
ity, "what  means  this  festival  ?" 

"  That  your  wig  and  my  black  head  would  look  the  bet- 
ter for  a  little  of  Betty  Flanagan's  flour  ;  but  it  is  too  late 
now,  and  we  must  fight  the  battle  armed  as  you  see." 

"  Observe,  here  comes  the  army  chaplain  in  full  robes, 
as  a  doctor  divinitatis  ;  what  can  it  mean  ? " 

"An  exchange,"  said  the  trooper;  "the  wounded  of 
Cupid  are  to  meet  and  settle  their  accounts  with  the  god, 
in  the  way  of  plighting  faith  to  suffer  from  his  archery  no 
more." 

The  surgeon  laid  a  finger  on  the  side  of  his  nose,  and 
he  began  to  comprehend  the  case. 

"  Is  it  not  a  crying  shame,  that  a  sunshine  hero,  and  an 
enemy,  should  thus  be  suffered  to  steal  away  one  of  the 
fairest  plants  that  grow  on  our  soil,"  muttered  Lawton  ; 
"a  flower  fit  to  be  placed  in  the  bosom  of  any  man  ?  " 

"  If  he  be  not  more  accommodating  as  a  husband  than  as 
a  patient,  John,  I  fear  me  that  the  lady  will  lead  a  troubled 
life." 

"  Let  her,"    said   the   trooper,    indignantly ;    "  she    has 


222  THE    SPY. 

chosen  from  her  country's  enemies,  and  may  she  meet 
with  a  foreigner's  virtues  in  her  choice." 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  Miss  Peyton, 
who,  advancing,  acquainted  them  that  they  had  been  in- 
vited to  grace  the  nuptials  of  her  eldest  niece  and  Colonel 
Welhnere.  The  gentlemen  bowed  ;  and  the  good  aunt, 
with  an  inherent  love  of  propriety,  went  on  to  add  that 
the  acquaintance  was  of  an  old  date,  and  the  attachment 
by  no  means  a  sudden  thing.  To  this  Lawton  merely 
bowed  still  more  ceremoniously ;  but  the  surgeon,  who 
loved  to  hold  converse  with  the  virgin,  replied  : 

"  That  the  human  mind  was  differently  constituted  in 
different  individuals.  In  some,  impressions  are  vivid  and 
transitory ;  in  others,  more  deep  and  lasting ;  indeed, 
there  are  some  philosophers  who  pretend  to  trace  a  con- 
nection between  the  physical  and  mental  powers  of  the 
animal ;  but,  for  my  part,  madam,  I  believe  that  the  one 
is  much  influenced  by  habit  and  association,  and  the  other 
subject  altogether  to  the  peculiar  laws  of  matter." 

Miss  Peyton,  in  her  turn,  bowed  her  silent  assent  to  this 
remark,  and  retired,  with  dignity,  to  usher  the  intended 
bride  into  the  presence  of  the  company.  The  hour  had 
arrived  when  American  custom  had  decreed  that  the  vow 
of  wedlock  must  be  exchanged  ;  and  Sarah,  blushing  with 
a  variety  of  emotions,  followed  her  aunt  to  the  drawing- 
room.  Wellmere  sprang  to  receive  the  hand  that,  with 
an  averted  face,  she  extended  toward  him,  and,  for  the 
first  time,  the  English  colonel  appeared  fully  conscious  of 
the  important  part  that  he  was  to  act  in  the  approaching 
cererfiony.  Hitherto  his  air  had  been  abstracted,  and  his 
manner  uneasy  ;  but  everything,  excepting  the  certainty 
of  his  bliss,  seemed  to  vanish  at  the  blaze  of  loveliness 
that  now  burst  on  his  sight.  All  arose  from  their  seats, 
and  the  reverend  gentleman  had  already  opened  the 
sacred  volume,  when  the  absence  of  Frances  was  no- 
ticed ;  Miss  Peyton  withdrew  in  search  of  her  youngest 
niece,  whom  she  found  in  her  own  apartment,  and  in 
tears. 

"Come,  my  love,  the  ceremony  waits  but  for  us,"  said 
the  aunt,  affectionately  entwining  her  arm  in  that  of  her 
niece  ;  "  endeavor  to  compose  yourself,  that  proper  honor 
may  be  done  to  the  choice  of  your  sister." 

"  Is  he — can  he  be  worthy  of  her  ? " 

"  Can  he  be  otherwise  ? "  returned  Miss  Peyton  ;  "  is  he 
not  a  gentleman  ?  a  gallant  soldier,  though  an  unfortun- 


THE    SPY.  223 

ate  one  ?  and  certainly,  my  love,  one  who  appears  every 
way  qualified  to  make  any  woman  happy." 

Frances  had  given  vent  to  her  feelings,  and,  with  an 
effort,  she  collected  sufficient  resolution  to  venture  to  join 
the  party  below.  But  to  relieve  the  embarrassment  of 
this  delay,  the  clergyman  had  put  sundry  questions  to  the 
bridegroom  ;  one  of  which  was  by  no  means  answered  to 
his  satisfaction.  Wellmere  was  compelled  to  acknowledge 
that  he  was  unprovided  with  a  ring  ;  and  to  perform  the 
marriage  ceremony  without  one,  the  divine  pronounced 
to  be  canonically  impossible.  His  appeal  to  Mr.  Whar- 
ton,  for  the  propriety  of  this  decision,  was  answered  af- 
firmatively, as  it  would  have  negatively,  had  the  question 
been  put  in  a  manner  to  lead  to  such  a  result.  The  owner 
of  the  Locusts  had  lost  the  little  energy  he  possessed,  by 
the  blow  recently  received  through  his  son,  and  his  assent 
to  the  objection  of  the  clergyman  was  as  easily  obtained 
as  had  been  his  consent  to  the  premature  proposals  of 
Wellmere.  In  this  stage  of  the  dilemma,  Miss  Peyton 
and  Frances  appeared.  The  surgeon  of  dragoons  ap- 
proached the  former,  and  as  he  handed  her  to  a  chair,  ob- 
served : 

"  It  appears,  madam,  that  untoward  circumstances  have 
prevented  Colonel  Wellmere  from  providing  all  of  the 
decorations  that  custom,  antiquity,  and  the  canons  of  the 
Church  have  prescribed  as  indispensable  to  enter  into  the 
honorable  state  of  wedlock." 

Miss  Peyton  glanced  her  quiet  eye  at  the  uneasy  bride- 
groom, and  perceiving  him  to  be  .adorned  with  what  she 
thought  sufficient  splendor,  allowing  for  the  time  and  the 
suddenness  of  the  occasion,  she  turned  her  look  on  the 
speaker,  as  if  to  demand  an  explanation. 

The  surgeon  understood  her  wishes,  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  gratify  them. 

"  There  is,"  he  observed,  "  an  opinion  prevalent,  that 
the  heart  lies  on  the  left  side  of  the  body,  and  that  the 
connection  between  the  members  of  that  side  and  what 
may  be  called  the  seat  of  life,  is  more  intimate  than  that 
which  exists  with  their  opposites.  But  this  is  an  error 
that  grows  out  of  an  ignorance  of  the  organic  arrange- 
ment of  the  human  frame.  In  obedience  to  this  opinion, 
the  fourth  finger  of  the  left  hand  is  thought  to  contain  a 
virtue  that  belongs  to  no  other  branch  of  that  digitated 
member  ;  and  it  is  ordinarily  encircled,  during  the  sol- 
emnization of  wedlock,  with  a  cincture  or  ring,  as  if  to 


224 


THE 


chain  that  affection  to  the  marriage  state  which  is  best  se- 
cured by  the  graces  of  the  female  character."  While 
speaking,  the  operator  laid  his  hand  expressively  on  his 
heart,  and  he  bowed  nearly  to  the  floor  when  he  had  con- 
cluded. 

"  I  know  not,  sir,  that  I  rightfully  understand  your 
meaning,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  whose  want  of  comprehension 
was  sufficiently  excusable. 

"  A  ring,  madam  —  a  ring  is  wanting  for  the  ceremony." 

The  instant  that  the  surgeon  spoke  explicitly,  the  awk- 
wardness of  the  situation  was  understood.  She  glanced 
her  eyes  at  her  nieces,  arid  in  the  younger  she  read  a  se- 
cret exultation  that  somewhat  displeased  her  ;  but  the  coun- 
tenance of  Sarah  was  suffused  with  a  shame  that  the  con- 
siderate aunt  well  understood.  Not  for  the  world  would 
she  violate  any  of  the  observances  of  female  etiquette.  It 
suggested  itself  to  all  the  females  at  the  same  moment, 
that  the  wedding  ring  of  the  late  mother  and  sister  was  re- 
posing peacefully  amid  the  rest  of  her  jewellery,  in  a  secret 
receptacle,  that  had  been  provided  at  an  early  day  to  se- 
cure the  valuables  against  the  predatory  inroads  of  the 
marauders  who  roamed  through  the  county.  Into  this 
hidden  vault  the  plate,  and  whatever  was  most  prized, 
made  a  nightly  retreat,  and  there  the  ring  in  question  had 
long  lain,  forgotten  until  at  this  moment.  But  it  was  the 
business  of  the  bridegroom,  from  time  immemorial,  to  fur- 
nish this  indispensable  to  wedlock,  and  on  no  account 
would  Miss  Peyton  do  anything  that  transcended  the 
usual  reserve  of  the  sex  on  this  solemn  occasion  ;  certainly 
not  until  sufficient  expiation  for  the  offence  had  been 
made  by  a  due  portion  of  trouble  and  disquiet.  This  ma- 
terial fact,  therefore,  was  not  disclosed  by  either;  the  aunt 
consulting  female  propriety  ;  the  bride  yielding  to  shame  ; 
and  Frances  rejoicing  that  an  embarrassment,  proceeding 
from  almost  any  cause,  should  delay  her  sister's  vow.  It 
was  reserved  for  Dr.  Sitgreaves  to  interrupt  the  awkward 
silence. 

"If,  madam,  a  plain  ring,  that  once  belonged  to  a  sister 
of  my  own  -  "  He  paused,  and  hemmed  —  "  If,  madam, 
a  ring  of  that  description  might  be  admitted  to  this  honor, 
I  have  one  that  could  be  easily  produced  from  my  quarters 
at  the  Corners,  and  I  doubt  not  it  would  fit  the  finger  for 
which  it  is  desired.  There  is  a  strong  resemblance  between 
—  hem  —  between  my  late  sister  and  Miss  Wharton,  in  stat- 
ure and  anatomical  figure  ;  and,  in  all  eligible  subjects,  the 


THE   SPY.  22$ 

proportions  are  apt  to  be  observed  throughout  the  whole 
animal  economy." 

A  glance  of  Miss  Peyton's  eye  recalled  Colonel  Well- 
mere  to  a  sense  of  his  duty,  and  springing  from  his  chair, 
he  assured  the  surgeon  that  in  no  way  could  he  confer  a 
greater  obligation  on  himself  than  by  sending  for  that  very 
ring.  The  operator  bowed  a  little  haughtily,  and  withdrew 
to  fulfil  his  promise,  by  despatching  a  messenger  on  the 
errand.  The  aunt  suffered  him  to  retire,  but  unwilling- 
ness to  admit  a  stranger  into  the  privacy  of  their  domestic 
arrangements,  induced  her  to  follow  and  tender  the  ser- 
vices of  Caesar  instead  of  those  of  Sitgreave's  man,  who 
had  volunteered  for  this  duty.  Katy  Haynes  was  accord- 
ingly directed  to  summon  the  black  to  the  vacant  parlor, 
and  thither  Miss  Peyton  and  the  surgeon  repaired,  to  give 
their  several  instructions. 

The  consent  to  this  sudden  union  of  Sarah  and  Well- 
mere,  and  especially  at  a  time  when  the  life  of  a  member 
of  the  family  was  in  such  imminent  jeopardy,  was  given 
from  a  conviction,  that  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country 
would  probably  prevent  another  opportunity  of  the  lovers 
meeting,  and  a  secret  dread,  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Wharton, 
that  the  death  of  his  son  might,  by  hastening  his  own, 
leave  his  remaining  children  without  a  protector.  But 
notwithstanding  Miss  Peyton  had  complied  with  her 
brother's  wish  to  profit  by  the  accidental  visit  of  a  divine, 
she  had  not  thought  it  necessary  to  blazon  the  intended 
nuptials  of  her  niece  to  the  neighborhood,  had  even  time 
been  allowed  ;  she  thought,  therefore,  that  she  was  now 
communicating  a  profound  secret  to  the  negro  and  her 
house-keeper. 

"Caesar,"  she  commenced,  with  a  smile,  "you  are  now 
to  learn  that  your  young  mistress,  Miss  Sarah,  is  to  be 
united  to  Colonel  Wellmere  this  evening." 

"  I  tink  I  see  him  afore,"  said  Caesar,  chuckling  ;  "  old 
black  man  can  tell  when  a  young  lady  make  up  her  mind." 

"  Really,  Caesar,  I  find  I  have  never  given  you  credit  for 
half  the  observation  that  you  deserve  ;  but  as  you  already 
know  on  what  emergency  your  services  are  required,  listen 
to  the  directions  of  this  gentleman,  and  take  care  to  ob- 
serve them  strictly." 

The  black  turned  in  quiei  submission  to  the  surgeon, 
who  commenced  as  follows  : 

"Caesar,  your  mistress  has  already  acquainted  you  with 
the  important  event  about  to  be  solemnized  within  this 


226  THE   SPY. 

habitation  ;  but  a  cincture  or  ring  is  wanting  to  encircle 
the  finger  of  the  bride  ;  a  custom  derived  from  the  ancients, 
and  which  has  been  continued  in  the  marriage  forms  of 
several  branches  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  which  is 
even,  by  a  species  of  typical  wedlock,  used  in  the  installa- 
tion of  prelates,  as  you  doubtless  understand." 

"  Pr'aps  massa  doctor  will  say  him  over  ag'in,"  inter- 
rupted the  old  negro,  whose  memory  began  to  fail  him, 
just  as  the  other  made  so  confident  an  allusion  to  his 
power  of  comprehension  ;  "  I  tink  I  get  him  by  heart  dis 
time." 

"  It  is  impossible  to  gather  honey  from  a  rock,  Caesar, 
and  therefore  I  will  abridge  the  little  I  have  to  say.  Ride 
to  the  Four  Corners,  and  present  this  note  to  Sergeant  Hoi- 
lister,  or  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Flanagan,  either  of  whom  will 
furnish  the  necessary  pledge  of  connubial  affection  ;  and 
return  forthwith." 

The  letter  which  the  surgeon  put  into  the  hands  of  his 
messenger,  as  he  ceased,  was  conceived  in  the  following 
terms  : 

"  If  the  fever  has  left  Kinder,  give  him  nourishment. 
Take  three  ounces  more  of  blood  from  Watson.  Have  a 
search  made  that  the  woman  Flanagan  has  left  none  of  her 
jugs  of  alcohol  in  the  hospital.  Renew  the  dressings  of 
Johnson,  and  dismiss  Smith  to  duty.  Send  the  ring,  which 
is  pendant  from  the  chain  of  the  watch,  that  I  left  with 
you  to  time  the  doses,  by  the  bearer. 

"ARCHIBALD  SITGREAVES,  M.D., 

"  Surgeon  of  Dragoons" 

"Caesar,"  said  Katy,  when  she  was  alone  with  the  black, 
"  put  the  ring,  when  you  get  it,  in  your  left  pocket,  for  that 
is  nearest  your  heart  ;  and  by  no  means  endeavor  to  try  it 
on  your  finger,  for  it  is  unlucky." 

"  Try  um  on  he  finger  ?"  interrupted  the  negro,  stretch- 
ing forth  his  bony  knuckles  ;  "  tink  a  Miss  Sally's  ring  go 
on  old  Caesar  finger  ?  " 

"  Tis  not  consequential  whether  it  goes  on  or  not,"  said 
the  house-keeper  ;  "  but  it  is  an  evil  omen  to  place  a  mar- 
riage-ring on  the  finger  of  another  after  wedlock,  and  of 
course  it  may  be  dangerous  before." 

"  I  tell  you,  Katy,  I  neber  tink  to  put  um  on  a  finger." 

"  Go  then,  Caesar,  and  do  not  forget  the  left  pocket  ;  be 
careful  to  take  off  your  hat  as  you  pass  the  graveyard,  and 


THE   SPY.  227 

be  expeditious  ;  for  nothing,  I  am  certain,  can  be  more 
trying  to  the  patience  than  thus  to  be  waiting  for  the 
ceremony,  when  a  body  has  fully  made  up  her  mind  to 
marry." 

With  this  injunction  Caesar  quitted  the  house,  and  he 
was  soon  firmly  fixed  in  the  saddle.  From  his  youth,  the 
black,  like  all  of  his  race,  had  been  a  hard  rider  ;  but,  bend- 
ing under  the  weight  of  sixty  winters,  his  African  blood 
had  lost  some  of  its  native  heat.  The  night  was  dark,  and 
the  wind  whistled  through  the  vale  with  the  dreariness  of 
November.  When  Caesar  reached  the  graveyard,  he  un- 
covered his  grizzled  head  with  superstitious  awe,  and  he 
threw  around  him  many  a  fearful  glance,  in  momentary  ex- 
pectation of  seeing  something  superhuman.  There  was 
sufficient  light  to  discern  a  being  of  earthly  mould  stealing 
from  among  the  graves,  apparently  with  a  design  to  enter 
the  highway.  It  is  in  vain  that  philosophy  and  reason  con- 
tend with  early  impressions,  and  poor  Caesar  was  even  with- 
out the  support  of  either  of  these  frail  allies.  He  was, 
however,  well  mounted  on  a  coach-horse  of  Mr.  Wharton's, 
and,  clinging  to  the  back  of  the  animal  with  instinctive 
skill,  he  abandoned  the  rein  to  the  beast.  Hillocks,  woods, 
rocks,  fences,  and  houses  flew  by  him  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning,  and  the  black  had  just  begun  to  think  whither 
and  on  what  business  he  was  riding  in  this  headlong  man- 
ner, when  he  reached  the  place  where  the  roads  met,  and 
the  "  Hotel  Flanagan  "  stood  before  him  in  its  dilapidated 
simplicity.  The  sight  of  a  cheerful  fire  first  told  the  negro 
that  he  had  reached  the  habitation  of  a  man,  and  with  it 
came  all  his  dread  of  the  bloody  Virginians  ; — his  duty 
must,  however,  be  done,  and,  dismounting,  he  fastened  the 
foaming  animal  to  a  fence,  and  approached  the  window 
with  cautious  steps,  to  reconnoitre. 

Before  a  blazing  fire  sat  Sergeant  Hollister  and  Betty 
Flanagan,'  enjoying  themselves  over  a  liberal  potation. 

"  I  tell  yee,  sargeant  dear,"  said  Betty,  removing  the 
mug  from  her  mouth,  "'tis  no  rasonable  to  think  it  was 
more  than  the  pidler  himself  ;  sure  now  where  was  the 
smell  of  sulphur,  and  the  wings,  and  the  tail,  and  the 
cloven  foot  ? — besides,  sargeant,  it's  no  dacent  to  tell  a 
lone  female  that  she  had  Beelzeboob  for  a  bedfellow." 

"  Jt  matters  but  little,  Mrs.  Flanagan,  provided  you 
escape  his  talons  and  fangs  hereafter,"  returned  the  vet- 
eran, following  the  remark  by  a  heavy  draught. 

Caesar  heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  little  danger 


228  THE  SPY. 

from  this  pair  was  to  be  apprehended.  His  teeth  already 
began  to  chatter,  and  the  cold  without  and  the  comfort 
within  stimulated  him  greatly  to  enter.  He  made  his  ap- 
proaches with  proper  caution,  and  knocked  with  extreme 
humility.  The  appearance  of  Hollister  with  a  drawn 
sword  roughly  demanding  who  was  without,  contributed 
in  no  degree  to  the  restoration  of  his  faculties  ;  but  fear 
itself  lent  him  power  to  explain  his  errand. 

"  Advance,"  said  the  sergeant,  throwing  a  look  of  close 
scrutiny  on  the  black,  as  he  brought  him  to  the  light ; 
"  advance  and  deliver  your  despatches  ;  have  you  the  coun- 
tersign ? " 

"  I  don't  tink  he  know  what  dat  be,"  said  the  black, 
shaking  in  his  shoes,  "  dough  massa  dat  sent  me  gib  me 
many  tings  to  carry,  dat  he  little  understand." 

"  Who  ordered  you  on  this  duty  did  you  say  ?  " 

"Well,  it  war  he  doctor  heself,  so  he  come  up  on  a  gal- 
lop as  he  always  do  on  a  doctor's  errand." 

"  'Twas  Doctor  Sitgreaves  ;  he  never  knows  the  counter- 
sign himself.  Now,  blackey,  had  it  been  Captain  Lawton, 
he  would  not  have  sent  you  here,  close  to  a  sentinel,  with- 
out the  countersign  ;  for  you  might  get  a  pistol  bullet 
through  your  head,  and  that  would  be  cruel  to  you  ;  for 
although  you  be  black,  I  am  none  of  them  who  think 
niggers  have  no  souls." 

"  Sure  a  nagur  has  as  much  sowl  as  a  white,"  said  Betty  ; 
"come  hither,  ould  man,  and  warm  that  shivering  carcass 
of  yeers  by  the  blaze  of  this  fire.  I'm  sure  a  Guinea  nagur 
loves  hate  as  much  as  a  souldier  loves  his  drop." 

Caesar  obeyed  in  silence,  and  a  mulatto  boy,  who  was 
sleeping  on  a  bench  in  the  room,  was  bidden  to  convey 
the  note  of  the  surgeon  to  the  building  where  the  wounded 
were  quartered. 

"Here,"  said  the  washerwoman,  tendering  to  Caesar  a 
taste  of  the  article  that  most  delighted  herself,  "  try  a  drop, 
smooty,  'twill  warm  the  black  sowl  within  your  crazy  body, 
and  be  giving  you  spirits  as  you  are  going  homeward." 

"  I  tell  you,  Elizabeth,"  said  the  sergeant,  "  that  the 
souls  of  niggers  are  the  same  as  our  own  ;  how  often  have 
I  heard  the  good  Mr.  Whitefield  say,  that  there  was  no 
distinction  of  color  in  heaven.  Therefore  it  is  reasonable 
to  believe  that  the  soul  of  this  here  black  is  as  white  as 
my  own,  or  even  Major  Dunwoodie's." 

"  Be  sure  he  be,"  cried  Caesar,  a  little  tartly,  whose 
courage  had  revived  by  tasting  the  drop  of  Mrs.  Flanagan. 


THE   SPY.  229 

"  It's  a  good  sowl  that  the  major  is,  anyway,"  returned 
the  washerwoman  ;  "  and  a  kind  sowl — ay,  and  a  brave 
sowl  too  ;  and  ye'll  say  all  that  yeerself,  sergeant,  I'm 
thinking." 

"For  the  matter  of  that,"  returned  the  veteran,  "there 
is  one  above  even  Washington,  to  judge  of  souls  ;  but  this 
I  will  say,  that  Major  Dunwoodie  is  a  gentleman  who  never 
says,  Go,  boys — but  always  says,  Come,  boys ;  and  if  a 
poor  fellow  is  in  want  of  a  spur  or  a  martingale,  and  the 
leather-whack  is  gone,  there  is  never  wanting  the  real  silver 
to  make  up  the  loss,  and  that  from  his  own  pocket,  too." 

"  Why,  then,  are  you  here  idle  when  all  that  he  holds 
most  dear  are  in  danger?"  cried  a  voice,  with  startling 
abruptness  ;  "  mount,  mount,  and  follow  your  captain  ; 
arm  and  mount,  and  that  instantly,  or  you  will  be  too 
late ! " 

This  unexpected  interruption  produced  an  instantaneous 
confusion  among  the  tipplers.  Caesar  fled  instinctively 
into  the  fireplace,  where  he  maintained  his  position  in  de- 
fiance of  a  heat  that  would  have  roasted  a  white  man. 
Sergeant  Hollister  turned  promptly  on  his  heel,  and  seiz- 
ing his  sabre,  the  steel  was  glittering  by  the  firelight,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  ;  but  perceiving  the  intruder  to  be  the 
peddler,  who  stood  near  the  open  door  that  led  to  the  lean- 
to  in  the  rear,  he  began  to  fall  back  toward  the  position  of 
the  black,  with  a  military  intuition  that  taught  him  to  con- 
centrate his  forces.  Betty  alone  stood  her  ground,  by  the 
side  of  the  temporary  table.  Replenishing  the  mug  with 
a  large  addition  of  the  article  known  to  the  soldiery  by  the 
name  of  "  choke-dog,"  she  held  it  toward  the  peddler.  The 
eyes  of  the  washerwoman  had  for  some  time  been  swim- 
ming with  love  and  liquor,  and  turning  them  good-nat- 
uredly on  Birch,  she  cried  : 

"  Faith,  but  yee're  wilcome,  Mister  Fiddler,  or  Mister 
Birch,  or  Mister  Beelzeboob,  or  what's  yeer  name.  Yee're 
an  honest  divil  anyway,  and  I'm  hoping  that  you  found  the 
pitticoats  convanient.  Come  forward,  dear,  and  fale  the 
fire  ;  Sargeant  Hollister  won't  be  hurting  you,  for  the  fear 
of  an  ill  turn  you  may  be  doing  him  hereafter — will  ye, 
sargeant,  dear  ? " 

"Depart,  ungodly  man  !"  cried  the  veteran,  edging  still 
nearer  to  Caesar,  but  lifting  his  legs  alternately  as  they 
scorched  with  the  heat ;  "  depart  in  peace  !  There  is  none 
here  for  thy  service,  and  you  seek  the  woman  in  vain. 
There  is  a  tender  mercy  that  will  save  her  from  thy  talons." 


230  THE   SPY. 

The  sergeant  ceased  to  utter  aloud,  but  the  motion  of  his 
lips  continued,  and  a  few  scattering  words  of  prayer  were 
alone  audible. 

The  brain  of  the  washerwoman  was  in  such  a  state  of 
confusion  that  she  did  not  clearly  comprehend  the  mean- 
ing of  her  suitor,  but  a  new  idea  struck  her  imagination, 
and  she  broke  forth  : 

"  If  it's  me  the  man  saaks,  where's  the  matter,  pray  ?  am 
I  not  a  widowed  body,  and  my  own  property  ?  And  you 
talk  of  tinderness,  sergeant  ;  but  it's  little  I  see  of  it  any 
way  ;  who  knows  but  Mr.  Beelzeboob  here  is  free  to  spake 
his  mind  ?  I'm  sure  it  is  willing  to  hear  it  I  am." 

"Woman,"  said  the  peddler,  "be  silent  ;  and  you,  fool- 
ish man,  mount — arm  and  mount,  and  fly  to  the  rescue  of 
your  officer,  if  you  are  worthy  of  the  cause  in  which  you 
serve,  and  would  not  disgrace  the  coat  you  wear."  The 
peddler  vanished  from  the  sight  of  the  bewildered  trio 
with  a  rapidity  that  left  them  uncertain  whither  he  had 
fled. 

On  hearing  the  voice  of  an  old  friend,  Caesar  emerged 
from  his  corner,  and  fearlessly  advanced  to  the  spot  where 
Betty  had  resolutely  maintained  her  ground,  though  in  a 
state  of  utter  mental  confusion. 

"  I  wish  Harvey  stop,"  said  the  black  ;  "  if  he  ride  down 
a  road,  I  should  like  be  company  ; — I  don't  think  Johnny 
Birch  hurt  he  own  son." 

"  Poor  ignorant  wretch  !  "  exclaimed  the  veteran,  recov- 
ering his  voice  with  a  long-drawn  breath ;  "  think  you  that 
figure  was  made  of  flesh  and  blood  ?" 

"  Harvey  ain't  fleshy,"  replied  the  black,  u  but  he  berry 
clebber  man." 

"  Pooh  !  sargeant  dear,"  exclaimed  the  washerwoman, 
"  talk  rason  for  once,  and  mind  what  the  knowing  one  tells 
yee ;  call  out  the  boys,  and  ride  a  bit  after  Captain  Jack  ; 
rimimber,  darling,  that  he  told  yee,  the  day,  to  be  in  readi- 
ness to  mount  at  a  moment's  warning." 

"  Ay,  but  not  at  a  summons  from  the  foul  fiend.  Let 
Captain  Lawton,  or  Lieutenant  Mason,  or  Cornet  Skip- 
worth  say  the  word,  and  who  is  quicker  in  the  saddle  than 
I?" 

"  Well,  sargeant,  how  often  is  it  that  yee've  boasted  to 
myself  that  the  corps  wasn't  a  bit  afeard  to  face  the 
divil?" 

"  No  more  are  we,  in  battle  array,  and  by  daylight  ; 
but  it's  foolhardy  and  irreverent  to  tempt  Satan,  and  on 


THE   SPY.  234 

such  a  night  as  this  ;  listen  how  the  wind  whistles  through 
the  trees  ;  and  hark !  there  is  howling  of  evil  spirits 
abroad." 

"  I  see  him,"  said  Caesar,  opening  his  eyes  to  a  width  that 
might  have  embraced  more  than  an  ideal  form. 

u  Where  ?  "  interrupted  the  sergeant,  instinctively  laying 
his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his  sabre. 

"  No — no,"  said  the  black,  "  I  see  a  Johnny  Birch  come 
out  of  he  grave — Johnny  walk  afore  he  buried." 

"Ah  !  then  he  must  have  led  an  evil  life  indeed,"  said 
Hollister  ;  "  the  blessed  in  spirit  lie  quiet  until  the  general 
muster,  but  wickedness  disturbs  the  soul  in  this  life  as  well 
as  in  that  which  is  to  come." 

"And  what  is  to  corne  of  Captain  Jack  ?"  cried  Betty, 
angrily;  "is  it  yeer  orders  that  yee  won't  mind,  nor  a 
warning  given  ?  I'll  jist  git  my  cart,  and  ride  down  and 
tell  him  that  yee're  afeard  of  a  dead  man  and  Beelzeboob, 
and  it  isn't  succor  he  may  be  expicting  from  yee.  I  won- 
der who'll  be  the  orderly  of  the  troop  the  morrow,  then  ? 
— his  name  won't  be  Hollister,  any  way." 

"  Nay,  Betty,  nay,"  said  the  sergeant,  laying  his  hand 
familiarly  on  her  shoulder  ;  "  if  there  must  be  riding  to- 
night, let  it  be  by  him  whose  duty  it  is  to  call  out  the  men 
and  to  set  an  example.  The  Lord  have  mercy,  and  send 
us  enemies  of  flesh  and  blood  ! " 

Another  glass  confirmed  the  veteran  in  a  resolution  that 
was  only  excited  by  the  dread  of  his  captain's  displeasure, 
and  he  proceeded  to  summon  the  dozen  men  who  had  been 
left  under  his  command.  The  boy  arriving  with  the  ring, 
Caesar  placed  it  carefully  in  the  pocket  of  his  waistcoat 
next  his  heart,  and,  mounting,  shut  his  eyes,  seized  his 
charger  by  the  mane,  and  continued  in  a  state  of  compara- 
tive insensibility  until  the  animal  stopped  at  the  door  of 
the  warm  stable  whence  he  had  started. 

The  movements  of  the  dragoons,  being  timed  to  the  or- 
der of  a  march,  were  much  slower,  for  they  were  made  with 
a  watchfulness  that  was  intended  to  guard  against  surprise 
from  the  evil  one  himself. 


232  THK   SPY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Be  not  your  tongue  thy  own  shame's  orator ; 

Look  sweet,  speak  fair,  become  disloyalty  ; 

Apparel  vice  like  virtue's  harbinger. — Comedy  of  Errors. 

THE  situation  of  the  party  in  Mr.  Wharton's  dwelling 
was  sufficiently  awkward  during  the  hour  of  Caesar's  ab- 
sence ;  for  such  was  the  astonishing  rapidity  displayed  by 
his  courser,  that  the  four  miles  of  road  was  gone  over,  and 
the  events  we  have  recorded  had  occurred  somewhat 
within  that  period  of  time.  Of  course,  the  gentlemen 
strove  to  make  the  irksome  moments  fly  as  swiftly  as  pos- 
sible ;  but  premeditated  happiness  is  certainly  of  the  least 
joyous  kind.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  areimmemorially 
privileged  to  be  dull,  and  but  few  of  their  friends  seemed 
disposed,  on  the  present  occasion,  to  dishonor  their  exam- 
ple. The  English  colonel  exhibited  a  proper  portion  of 
uneasiness  at  this  unexpected  interruption  of  his  felicity, 
and  he  sat  with  a  varying  countenance  by  the  side  of 
Sarah,  who  seemed  to  be  profiting  by  the  delay  to  gather 
fortitude  for  the  solemn  ceremony.  In  the  midst  of  this 
embarrassing  silence,  Dr.  Sitgreaves  addressed  himself  to 
Miss  Peyton,  by  whose  side  he  had  contrived  to  procure  a 
chair. 

"  Marriage,  madam,  is  pronounced  to  be  honorable  in 
the  sight  of  God  and  man  ;  and  it  may  be  said  to  be  re- 
duced, in  the  present  age,  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  reason. 
The  ancients,  in  sanctioning  polygamy,  lost  sight  of  the 
provisions  of  nature,  and  condemned  thousands  to  misery  ; 
but  with  the  increase  of  science  have  grown  the  wise  ordi- 
nances of  society,  which  ordain  that  man  should  be  the 
husband  of  but  one  woman." 

Wellmere  glanced  a  fierce  expression  of  disgust  at  the 
surgeon,  that  indicated  his  sense  of  the  tediousness  of  the 
other's  remarks  ;  while  Miss  Peyton,  with  a  slight  hesita- 
tion, as  if  fearful  of  touching  on  forbidden  subjects,  re- 
plied : 

"  I  had  thought,  sir,  that  we  were  indebted  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion  for  our  morals  on  this  subject." 

"  True,  madam,  it  is  somewhere  provided  in  the  pre- 
scriptions of  the  apostles,  that  the  sexes  should  henceforth 
be  on  an  equality  in  this  particular.  But  in  what  degree 


THE   SPY.  233 

could  polygamy  affect  holiness  of  life  ?  It  was  probably  a 
wise  arrangement  of  Paul,  who  was  much  of  a  scholar,  and 
probably  had  frequent  conferences  on  this  important  sub- 
ject with  Luke,  whom  we  all  know  to  have  been  bred  to 
the  practice  of  medicine " 

There  is  no  telling  how  far  the  discursive  fancy  of  Sit- 
greaves  might  have  led  him  on  this  subject,  had  he  not 
been  interrupted.  But  Lawton,  who  had  been  a  close 
though  silent  observer  of  all  that  passed,  profited  by  the 
hint  to  ask,  abruptly : 

"  Pray,  Colonel  Wellmere,  in  what  manner  is  bigamy 
punished  in  England  ?" 

The  bridegroom  started,  and  his  lip  blanched.  Recov- 
ering himself,  however,  on  the  instant,  he  answered,  with  a 
suavity  that  became  so  happy  a  man : 

"  Death  ! — as  such  an  offence  merits,"  he  said. 

"  Death  and  dissection,"  continued  the  operator  ;  "it  is 
seldom  that  the  law  loses  sight  of  eventual  utility  in  a 
malefactor.  Bigamy,  in  a  man,  is  a  heinous  offence  !" 

"  More  so  than  celibacy  ?  "  asked  Lawton. 

"  More  so,"  returned  the  surgeon,  with  undisturbed  sim- 
plicity ;  "  he  who  remains  in  a  single  state  may  devote  his 
life  to  science  and  the  extension  of  knowledge,  if  not  of  his 
species  ;  but  the  wretch  who  profits  by  the  constitutional 
tendency  of  the  female  sex  to  credulity  and  tenderness, 
incurs  the  wickedness  of  a  positive  sin,  heightened  by  the 
baseness  of  deception." 

"  Really,  sir,  the  ladies  are  infinitely  obliged  to  you,  for 
attributing  folly  to  them  as  part  of  their  nature." 

"Captain  Lawton,  in  man  the  animal  is  more  nobly 
formed  than  in  woman.  The  nerves  are  endowed  with  less 
sensibility  ;  the  whole  frame  is  less  pliable  and  yielding  ;  is 
it,  therefore,  surprising,  that  a  tendency  to  rely  on  the 
faith  of  her  partner  is  more  natural  to  woman  than  to  the 
other  sex  ? " 

Wellmere,  as  if  unable  to  listen  with  any  degree  of  pa- 
tience to  so  ill-timed  a  dialogue,  sprang  from  his  seat,  and 
paced  the  floor  in  disorder.  Pitying  his  situation,  the  rev- 
erend gentleman,  who  was  patiently  awaiting  the  return  of 
Caesar,  changed  the  discourse,  and  a  few  minutes  brought 
the  black  himself.  The  billet  was  handed  to  Dr.  Sit- 
greaves;  for  Miss  Peyton  had  expressly  enjoined  Caesar 
not  to  implicate  her,  in  any  manner,  in  the  errand  on 
which  he  was  despatched.  The  note  contained  a  summary 
statement  of  the  several  subjects  of  the  surgeon's  direc- 


234  THE   SPY. 

tions,  and  referred  him  to  the  black  for  the  ring.  The  lat- 
ter was  instantly  demanded,  and  promptly  delivered.  A 
transient  look  of  melancholy  clouded  the  brow  of  the  sur- 
geo'n,  as  he  stood  a  moment  and  gazed  silently  on  the  bau- 
ble ;  nor  did  he  remember  the  place,  or  the  occasion, 
while  he  soliloquized  as  follows  : 

"  Poor  Anna!  gay  as  innocence  and  youth  could  make 
thee  was  thy  heart,  when  this  cincture  was  formed  to  grace 
thy  nuptials  ;  but  ere  the  hour  had  come,  God  had  taken 
thee  to  himself.  Years  have  passed,  my  sister,  but  never 
have  I  forgotten  the  companion  of  my  infancy  !  "  He  ad- 
vanced to  Sarah,  and,  unconscious  of  observation,  placing 
the  ring  on  her  finger,  continued — "She  for  whom  it  was 
intended  has  long  been  in  her  grave,  and  the  youth  who 
bestowed  the  gift  soon  followed  her  sainted  spirit  ;  take  it, 
madam,  and  God  grant  that  it  may  be  an  instrument  in 
making  you  as  happy  as  you  deserve  !" 

Sarah  felt  a  chill  at  her  heart  as  this  burst  of  feeling 
escaped  the  surgeon  ;  but  Wellmere  offering  his  hand,  she 
was  led  before  the  divine,  and  the  ceremony  began.  The 
first  words  of  this  imposing  office  produced  a  dead  still- 
ness in  the  apartment ;  and  the  minister  of  God  proceeded 
to  the  solemn  exhortation,  and  witnessed  the  plighted 
troth  of  the  parties,  when  the  investiture  was  to  follow. 
The  ring  had  been  left,  from  inadvertency  and  the  agita- 
tion of  the  moment,  on  the  finger  where  Sitgreaves  had 
placed  it  ; — the  slight  interruption  occasioned  by  the  cir- 
cumstance was  over,  and  the  clergyman  was  about  to  pro- 
ceed, when  a  figure  gliding  into  the  midst  of  the  party, 
at  once  put  a  stop  to  the  ceremony.  It  was  the  peddler. 
His  look  was  bitter  and  ironical,  while  a  finger,  raised  to- 
ward the  divine,  seemed  to  forbid  the  ceremony  to  go  any 
further. 

"Can  Colonel  Wellmere  waste  the  precious  moments 
here,  when  his  wife  has  crossed  the  ocean  to  meet  him  ? 
The  nights  are  long,  and  the  moon  bright ; — a  few  hours 
will  take  him  to  the  city." 

Aghast  at  the  suddenness  of  this  extraordinary  address, 
Wellmere  for  the  moment  lost  the  command  of  his  facul- 
ties. To  Sarah  the  countenance  of  Birch,  expressive  as 
it  was,  produced  no  terror  ;  but  the  instant  she  recovered 
from  the  surprise  of  his  interruption,  she  turned  her  anx- 
ious gaze  on  the  features  of  the  man  to  whom  she  had 
just  pledged  her  troth.  They  afforded  the  most  terrible 
confirmation  of  all  that  the  peddler  affirmed  ;  the  room 


THE   SPY.  235 

whirled  round,  and  she  fell  lifeless  into  the  arms  of  her 
aunt.  There  is  an  instinctive  delicacy  in  woman,  that 
seems  to  conquer  all  other  emotions  ;  and  the  insensible 
bride  was  immediately  conveyed  from  sight,  leaving  the 
room  to  the  sole  possession  of  the  other  sex. 

The  confusion  enabled  the  peddler  to  retreat  with  a 
rapidity  that  would  have  baffled  pursuit,  had  any  been  at- 
tempted, and  Wellmere  stood  with  every  eye  fixed  on  him, 
in  ominous  silence. 

"  'Tis  false — 'tis  false  as  hell !  "  he  cried,  striking  his 
forehead.  "  I  have  ever  denied  her  claim  ;  nor  will  the 
laws  of  my  country  compel  me  to  acknowledge  it." 

"  But  what  will  conscience  and  the  laws  of  God  do  ? " 
asked  Lawton. 

"  'Tis  well,  sir,"  said  Wellmere,  haughtily,  and  retreating 
toward  the  door;  "my  situation  protects  you  now;  but  a 
time  may  come " 

He  had  reached  the  entry,  when  a  slight  tap  on  his 
shoulder  caused  him  to  turn  his  head  ;  it  was  Captain 
Lawton,  who,  with  a  smile  of  peculiar  meaning,  beckoned 
him  to  follow.  The  state  of  Wellmere's  mind  was  such, 
that  he  would  gladly  have  gone  anywhere  to  avoid  the 
gaze  of  horror  and  detestation  that  glared  from  every  eye 
he  met.  They  reached  the  stables  before  the  trooper 
spoke,  when  he  cried  aloud  : 

"  Bring  out  Roanoke  !  " 

His  man  appeared  with  the  steed  caparisoned  for  his 
master.  Lawton,  coolly  throwing  the  bridle  on  the  neck 
of  the  animal,  took  his  pistols  from  the  holsters  and  con- 
tinued— "  Here  are  weapons  that  have  seen  good  service 
before  to-day — ay,  and  in  honorable  hands,  sir.  These 
were  the  pistols  of  my  father,  Colonel  Wellmere  ;  he  used 
them  with  credit  in  the  wars  with  France,  and  gave  them 
to  me  to  fight  the  battles  of  my  country  with.  In  what 
better  way  can  I  serve  her  than  in  exterminating  a 
wretch  who  would  have  blasted  one  of  her  fairest  daugh- 
ters ? "  

"This  injurious  treatment  shall  meet  with  its  reward," 
cried  the  other,  seizing  the  offered  weapon  ;  "  the  blood 
lie  on  the  head  of  him  who  sought  it !  " 

"Amen  !  but  hold  a  moment,  sir.  You  are  now  free, 
and  the  passports  of  Washington  are  in  your  pocket  ;  I 
give  you  the  fire  ;  if  I  fall,  there  is  a  steed  that  will  out- 
strip pursuit ;  and  I  would  advise  you  to  retreat  without 
much  delay,  for  even  Archibald  Sitgreaves  would  fight  in 


236  THE  SPY. 

such  a  cause — nor  will  the  guard  above  be  very  apt  to  give 
quarter." 

"  Are  you  ready  ? "  asked  Wellmere,  gnashing  his  teeth 
with  rage. 

"  Stand  forward,  Tom,  with  the  lights  ; — fire  !  " 

Wellmere  fired,  and  the  bullion  flew  from  the  epaulette 
of  the  trooper. 

"  Now  the  turn  is  mine,"  said  Lawton,  deliberately  lev- 
elling a  pistol. 

"  And  mine  !  "  shouted  a  voice,  as  the  weapon  was 
struck  from  his  hand.  "  By  all  the  devils  in  hell,  'tis  the 
mad  Virginian  ! — fall  on,  my  boys,  and  take  him  ;  this  is  a 
prize  not  hoped  for!" 

Unarmed  and  surprised  as  he  was,  Lawton's  presence  of 
mind  did  not  desert  him  ;  he  felt  that  he  was  in  the  hands 
of  those  from  whom  he  was  to  expect  no  mercy  ;  and,  as 
four  of  the  Skinners  fell  upon  him  at  once,  he  used  his 
gigantic  strength  to  the  utmost.  Three  of  the  band 
grasped  him  by  the  neck  and  arms,  with  an  intent  to  clog 
his  efforts,  and  pinion  him  with  ropes.  The  first  of  these 
he  threw  from  him  with  a  violence  that  sent  him  against 
the  building,  where  he  lay  stunned  with  the  blow.  But 
the  fourth  seized  his  legs  ;  and,  unable  to  contend  with 
such  odds,  the  trooper  came  to  the  earth,  bringing  with 
him  all  of  his  assailants.  The  struggle  on  the  ground  was 
short  but  terrific  ;  curses  and  the  most  dreadful  impreca- 
tions were  uttered  by  the  Skinners,  who  in  vain  called  on 
more  of  their  band,  who  were  gazing  on  the  combat  in 
nerveless  horror,  to  assist.  A  difficulty  of  breathing,  from 
one  of  the  combatants,  was  heard,  accompanied  by  the 
stifled  moanings  of  a  strangled  man  ;  and  directly  one  of 
the  group  arose  on  his  feet,  shaking  himself  free  from  the 
wild  grasp  of  the  others.  Both  Wellmere  and  the  servant 
of  Lawton  had  fled  ;  the  former  to  the  stables,  and  the  lat- 
ter to  give  the  alarm,  leaving  all  in  darkness.  The  figure 
that  stood  erect  sprang  into  the  saddle  of  the  unheeded 
charger  ;  sparks  of  fire,  issuing  from  the  armed  feet  of  the 
horse,  gave  a  momentary  light  by  which  the  captain  was 
seen  dashing  like  the  wind  toward  the  highway. 

"  By  hell,  he's  off !  "  cried  the  leader,  hoarse  with  rage 
and  exhaustion  ;  "  fire  ! — bring  him  down — fire,  or  you'll 
be  too  late." 

The  order  was  obeyed,  and  one  moment  of  suspense  fol- 
lowed, in  the  vain  hope  of  hearing  the  huge  frame  of  Law- 
ton  tumbling  from  his  steed. 


THE   SPY.  237 

"  He  would  not  fall  if  you  had  killed  him,"  muttered 
one;  "I've  known  these  Virginians  sit  their  horses  with 
two  or  three  balls  through  them  ;  ay,  even  after  they  were 
dead." 

A  freshening  of  the  wind  wafted  the  tread  of  a  horse 
down  the  valley,  which,  by  its  speed,  gave  assurance  of  a 
rider  governing  its  motion. 

"  These  trained  horses  always  stop  when  the  rider 
falls,"  observed  one  of  the  gang. 

"Then,"  cried  the  leader,  striking  his  musket  on  the 
ground  in  a  rage,  "  the  fellow  is  safe  ! — to  your  business  at 
once.  A  short  half-hour  will  bring  down  that  canting  ser- 
geant and  the  guard  upon  us.  'Twill  be  lucky  if  the  guns 
don't  turn  them  out.  Quick,  to  your  posts,  and  fire  the 
house  in  the  chambers  ;  smoking  ruins  are  good  to  cover 
evil  deeds." 

"  What  is  to  be  done  with  this  lump  of  earth  ? "  cried 
another,  pushing  the  body  that  yet  lay  insensible  where  it 
had  been  hurled  by  the  arm  of  Lawton  ;  "  a  little  rubbing 
would  bring  him  to." 

"  Let  him  lie,"  said  the  leader,  fiercely  ;  "  had  he  been 
half  a  man,  that  dragooning  rascal  would  have  been  in  my 
power  ; — enter  the  house,  I  say,  and  fire  the  chambers. 
We  can't  go  amiss  here — there  is  plate  and  money  enough 
to  make  you  all  gentlemen — and  revenge  too." 

The  idea  of  silver  in  any  way  was  not  to  be  resisted  ; 
and  leaving  their  companion,  who  began  to  show  faint 
signs  of  life,  they  rushed  tumultuously  toward  the  dwelling. 
Wellmere  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity,  and,  stealing 
from  the  stables  with  his  own  charger,  he  was  able  to  gain 
the  highway  unnoticed.  For  an  instant  he  hesitated, 
whether  to  ride  toward  the  point  where  he  knew  the  guard 
was  stationed,  and  endeavor  to  rescue  the  family,  or,  profit- 
ing by  his  liberty,  and  the  exchange  that  had  been  effected 
by  the  divine,  to  seek  the  royal  army.  Shame,  and  a  con- 
sciousness of  guilt,  determined  him  to  take  the  latter 
course,  and  he  rode  toward  New  York,  stung  with  the  re- 
flection of  his  own  baseness,  and  harassed  with  the  appre- 
hension of  meeting  with  an  enraged  woman,  that  he  had 
married  during  his  late  visit  to  England,  but  whose  claims, 
as  soon  as  his  passion  was  sated,  he  had  resolved  never 
willingly  to  admit.  In  the  tumult  and  agitation  of  the  mo- 
ment, the  retreat  of  Lawton  and  Wellmere  was  but  little 
noticed  ;  the  condition  of  Mr.  Wharton  demanded  the  care 
and  consolation  of  both  the  surgeon  and  the  divine.  The 


238  THE   SPY. 

report  of  the  firearms  first  roused  the  family  to  the  sense 
of  a  new  danger,  and  but  a  moment  elapsed  before  the 
leader,  and  one  more  of  the  gang,  entered  the  room. 

"  Surrender  !  you  servants  of  King  George,"  shouted 
the  leader,  presenting  his  musket  to  the  breast  of  Sit- 
greaves,  "  or  I  will  let  a  little  tory  blood  from  your 
veins." 

"  Gently — gently,  my  friend,"  said  the  surgeon  ;  "  you 
are  doubtless  more  expert  in  inflicting  wounds  than  in 
healing  them  ;  the  weapon  that  you  hold  so  indiscreetly  is 
extremely  dangerous  to  animal  life." 

"Yield,  or  take  its  contents." 

"  Why  and  wherefore  should  I  yield  ?  I  am  a  non- 
combatant.  The  articles  of  capitulation  must  be  arranged 
with  Captain  John  Lawton  ;  though  yielding,  I  believe,  is 
not  a  subject  on  which  you  will  find  him  particularly  com- 
plying." 

The  fellow  had  by  this  time  taken  such  a  survey  of  the 
group,  as  convinced  him  that  little  danger  was  to  be  appre- 
hended from  resistance,  and  eager  to  seize  his  share  of  the 
plunder,  he  dropped  his  musket,  and  was  soon  busy,  with 
the  assistance  of  his  men,  in  arranging  divers  articles  of 
plate  in  bags.  The  cottage  now  presented  a  singular  spec- 
tacle— the  ladies  were  gathered  around  Sarah,  who  yet  con- 
tinued insensible,  in  one  of  the  rooms  that  had  escaped  the 
notice  of  the  marauders.  Mr.  Wharton  sat  in  a  state  of 
perfect  imbecility,  listening  to,  but  not  profiting  by,  the 
unmeaning  words  of  comfort  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  the 
clergyman.  Singleton  was  lying  on  a  sofa,  shaking  with 
debility,  and  inattentive  to  surrounding  objects  ;  while  the 
surgeon  was  administering  restoratives  and  looking  at  the 
dressings  with  a  coolness  that  mocked  the  tumult.  Caesar 
and  the  attendant  of  Captain  Singleton  had  retreated  to 
the  wood  in  the  rear  of  the  cottage,  and  Katy  Haynes  was 
flying  about  the  building,  busily  employed  in  forming  a 
bundle  of  valuables,  from  which,  with  the  most  scrupulous 
honesty,  she  rejected  every  article  that  was  not  really  and 
truly  her  own. 

But  to  return  to  the  party  at  the  Four  Corners.  When 
the  veteran  had  got  his  men  mounted  and  under  arms,  a 
restless  desire  to  participate  in  the  glory  and  dangers  of 
the  expedition  came  over  the  washerwoman.  Whether 
she  was  impelled  to  the  undertaking  by  a  dread  of  remain- 
ing  alone,  or  a  wish  to  hasten  in  person  to  the  relief  of 
her  favorite,  we  will  not  venture  to  assert  ;  but,  as  Hollis- 


THE   SPY.  239 

ter  was  giving  the  orders  to  wheel  and  march,  the  voice  of 
Betty  was  heard,  exclaiming  : 

"Stop  a  bit,  sargeant  dear,  till  two  of  the  boys  git  out 
the  cart,  and  I'll  jist  ride  wid  yee ;  'tis  like  there'll  be 
wounded,  and  it  will  be  mighty  convanient  to  bring  then} 
home  in." 

Although  inwardly  much  pleased  with  any  cause  of  de- 
lay to  a  service  that  he  so  little  relished,  Hollister  affected 
some  displeasure  at  the  detention. 

"Nothing  but  a  cannon  ball-  can  take  one  of  my  lads 
from  his  charger,"  he  said  ;  "and  it's  not  very  likely  that 
we  shall  have  as  fair  fighting  as  cannon  and  musketry,  in 
a  business  of  the  evil  one's  inventing  ;  so,  Elizabeth,  you 
may  go  if  you  will,  but  the  cart  will  not  be  wanting." 

"  Now,  sargeant  dear,  you  lie,  any  way,"  said  Betty, 
who  was  somewhat  unduly  governed  by  her  potations  ; 
"and  wasn't  Captain  Singleton  shot  off  his  horse  but  tin 
days  gone  by  ?  ay,  and  Captain  Jack  himself  too  ;  and 
didn't  he  lie  on  the  ground,  face  uppermost,  and  back 
downward,  looking  grim  ?  and  didn't  the  boys  tink  him 
dead,  and  turn  and  lave  the  rig'lars  the  day  ?" 

"You  lie  back  again,"  cried  the  sergeant,  fiercely; 
"and  so  does  anyone  who  says  that  we  didn't  gain  the 
day." 

"  For  a  bit  or  so — only  I  mane  for  a  bit  or  so,"  said  the 
washerwoman  ;  "  but  Major  Dunwoodie  turned  you,  and 
so  you  licked  the  rig'lars.  But  the  captain  it  was  that  fell, 
and  I'm  thinking  that  there's  no  better  rider  going  ;  so, 
sargeant,  it's  the  cart  will  be  convanient.  Here,  two  of 
you,  jist  hitch  the  mare  to  the  tills,  and  it's  no  whiskey  that 
ye'll  be  wanting  the  morrow  ;  and  put  the  piece  of  Jenny's 
hide  under  the  pad  ;  the  baste  is  never  the  better  for  the 
rough  ways  of  the  county  Westchester."  The  consent  of 
the  sergeant  being  obtained,  the  equipage  of  Mrs.  Flana- 
gan was  soon  in  readiness  to  receive  its  burthen. 

"As  it  is  quite  uncertain  whether  we  shall  be  attacked 
in  front  or  in  rear,"  said  Hollister,  "  five  of  you  shall 
march  in  advance,  and  the  remainder  shall  cover  our  re- 
treat toward  the  barracks,  should  we  be  pressed.  'Tis  an 
awful  moment  to  a  man  of  little  learning,  Elizabeth,  to 
command  in  such  a  service  ;  for  my  part,  I  wish  devoutly 
that  one  of  the  officers  were  here  ;  but  my  trust  is  in  the 
Lord." 

"  Pooh  !  man,  away  wid  yee,"  said  the  washerwoman, 
who  had  got  herself  comfortably  seated  ;  "  the  divil  a  bit 


240  THE   SPY. 

of  an  inimy  is  there  near.  March  on,  hurry-skurry,  nnd 
let  the  mare  trot,  or  it's  but  little  that  Captain  Jack  will 
thank  yee  for  the  help." 

"Although  unlearned  in  matters  of  communicating  with 
spirits,  or  laying  the  dead,  Mrs.  Flanagan,"  said  the  vet- 
eran, "  I  have  not  served  through  the  old  war,  and  five 
years  in  this,  not  to  know  how  to  guard  the  baggage. 
Doesn't  Washington  always  cover  the  baggage  ?  I  am  not 
to  be  told  my  duty  by  a  camp-follower.  Fall  in  as  you 
are  ordered,  and  dress,  men." 

"Well,  march,  any  way,"  cried  the  impatient  washer- 
woman ;  "  the  black  is  there  already,  and  it's  tardy  the 
captain  will  think  yee." 

"  Are  you  sure  that  it  was  really  a  black  man  that 
brought  the  order  ? "  said  the  sergeant;  dropped  in  between 
the  platoons,  where  he  could  converse  with  Betty  and  be 
at  hand  to  lead  on  an  emergency,  either  on  an  advance  or 
on  a  retreat. 

"Fay — and  I'm  sure  of  nothing,  dear.  But  why  don't 
the  boys  prick  their  horses  and  jog  a  trot  ?  the  mare  is 
mighty  unasy,  and  it's  no  warm  in  this  cursed  valley,  rid- 
ing as  much  like  a  funeral  party  as  old  rags  is  to  continen- 
tal."* 

"  Fairly  and  softly,  ay,  and  prudently,  Mrs.  Flanagan  ; 
it's  not  rashness  that  makes  the  good  officer.  If  we  have 
to  encounter  a  spirit,  it's  more  than  likely  he'll  make  his 
attack  by  surprise  ;  horses  are  not  very  powerful  in  the 
dark,  and  I  have  a  character  to  lose,  good  woman." 

"Caractur!  and  isn't  it  caractur  and  life  too  that  Cap- 
tain Jack  has  to  lose  ?" 

"  Halt !  "  cried  the  sergeant  ;  "  what  is  that  lurking  near 
the  foot  of  the  rock,  on  the  left  ?  " 

"  Sure,  it's  nothing,  unless  it  be  a  matter  of  Captain 
Jack's  sowl  that's  come  to  hunt  yee,  for  not  being  brisker 
on  the  march." 

"  Betty,  your  levity  makes  you  an  unfit  comrade  for 
such  an  expedition.  Advance,  one  of  you,  and  reconnoi- 
tre the  spot  ; — draw  swords  ! — rear  rank,  close  to  the 
front  ! " 

"Pshaw!"    shouted   Betty,   "is  it  a  big  fool  or  a  big 

*  The  paper  money  issued  by  congress  was  familiarly  called  continental 
money.  This  term  "  continental  "  was  applied  to  the  army,  the  congress, 
the  ships  of  war,  and,  in  short,  to  almost  everything  of  interest  which  be- 
longed to  the  new  government.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  invented  as 
the  opposite  of  the  insular  position  of  the  mother-country. 


THE   SPY.  241 

coward  that  yee  are  ?  Jist  wheel  from  the  road,  boys,  and 
I'll  shove  the  mare  down  upon  it  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye — and  it's  no  ghost  that  1  fear." 

By  this  time  one  of  the  men  had  returned,  and  declared 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  their  advancing,  and  the  party 
continued  their  march,  but  with  great  deliberation  and 
caution. 

"Courage  and  prudence  are  the  jewels  of  a  soldier, 
Mrs.  Flanagan,"  said  the  sergeant ;  "without  the  one,  the 
other  may  be  said  to  be  good  for  nothing." 

"  Prudence  without  courage  :  is  it  that  you  mane  ? — 
and  it's  so  that  I'm  thinking  myself,  sargeant.  This  baste 
pulls  tight  on  the  reins  anyway." 

<l  Be  patient,  good  woman  ; — hark  !  what  is  that  ? "  said 
Hollister,  pricking  up  his  ears  at  the  report  of  Wellmere's 
pistol  ;  "  I'll  swear  that  was  a  human  pistol,  and  one  from 
our  regiment.  Rear  rank,  close  to  the  front  !  Mrs.  Flan- 
agan, I  must  leave  you."  So  saying,  having  recovered  all 
his  faculties  by  hearing  a  sound  that  he  understood,  he 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  men  with  an  air  of  mili- 
tary pride  that  the  darkness  prevented  the  washerwoman 
from  beholding.  A  volley  of  musketry  now  rattled  in  the 
night  wind,  and  the  sergeant  exclaimed  : 

"  March  ! — quick  time  !  " 

The  next  instant  the  trampling  of  a  horse  was  heard 
coming  up  the  road,  at  a  rate  that  announced  a  matter  of 
life  or  death  ;  and  Hollister  again  halted  his  party,  riding 
a  short  distance  in  front  himself,  to  meet  the  rider. 

"  Stand  ! — who  goes  there  ?  "  shouted  Hollister. 

"  Ha  !  Hollister,  is  it  you  ?  "  cried  Lawton  ;  "  ever  ready 
and  at  your  post  ;  but  where  is  the  guard  ?" 

"  At  hand,  sir,  and  ready  to  follow  you  through  thick 
and  thin,"  said  the  veteran,  relieved  at  once  from  respon- 
sibility, and  as  eager  as  a  boy  to  be  led  against  his  enemy. 

"  'Tis  well  ! "  said  the  trooper,  riding  up  to  his  men  ; 
then  speaking  a  few  words  of  encouragement,  he  led  them 
down  the  valley  at  a  rate  but  little  less  rapid  than  his  ap- 
proach. The  miserable  horse  of  the  sutler  was  soon  dis- 
tanced, and  Betty,  thus  thrown  out  in  the  chase,  turned  to 
the  side  of  the  road,  and  observed  : 

4<  There — it's  no  difficult  to  tell  that  Captain  Jack  is  wid 
'em,  any  way  ;  and  away  they  go  like  so  many  nagur  boys 
to  a  husking  frolic  ; — well,  I'll  just  hitch  the  mare  to  this 
bit  of  a  fence,  and  walk  down  and  see  the  sport  afoot — it's 
no  rasonable  to  expose  the  baste  to  be  hurted." 
16 


242  THE   SPY. 

Led  on  by  Lawton,  the  men  followed,  destitute1  alike  of 
fear  and  reflection.  Whether  it  was  a  party  of  the  refugees, 
or  a  detachment  from  the  royal  army,  that  they  were  to 
assail,  they  were  profoundly  ignorant  ;  but  they  knew  that 
the  officer  in  advance  was  distinguished  for  courage  and 
personal  prowess  ;  and  these  are  virtues  that  are  sure  to 
captivate  the  thoughtless  soldiery.  On  arriving  near  the 
gates  of  the  Locusts,  the  trooper  halted  his  party,  and  made 
his  arrangements  for  the  assault.  Dismounting,  he  ordered 
eight  of  his  men  to  follow  his  example,  and  turning  to 
Hollister,  said  : 

"Stand  you  here,  and  guard  the  horses  ;  if  anything  at- 
tempt to  pass,  stop  it,  or  cut  it  down,  and "  The 

flames  at  this  moment  burst  through  the  dormer-window 
and  cedar  roof  of  the,  cottage,  and  a  bright  light  glared  on 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  "  On  !  "  shouted  the  trooper, 
"  on  ! — give  quarter  when  you  have  done  justice  !  " 

There  was  a  startling  fierceness  in  the  voice  of  the 
trooper  that  reached  to  the  heart,  even  amid  the  horrors  of 
the  cottage.  The  leader  of  the  Skinners  dropped  his  plun- 
der, and,  for  a  moment,  he  stood  in  nerveless  dread  ;  then 
rushing  to  a  window  he  threw  up  the  sash  ;— at  this  instant 
Lawton  entered,  sabre  in  hand,  into  the  apartment. 

"  Die,  miscreant ! "  cried  the  trooper,  cleaving  a  marau- 
der to  the  jaw  ;  but  the  leader  sprang  into  the  lawn,  and 
escaped  his  vengeance.  The  shrieks  of  the  females  restored 
Lawton  to  his  presence  of  mind,  and  the  earnest  entreaty 
of  the  divine  induced  him  to  attend  to  the  safety  of  the 
family.  One  more  of  the  gang  fell  in  with  the  dragoons, 
and  met  his  death  ;  but  the  remainder  had  taken  the  alarm 
in  season.  Occupied  with  Sarah,  neither  Miss  Singleton, 
nor  the  ladies  of  the  house,  had  discovered  the  entrance  of 
the  Skinners,  though  the  flames  were  raging  around  them 
with  a  fury  that  threatened  the  building  with  rapid  de- 
struction. The  shrieks  of  Katy  and  the  terrified  consort  of 
Caesar,  together  with  the  noise  and  uproar  in  the  adjacent 
apartment,  first  roused  Miss  Peyton  and  Isabella  to  a  sense 
of  their  danger. 

"  Merciful  Providence  !  "  exclaimed  the  alarmed  aunt  ; 
"  there  is  a  dreadful  confusion  in  the  house,  and  there  will 
be  bloodshed  in  consequence  of  the  affair." 

"There  are  none  to  fight,"  returned  Isabella,  with  a  face 
paler  than  that  of  the  other  ;  "  Dr.  Sitgreaves  is  very  peace- 
able in  his  disposition,  and  surely  Captain  Lawton  would 
not  forget  himself  so  far." 


SPY.  243 

"  The  southern  temper  is  quick  and  fiery,"  continued 
Miss  Peyton,  "and  your  brother,  feeble  and  weak  as  he  is, 
has  looked  the  whole  afternoon  flushed  and  angry." 

"  Good  heaven  ! "  cried  Isabella,  with  difficulty  sup- 
porting herself  on  the  couch  of  Sarah  ;  "  he  is  gentle  as  a 
lamb  by  nature,  though  the  lion  is  not  his  equal  when 
aroused." 

"We  must  interfere  ;  our  presence  will  quell  the  tumult 
and  possibly  save  the  life  of  a  fellow-creature." 

Miss  Peyton,  excited  to  attempt  what  she  conceived  a 
duty  worthy  of  her  sex  and  nature,  advanced  with  the  dig- 
nity of  injured  female  feeling  to  the  door,  followed  by  Isa- 
bella. The  apartment  to  which  Sarah  had  been  conveyed 
was  in  one  of  the  wings  of  the  building,  and  it  communi- 
cated with  the  principal  hall  of  the  cottage  by  a  long  and 
dark  passage.  This  was  now  light,  and  across  its  termina- 
tion several  figures  were  seen  rushing,  with  an  impetuosity 
that  prevented  an  examination  of  their  employment. 

"  Let  us  advance,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  with  a  firmness  her 
face  belied  ;  "they  must  respect  our  sex." 

"  They  shall,"  cried  Isabella,  taking  the  lead  in  the  en- 
terprise. Frances  was  left  alone  with  her  sister.  A  few 
minutes  were  passed  in  silence  ;  when  a  loud  crash,  in  the 
upper  apartments,  was  succeeded  by  a  bright  light  that 
glared  through  the  open  door,  and  made  objects  as  distinct 
to  the  eye  as  if  they  were  placed  under  a  noonday  sun. 
Sarah  raised  herself  on  her  bed,  and  staring  wildly  around, 
pressed  both  her  hands  on  her  forehead,  endeavoring  to 
recollect  herself  : 

"  This,  then,  is  heaven — and  you  are  one  of  its  bright 
spirits.  Oh  !  how  glorious  is  its  radiance!  I  had  thought 
the  happiness  I  have  lately  experienced  was  too  much  for 
earth.  But  we  shall  meet  again — yes — yes — we  shall  meet 
again." 

"Sarah!  Sarah!"  cried  Frances,  in  terror;  "my  sister 
— my  only  sister — Oh  !  do  not  smile  so  horridly  ;  know  me 
or  you  will  break  my  heart." 

"  Hush,"  said  Sarah,  raising  her  hand  for  silence  ;  "you 
may  disturb  his  rest — surely,  he  will  follow  me  to  the  grave. 
Think  you  there  can  be  two  wives  in  the  grave  ?  No — no 
— no — one — one — one — only  one." 

Frances  dropped  her  head  into  the  lap  of  her  sister,  and 
wept  in  agony. 

"  Do  you  shed  tears,  sweet  angel  ?  "  continued  Sarah, 
soothingly  ;  "  then  heaven  is  not  exempt  from  grief.  But 


244 


THE   SPY. 


where  is  Henry  !  He  was  executed,  and  he  must  be  here 
too  ;  perhaps  they  will  come  together.  Oh,  how  joyful 
will  be  the  meeting!  " 

Frances  sprang  on  her  feet  and  paced  the  apartment. 
The  eye  of  Sarah  followed  her  in  childish  admiration  of 
her  beauty. 

"  You  look  like  my  sister ;  but  all  good  and  lovely 
spirits  are  alike.  Tell  me,  were  you  ever  married  ?  Did 
you  ever  let  a  stranger  steal  your  affections  from  father, 
and  brother,  and  sister  ?  If  not,  poor  wretch,  I  pity  you, 
although  you  may  be  m  heaven." 

"Sarah — peace,  peace — I  implore  you  to  be  silent," 
shrieked  Frances,  rushing  to  her  bed,  "or  you  will  kill 
me  at  your  feet." 

Another  dreadful  crash  shook  the  building  to  its  centre. 
It  was  the  falling  of  the  roof,  and  the  flames  threw  their 
light  abroad,  so  as  to  make  objects  visible  around  the  cot- 
tage, through  the  windows  of  the  room.  Frances  flew  to 
one  of  them,  and  saw  the  confused  group  that  was  col- 
lected on  the  lawn.  Among  them  were  her  aunt  and  Isa- 
bella, pointing  with  distraction  to  the  fiery  edifice,  and 
apparently  urging  the  dragoons  to  enter  it.  For  the  first 
time  she  comprehended  their  danger ;  and  uttering  a  wild 
shriek,  she  flew  through  the  passage,  without  considera- 
tion or  object. 

A  dense  and  suffocating  column  of  smoke  opposed  her 
progress.  She  paused  to  breathe,  when  a  man  caught 
her  in  his  arms,  and  bore  her,  in  a  state  of  insensibility, 
through  the  falling  embers  and  darkness,  to  the  open  air. 
The  instant  that  Frances  recovered  her  recollection,  she 
perceived  that  she  owed  her  life  to  Lawton,  and  throwing 
herself  on  her  knees,  she  cried  : 

"Sarah  !  Sarah  !  Sarah  !  Save  my  sister,  and  may  the 
blessing  of  God  await  you  !  " 

Her  strength  failed,  and  she  sank  on  the  grass,  in  in- 
sensibility. The  trooper  pointed  to  her  figure,  motioned 
to  Katy  for  assistance,  and  advanced  once  more  to  the 
building.  The  fire  had  already  communicated  to  the 
woodwork  of  the  piazzas  and  windows,  and  the  whole  ex- 
terior of  the  cottage  was  covered  with  smoke.  The  only 
entrance  was  through  these  dangers,  and  even  the  hardy 
and  impetuous  Lawton  paused  to  consider.  It  was  for  a 
moment  only,  when  he  dashed  into  the  heat  and  darkness, 
where,  missing  the  entrance,  he  wandered  for  a  minute, 
and  precipitated  himself  back,  again,  upon  the  lawn. 


THE   SPY.  245 

Drawing  a  single  breath  of  pure  air,  he  renewed  the  effort, 
and  was  again  unsuccessful.  On  the  third  trial,  he  met  a 
man  staggering  urfder  the  load  of  a  human  body.  It  was 
neither  the  place,  nor  was  there  time,  to  question,  or  to 
make  distinctions  ;  seizing  both  in  his  arms,  with  gigantic 
strength,  he  bore  them  through  the  smoke.  He  soon  per- 
ceived, to  his  astonishment,  that  it  was  the  surgeon,  and 
the  body  of  one  of  the  Skinners,  that  he  had  saved. 

"  Archibald!"  he  exclaimed,  "why,  in  the  name  of  jus- 
tice, did  you  bring  this  miscreant  to  light  again?  His 
deeds  are  rank  to  heaven  !  " 

The  surgeon,  who  had  been  in  imminent  peril,  was  too 
much  bewildered  to  reply  instantly,  but,  wiping  the  mois- 
ture from  his  forehead,  and  clearing  his  lungs  from  the 
vapor  he  had  inhaled,  he  said,  piteously  : 

"Ah!  it  is  all  over!  Had  I  been  in  time  to  have 
stopped  the  effusion  from  the  jugular,  he  might  have 
been  saved  ;  but  the  heat  was  conducive  to  hemorrhage  ; 
life  is  extinct  indeed.  Well,  are  there  any  more  wounded  ?" 

His  question  was  put  to  the  air,  for  Frances  had  been 
removed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  building,  where  her 
friends  were  collected,  and  Lawton  once  more  had  disap- 
peared in  the  smoke. 

By  tin's  time  the  flames  had  dispersed  much  of  the  suf- 
focating vapor,  so  that  the  trooper  was  able  to  find  the 
door,  and  in  its  very  entrance  he  was  met  by  a  man  sup- 
porting the  insensible  Sarah.  There  was  but  barely  time 
to  reach  the  lawn  again,  before  the  fire  broke  through  the 
windows,  and  wrapped  the  whole  building  in  a  sheet  of 
flame. 

"  God  be  praised  ! "  ejaculated  the  preserver  of  Sarah  ; 
"  it  would  have  been  a  dreadful  death  to  die." 

The  trooper  turned  from  gazing  at  the  edifice  to  the 
speaker,  and  to  his  astonishmnet,  instead  of  one  of  his 
own  men,  he  beheld  the  peddler. 

"  Ha !  the  spy,"  he  exclaimed  :  "  by  heavens,  you  cross 
me  like  a  spectre." 

"Captain  Lawton,"  said  Birch,  leaning  in  momentary 
exhaustion  against  the  fence,  to  which  they  had  retired 
from  the  heat,  "  I  am  again  in  your  power,  for  I  can 
neither  flee,  nor  resist." 

"The  cause  of  America  is  dear  to  me  as  life,"  said  the 
trooper  ;  "  but  she  cannot  require  her  children  to  forget 
gratitude  and  honor.  Fly,  unhappy  man,  while  yet  you 
are  unseen,  or  it  will  exceed  my  power  to  save  you." 


246  THE   SPY. 

"  May  God  prosper  you,  and  make  you  victorious  over 
your  enemies,"  said  Birch,  grasping  the  hand  of  the 
dragoon  with  an  iron  strength  that  his*meagre  figure  did 
not  indicate. 

"  Hold  !  "  said  Lavvton  ;  "  but  a  word — are  you  what  you 
seem  ? — can  you — are  you " 

"  A  royal  spy,"  interrupted  Birch,  averting  his  face,  and 
endeavoring  to  release  his  hand. 

"  Then  go,  miserable  wretch,"  said  the  trooper,  relin- 
quishing his  grasp  :  "  either  avarice  or  delusion  has  led  a 
noble  heart  astray  !  " 

The  bright  light  from  the  flames  reached  a  great  dis- 
tance around  the  ruins,  but  the  words  were  hardly  past 
the  lips  of  Lawton,  before  the  gaunt  form  of  the  peddler 
had  glided  over  the  visible  space,  and  plunged  into  the 
darkness  beyond. 

The  eye  of  Lawton  rested  for  a  moment  on  the  spot 
where  he  *had  last  seen  this  inexplicable  man,  and  then 
turning  to  the  yet  insensible  Sarah,  he  lifted  her  in  his 
arms,  and  bore  her,  like  a  sleeping  infant,  to  the  care  of 
her  friends. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

And  now  her  charms  are  fading  fast, 
Her  spirits  now  no  more  are  gay  ; 
Alas  !  that  beauty  cannot  last  ! 
That  flowers  so  sweet  so  soon  decay  ! 

How  sad  appears 

The  vale  of  years, 

How  changed  from  youth's  too  flattering  scene  I 
Where  are  her  fond  admirers  gone? 
Alas  !  and  shall  there  then  be  none 
On  whom  her  soul  may  lean  ?  — Cynthia's  Grave. 

THE  walls  of  the  cottage  were  all  that  was  left  of  the 
building  ;  and  these,  blackened  by  smoke,  and  stripped  of 
their  piazzas  and  ornaments,  were  but  dreary  memorials  of 
the  content  and  security  that  had  so  lately  reigned  within. 
The  roof,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  woodwork,  had 
tumbled  into  the  cellars,  and  a  pale  and  flitting  light, 
ascending  from  their  embers,  shone  faintly  through  the 
windows.  The  early  flight  of  the  Skinners  left  the  dra- 
goons at  liberty  to  exert  themselves  in  saving  much  of  the 
furniture,  which  lay  scattered  in  heaps  on  the  lawn,  giving 


THE  SPY.  247 

the  finishing  touch  of  desolation  to  the  scene.  Whenever 
a  stronger  ray  of  light  than  common  shot  upward,  the 
composed  figures  of  Sergeant  Hollister  and  his  associates, 
sitting  on  their  horses  in  rigid  discipline,  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  background  of  the  picture,  together  with  the  beast 
of  Mrs.  Flanagan,  which,  having  slipped  its  bridle,  was 
quietly  grazing  by  the  highway.  Betty  herself  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  spot  where  the  sergeant  was  posted,  and  with 
an  incredible  degree  of  composure,  witnessed  the  whole  of 
the  events  as  they  occurred.  More  than  once  she  sug- 
gested to  her  companion  that,  as  the  fighting  seemed  to 
be  over,  the  proper  time  for  plunder  had  arrived  ;  but  the 
veteran  acquainted  her  with  his  orders,  and  remained  both 
inflexible  and  immovable  ;  until  the  washerwoman,  observ- 
ing Lawton  come  round  the  wing  of  the  building  with 
Sarah,  ventured  among  the  warriors.  The  captain,  after 
placing  Sarah  on  a  sofa  that  had  been  hurled  from  the 
building  by  two  of  his  men,  retired,  that  the  ladies  might 
succeed  him  in  his  care.  Miss  Peyton  and  her  niece  flew, 
with  a  rapture  that  was  blessed  with  a  momentary  forget- 
f ulness  of  all  but  her  preservation,  to  receive  Sarah  from 
the  trooper  ;  but  the  vacant  eye  and  flushed  cheek  restored 
them  instantly  to  their  recollection. 

"  Sarah,  my  child,  my  beloved  niece,"  said  the  former, 
folding  the  unconscious  bride  in  her  arms,  "you  are  saved, 
and  may  the  blessing  of  God  await  him  who  has  been  the 
instrument." 

"See,"  said  Sarah,  gently  pushing  her  aunt  aside,  and 
pointing  to  the  glimmering  ruins,  "the  windows  are  illu- 
minated in  honor  of  my  arrival.  They  always  receive  a 
bride  thus — he  told  me  they  would  do  no  less  ;  listen,  and 
you  will  hear  the  bells." 

"  Here  is  no  bride,  no  rejoicing,  nothing  but  woe  ! " 
cried  Frances,  in  a  manner  but  little  less  frantic  than  that 
of  her  sister.  "  Oh  !  may  Heaven  restore  you  to  us — to 
yourself !  " 

"  Peace,  foolish  young  woman,"  said  Sarah,  with  a  smile 
of  affected  pity  ;  "  all  cannot  be  happy  at  the  same  mo- 
ment ;  perhaps  you  have  no  brother,  or  husband,  to  con- 
sole you  ;  you  look  beautiful,  and  you  will  yet  find  one  ; 
but,"  she  continued,  dropping  her  voice  to  a \vhisper,  "see 
that  he  has  no  other  wife — 'tis  dreadful  to  think  what  might 
happen  should  he  be  twice  married." 

"  The  shock  has  destroyed  her  mind,"  cried  Miss  Pey- 
ton ;  "my  child,  my  beauteous  Sarah  is  a  maniac  !  " 


248  THE   SPY. 

"No,  no,  no,"  cried  Frances  ;  "it  is  fever  ;  she  is  light- 
headed—she must  recover — she  shall  recover." 

The  aunt  caught  joyfully  at  the  hope  conveyed  in  this 
suggestion,  and  despatched  Katy  to  request  the  immediate 
aid  and  advice  of  Dr.  Sitgreaves.  The  surgeon  was  found 
inquiring  among  the  men  for  professional  employment,  and 
inquisitively  examining  every  bruise  and  scratch  that  he 
could  induce  the  sturdy  warriors  to  acknowledge  they  had 
received.  A  summons  of  the  sort  conveyed  by  Katy  was 
instantly  obeyed,  and  not  a  minute  elapsed  before  he  was 
by  the  side  of  Miss  Peyton. 

"  This  is  a  melancholy  termination  to  so  joyful  a  com- 
mencement of  the  night,  madam,"  he  observed,  in  a  sooth- 
ing manner  ;  "but  war  must  bring  its  attendant  miseries; 
though  doubtless  it  often  supports  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
improves  the  knowledge  of  surgical  science." 

Miss  Peyton  could  make  no  reply,  but  pointed  to  her 
niece,  in  agony. 

"  'Tis  fever,"  answered  Frances  ;  "see  how  glassy  is  her 
eye,  and  look  at  her  cheek,  how  flushed." 

The  surgeon  stood  for  a  moment,  deeply  studying  the 
outward  symptoms  of  his  patient,  and  then  he  silently  took 
her  hand  in  his  own.  It  was  seldom  that  the  hard  and  ab- 
stracted features  of  Sitgreaves  discovered  any  violent  emo- 
tion ;  all  his  passions  seemed  schooled,  and  his  countenance 
did  not  often  betray  what,  indeed,  his  heart  frequently  felt. 
In  the  present  instance,  however,  the  eager  gaze  of  the  aunt 
and  sister  quickly  detected  his  emotions.  After  laying  his 
fingers  for  a  minute  on  the  beautiful  arm,  which,  bared  to 
the  elbow,  and  glittering  with  jewels,  Sarah  suffered  him 
to  retain,  he  dropped  it,  and  dashing  a  hand  over  his  eyes, 
turned  sorrowfully  away. 

"  Here  is  no  fever  to  excite — 'tis  a  case,  my  dear  madam, 
for  time  and  care  only  ;  these,  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
may  effect  a  cure." 

"  And  where  is  the  wretch  who  has  caused  this  ruin  ? " 
exclaimed  Singleton,  rejecting  the  support  of  his  man,  and 
making  an  effort  to  rise  from  the  chair  into  which  he  had 
been  driven  by  debility.  "  It  is  in  vain  that  we  overcome 
our  enemies,  if,  conquered,  they  can  inflict  such  wounds 
as  this." 

"  Dost  think,  foolish  boy,"  said  Lawton,  with  a  bittei 
smile,  "  that  hearts  can  feel  in  a  colony  ?  What  is  America 
but  a  satellite  of  England— to  move  as  she  moves,  follow 
where  she  wists,  and  shine,  that  the  mother-country  may 


THE  SPY.  249 

become  more  splendid  by  her  radiance  ?  Surely  you  forget 
that  it  is  honor  enough  for  a  colonist  to  receive  ruin  from 
the  hand  of  a  child  of  Britain?" 

"  I  forget  not  that  I  wear  a  sword,"  said  Singleton,  fall- 
ing back  exhausted  ;  "  but  was  there  no  willing  arm  ready 
to  avenge  that  lovely  sufferer — to  appease  the  wrongs  of 
that  hoary  father  ? " 

"  Neither  arms  nor  hearts  are  wanting,  sir,  in  such  a 
cause,"  said  Lawton,  bustling,  up  to  his  side  ;  "but chance 
oftentimes  helps  the  wicked.  By  heavens,  I'd  give  Roa- 
noke  himself  for  a  clear  field  with  the  miscreant !  " 

"  Nay !  captain  dear,  no  be  parting  with  the  horse,  any- 
way," said  Betty  ;  "it  is  no  trifle  that  can  be  had  by  jist 
asking  the  right  person,  if  yee're  in  need  of  silver,  and  the 
baste  is  sure  of  foot,  and  jumps  like  a  squirrel." 

"  Woman,  fifty  horses,  ay,  the  best  that  were  ever  reared 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  would  be  but  a  paltry  price 
for  one  blow  at  a  villain." 

"Come,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  the  night  air  can  do  no  ser- 
vice to  George,  or  these  ladies,  and  it  is  incumbent  on  us 
to  remove  them  where  they  can  find  surgical  attendance 
and  refreshment.  Here  is  nothing  but  smoking  ruins  and 
the  miasma  of  the  swamps." 

To  this  rational  proposition  no  objection  could  be  raised, 
and  the  necessary  orders  were  issued  by  Lawton  to  remove 
the  whole  party  to  the  Four  Corners. 

America  furnished  but  few  and  very  indifferent  carriage- 
makers  at  the  period  of  which  we  write,  and  every  vehi- 
cle that  in  the  least  aspired  to  that  dignity  was  the  man- 
ufacture of  a  London  mechanic.  When  Mr.  Wharton  left 
the  city  he  was  one  of  the  very  few  who  maintained  the 
state  of  a  carriage  ;  and,  at  the  time  Miss  Peyton  and  his 
daughters  joined  him  in  his  retirement,  they  had  been  con- 
veyed to  the  cottage  in  the  heavy  chariot  that  had  once  so 
imposingly  rolled  through  the  windings  of  Queen  Street, 
or  emerged,  with  sombre  dignity,  into  the  more  spacious 
drive  of  Broadway.  This  vehicle  stood,  undisturbed,  where 
it  had  been  placed  on  its  arrival,  and  the  age  of  the  horses 
alone  had  protected  the  favorites  of  Caesar  from  seques- 
tration by  the  contending  forces  in  their  neighborhood. 
With  a  heavy  heart,  the  black,  assisted  by  a  few  of  the 
dragoons,  proceeded  to  prepare  it  for  the  reception  of 
the  ladies.  It  was  a  cumbrous  vehicle,  whose  faded  lin- 
ings and  tarnished  hammercloth,  together  with  its  panels 
of  changing  colors,  denoted  the  want  of  that  art  which  had 


250  THE   SPY, 

once  given  it  lustre  and  beauty.  The  "  lion  couchant  "  of 
the  Wharton  arms  was  reposing  on  the  reviving  splendor 
of  a  blazonry  that  told  the  armorial  bearings  of  a  prince 
of  the  Church  ;  and  the  mitre,  that  already  began  to  shine 
through  its  American  mask,  was  a  symbol  of  the  rank  of 
its  original  owner.  The  chaise  which  conveyed  Miss  Sin- 
gleton was  also  safe,  for  the  stable  and  out-buildings  had 
entirely  escaped  the  flames  ;  it  certainly  had  been  no 
part  of  the  plan  of  the  marauders  to  leave  so  well-appointed 
a  stud  behind  them,  but  the  suddenness  of  the  attack  by 
Lawton,  not  only  disconcerted  their  arrangements  on  this 
point,  but  on  many  others  also.  A  guard  was  left  on  the 
ground,  under  the  command  of  Hollister,  who,  having  dis- 
covered that  his  enemy  was  of  mortal  mould,  took  his  po- 
sition with  admirable  coolness,  and  no  little  skill,  to  guard 
against  surprise.  He  drew  off  his  small  party  to  such  a 
distance  from  the  ruins,  that  it  was  effectually  concealed 
in  the  darkness,  while  at  the  same  time  the  light  continued 
sufficiently  powerful  to  discover  anyone  who  might  ap- 
proach the  lawn  with  an  intent  to  plunder. 

Satisfied  with  this  judicious  arrangement,  Captain  Law- 
ton  made  his  dispositions  for  the  march.  Miss  Peyton, 
her  two  nieces,  and  Isabella,  were  placed  in  the  chariot, 
while  the  cart  of  Mrs.  Flanagan,  amply  supplied  with  blan- 
kets and  a  bed,  was  honored  with  the  person  of  Captain 
Singleton.  Dr.  Sitgreaves  took  charge  of  the  chaise  and 
Mr.  Whartou.  What  became  of  the  rest  of  the  family  dur- 
ing that  eventful  night  is  unknown,  for  Caesar  alone,  of 
the  domestics,  was  to  be  found,  if  we  except  the  house- 
keeper. Having  disposed  of  the  whole  party  in  this  man- 
ner, Lawton  gave  the  word  to  march.  He  remained  him- 
self, for  a  few  minutes,  alone  on  the  lawn,  secreting  various 
pieces  of  plate  and  other  valuables,  that  he  was  fearful 
might  tempt  the  cupidity  of  his  own  men  ;  when,  perceiv- 
ing nothing  more  that  he  conceived  likely  to  overcome 
their  honesty,  he  threw  himself  into  the  saddle  with  the 
soldierly  intention  of  bringing  up  the  rear. 

"Stop,  stop,"  cried  a  female  voice  ;  "will  you  leave  me 
alone  to  be  murdered  ?  the  spoon  is  melted,  I  believe,  and 
I'll  have  compensation,  if  there's  law  or  justice  in  this  un- 
happy land." 

Lawton  turned  an  eye  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and 
perceived  a  female  emerging  from  the  ruins,  loaded  with 
a  bundle  that  vied  in  size  with  the  renowned  pack  of  the? 
peddler. 


THE   SPY.  2$\ 

"Who  have  we  here,"  said  the  trooper,  "rising  like  a 
phoenix  from  the  flames  ?  Oh  !  by  the  soul  of  Hippocrates, 
but  it  is  the  identical  she-doctor,  of  famous  needle  reputa- 
tion. Well,  my  good  woman,  what  means  this  outcry  ?" 

"  Outcry  !  "  echoed  Katy,  panting  for  breath  ;  "is  it  not 
disparagement  enough  to  lose  a  silver  spoon,  but  I  must 
be  left  alone  in  this  lonesome  place,  to  be  robbed,  and  per- 
haps murdered  ?  Harvey  would  not  serve  me  so  ;  when  I 
lived  with  Harvey,  I  was  always  treated  with  respect,  at 
least,  if  he  was  a  little  close  with  his  secrets,  and  wasteful 
of  his  money." 

"Then,  madam,  you  once  formed  part  of  the  household 
of  Mr.  Harvey  Birch?" 

"  You  may  say  I  was  the  whole  of  his  household,"  re- 
turned the  other  ;  "  there  was  nobody  but  I  and  he,  and 
the  old  gentleman  ;  you  didn't  know  the  old  gentleman, 
perhaps  ? " 

"  That  happiness  was  denied  me  ;  how  long  did  you  live 
in  the  family  of  Mr.  Birch  ? " 

"  I  disremember  the  precise  time,  but  it  must  have-been 
hard  on  upon  nine  years  ;  and  what  better  am  I  for  it  all  ? " 

"  Sure  enough  ;  I  can  see  but  little  benefit  that  you 
have  derived  from  the  association,  truly.  But  is  there  not 
something  unusual  in  the  movements  and  character  of  this 
Mr.  Birch?" 

"  Unusual  is  an  easy  word  for  such  unaccountables  !  " 
replied  Katy,  lowering  her  voice,  and  looking  around  her  ; 
"  he  was  a  wonderful  disregardful  man,  and  minded  a 
guinea  no  more  than  I  do  a  kernel  of  corn.  But  help  me 
to  some  way  of  joining  Miss  Jinitt,  and  I  will  tell  you 
prodigies  of  what  Harvey  has  done,  first  and  last." 

"You  will?''  exclaimed  the  trooper,  musing  ;•"  here, 
give  me  leave  to  feel  your  arm  above  the  elbow.  There 
— you  are  not  deficient  in  bone,  let  the  blood  be  as  it  may." 
So  saying,  he  gave  the  spinster  a  sudden  whirl  that  effect- 
ually confused  all  her  faculties,  until  she  found  herself 
safely,  if  not  comfortably,  seated  on  the  crupper  of  Law- 
ton's  steed. 

"  Now,  madam,  you  have  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  you  are  as  well  mounted  as  Washington.  The  nag  is 
sure  of  foot,  and  will  leap  like  a  panther." 

"  Let  me  get  down,"  cried  Katy,  struggling  to  release 
herself  from  his  iron  grasp,  and  yet  afraid  of  falling  ;  "  this 
is  no  way  to  put  a  woman  on  a  horse  ;  besides,  I  can't  ride 
without  a  pillion." 


252  THE  SPY. 

"  Softly,  good  madam,"  said  Lawton  ;  "  for  although 
Roanoke  never  falls  before,  he  sometimes  rises  behind. 
He  is  far  from  being  accustomed  to  a  pair  of  heels  beating 
upon  his  flanks  like  a  drum-major  on  a  field-day  ;  a  single 
touch  of  the  spur  will  serve  him  for  a  fortnight,  and  it  is 
by  no  means  wise  to  be  kicking  in  this  manner,  for  he  is  a 
horse  that  but  little  likes  to  be  undone." 

"  Let  me  down,  I  say,"  screamed  Katy  ;  "  I  shall  fall  and 
be  killed.  Besides,  I  have  nothing  to  hold  on  with  ;  my 
arms  are  full  of  valuables." 

"  True,"  returned  the  trooper,  observing  that  he  had 
brought  bundle  and  all  from  the  ground  ;  I  perceive  that 
you  belong  to  the  baggage-guard  ;  but  my  sword-belt  will 
encircle  your  little  waist,  as  well  as  my  own." 

Katy  was  too  much  pleased  with  this  compliment  to 
make  any  resistance,  while  he  buckled  her  close  to  his  own 
herculean  frame,  and,  driving  a  spur  into  his  charger,  they 
flew  from  the  lawn  with  a  rapidity  that  denied  further  de- 
nial. After  proceeding  for  some  time  at  a  rate  that  a 
good  deal  discomposed  the  spinster,  they  overtook  the  cart 
of  the  washerwoman  driving  slowly  over  the  stones,  with 
a  proper  consideration  for  the  wounds  of  Captain  Single- 
ton. The  occurrences  of  that  eventful  night  had  produced 
an  excitement  in  the  young  soldier  that  was  followed  by 
the  ordinary  lassitude  of  reaction,  and  he  lay  carefully  en- 
veloped in  blankets,  and  supported  by  his  man,  but  little 
able  to  converse,  though  deeply  brooding  over  the  past. 
The  dialogue  between  Lawton  and  his  companion  ceased 
with  the  commencement  of  their  motions,  but  a  foot  pace 
being  more  favorable  to  speech,  the  trooper  began  anew  : 

"  Then,  you  have  been  an  inmate  in  the  same  house  with 
Harvey  Birch?" 

"  For  more  than  nine  years,"  said  Katy,  drawing  her 
breath,  and  rejoicing  greatly  that  their  speed  was  abated. 

The  deep  tones  of  the  trooper's  voice  were  no  sooner 
conveyed  to  the  ears  of  the  washerwoman,  than,  turning 
her  head,  where  she  sat  directing  the  movements  of  the 
mare,  she  put  into  the  discourse  at  the  first  pause  : 

"  Belike,  then,  good  woman,  yee'r  knowing  whether  or 
no  he's  akin  to  Beelzeboob,"  said  Betty  ;  "it's  sargeant 
Hollister  who's  saying  the  same,  and  no  fool  is  the  sar- 
geant, anyway." 

"  It's  a  scandalous  disparagement,"  cried  Katy,  vehe- 
mently ;  "  no  kinder  soul  than  Harvey  carries  a  pack  ;  and 
for  a  gownd  or  a  tidy  apron,  he  will  never  take  a  king's 


THE   SPY.  255 

farthing  from  a  friend.  Beelzebub,  indeed !  For  what 
would  he  read  the  Bible,  if  he  had  dealings  with  the  evil 
spirit  ? " 

"  He's  an  honest  divil,  anyway  ;  as  I  was  saying  before, 
the  guinea  was  pure.  But  then  the  sargeant  thinks  him 
amiss,  and  it's  no  want  of  laming  that  Mister  Hollister  has." 

"  He's  a  fool,"  said  Katy,  tartly!  "  Harvey  might  be  a 
man  of  substance,  were  he  not  so  disregardful.  How  often 
have  I  told  him,  that  if  he  did  nothing  but  peddle,  and 
would  put  his  gains  to  use,  and  get  married,  so  that  things 
at  home  could  be  kept  within  doors,  and  leave  off  his  deal- 
ings with  the  rig'lars,  and  all  incumberments,  that  he  would 
soon  become  an  excellent  liver.  Sargeant  Hollister  would 
be  glad  to  hold  a  candle  to  him,  indeed  ! " 

"  Pooh  !  "  said  Betty,  in  her  philosophical  way  ;  "  yee're 
no  thinking  that  Mister  Hollister  is  an  officer,  and  stands 
next  the  cornet  in  the  troop.  But  this  piddler  gave  warn- 
ing of  the  brush  the  night,  and  it's  no  sure  that  Captain 
Jack  would  have  got  the  day,  but  for  the  reinforcement." 

"  How  say  you,  Betty,"  cried  the  trooper,  bending  for- 
ward on  his  saddle  ;  "  had  you  notice  of  our  danger  from 
Birch  ? " 

"  The  very  same,  darling  ;  and  it's  hurry  I  was  till  the 
boys  was  in  motion  ;  not  but  I  know  yee'r  enough  for  the 
Cow-boys  any  time.  But  vvid  the  divil  on  your  side,  I  was 
sure  of  the  day.  I'm  only  wondering  there's  so  little  plun- 
der, in  a  business  of  Beelzeboob's  contriving." 

"  I'm  obliged  to  you  for  the  rescue,  and  equally  indebted 
to  the  motive." 

"  Is  it  the  plunder  ?  But  little  did  I  think  of  it  till  I  saw 
the  movables  on  the  ground,  some  burnt,  and  some  broke, 
and  other  some  as  good  as  new.  It  would  be  convanient 
to  have  one  feather-bed  in  the  corps,  anyway." 

"  By  heavens,  'twas  timely  succor !  Had  not  Roanoke 
been  swifter  than  their  bullets,  I  must  have  fallen.  The 
animal  is  worth  his  weight  in  gold." 

"  It's  continental,  you  mane,  darling.  Gould  weighs 
heavy,  and  is  no  plenty  in  the  states.  If  the  nagur  hadn't 
been  staying  and  frightening  the  sargeant  with  his  copper- 
colored  looks,  and  a  matter  of  blarney  'bout  ghosts,  we 
should  have  been  in  time  to  have  killed  all  the  dogs,  and 
taken  the  rest  prisoners." 

"  It  is  very  well  as  it  is,  Betty,"  said  Lawton  ;  "  a  day 
will  yet  come,  I  trust,  when  those  miscreants  shall  be  re- 
warded, if  not  in  judgments  upon  their  persons,  at  least  in 


254  THE 

the  opinions  of  their  fellow-citizens.  The  time  must  ar- 
rive when  America  will  learn  to  distinguish  between  a 
patriot  and  a  robber." 

"  Speak  low,"  said  Katy  ;  "  there's  some  one  who  think 
much  of  themselves,  that  have  doings  with  the  Skinners." 

"It's  more  they  are  thinking  of  themselves,  then,  than 
other  people  thinks  of  them,"  cried  Betty  ;  "a  tiefs  a  tief 
anyway  ;  whether  he  stales  for  King  George  or  for  Con- 
gress." 

"  I  know'd  that  evil  would  soon  happen,"  said  Katy  ;  "  the 
sun  set  to-night  behind  a  black  cloud,  and  the  house-dog 
whined,  although  I  gave  him  his  supper  with  my  own 
hands  ;  besides,  it's  not  a  week  sin'  I  dreamed  the  dream 
about  the  thousand  lighted  candles,  and  the  cakes  being 
burnt  in  the  oven." 

"  Well,"  said  Betty,  "  it's  but  little  I  drame,  anyway. 
Jest  keep  an  asy  conscience  and  a  plenty  of  the  stuff  in 
yes,  and  ye'll  sleep  like  an  infant.  The  last  drame  I  had 
was  when  the  boys  put  the  thistle-tops  in  the  blankets,  and 
then  I  was  thinking  that  Captain  Jack's  man  was  currying 
me  down,  for  the  matter  of  Roanoke  ;  but  it's  no  trifle  I 
mind  either  in  skin  or  stomach." 

"  I'm  sure,"  said  Katy,  with  a  stiff  erection  that  drew 
Lawton  back  in  his  saddle,  "  no  man  shall  ever  dare  to  lay 
hands  on  bed  of  mine  ;  it's  undecent  and  despisable  con- 
duct." 

"  Pooh  !  pooh  !  "  cried  Betty  ;  "  if  you  tag  after  a  troop 
of  horse,  a  small  bit  of  a  joke  must  be  borne  ;  what  would 
become  of  the  states  and  liberty,  if  the  boys  had  never  a 
clane  shirt,  or  a  drop  to  comfort  them.  Ask  Captain  Jack, 
there,  if  they'd  fight,  Mrs.  Beelzeboob,  and  they  no  clane 
linen  to  keep  the  victory  in." 

"I'm  a  single  woman,  and  my  name  is  Haynes,"  said 
Katy,  "and  I'd  thank  you  to  use  no  disparaging  terms 
when  speaking  to  me." 

"You  must  tolerate  a  little  license  in  the  tongue  of  Mrs. 
Flanagan,  madam, "said  the  trooper  ;  "  the  drop  she  speaks 
of  is  often  of  an  extraordinary  size,  and  then  she  has  ac- 
quired the  freedom  of  a  soldier's  manner." 

"Tooh  !  captain,  darling,"  cried  Betty;  "why  do  you 
bother  the  woman  !  talk  like  yeerself,  dear,  and  it's  no  fool 
of  a  tongue  that  ye've  got  in  yeer  own  head.  But  it's  here 
away  that  the  sargeant  made  a  halt,  thinking  there  might 
be  more  divils  than  one  stirring,  the  night.  The  clouds 
are  as  black  as  Arnold's  heart,  and  deuce  the  star  is  there 


THE    SPY.  255 

twinkling  among  them.  Well,  the  mare  is  used  to  a  march 
after  nightfall,  and  is  smelling  out  the  road  like  a  pointer 
slut." 

"  It  wants  but  little  to  the  rising  moon,"  observed  the 
trooper.  He  called  a  dragoon,  who  was  riding  in  advance, 
issued  a  few  orders  and  cautions  relative  to  the  comfort 
and  safety  of  Singleton,  and  speaking  a  consoling  word  to 
his  friend  himself,  gave  Roanoke  the  spur,  and  dashed  by 
the  cart  at  a  rate  that  again  put  to  flight  all  the  philoso- 
phy of  Catharine  Haynes. 

"Good  luck  to  yee,  for  a  free  rider  and  a  bold  !  "  shouted 
the  washerwoman,  as  he  passed  ;  "  if  yee're  meeting  Mister 
Beelzeboob,  jist  baak  the  baste  up  to  him,  and  show  him 
his  consort  that  yee've  got  an  the  crupper.  I'm  thinking 
it's  no  long  he'd  tarry  to  chat.  Well,  well,  it's  his  life  that 
we  saved,  he  was  saying  so  himself — though  the  plunder  is 
nothing  to  signify." 

The  cries  of  Betty  Flanagan  were  too  familiar  to  the 
ears  of  Captain  Lawton  to  elicit  a  reply.  Notwithstanding 
the  unusual  burden  that  Roanoke  sustained,  he  got  over 
the  ground  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  distance  between 
the  cart  of  Mrs.  Flanagan  and  the  chariot  of  Miss  Peyton 
was  passed  in  a  manner  that,  however  it  answered  the  in- 
tentions of  the  trooper,  in  no  degree  contributed  to  the 
comfort  of  his  companion.  The  meeting  occurred  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  quarters  of  Lawton,  and  at  the 
same  instant  the  moon  broke  from  behind  a  mass  of  clouds, 
and  threw  its  light  upon  objects. 

Compared  with  the  simple  elegance  and  substantial 
comfort  of  the  Locusts,  the  "  Hotel  Flanagan  "  presented 
but  a  dreary  spectacle.  In  the  place  of  carpeted  floors  and 
curtained  windows,  were  the  yawning  cracks  of  a  rudely- 
constructed  dwelling,  and  boards  and  paper  were  in- 
geniously applied  to  supply  the  place  of  the  green  glass 
in  more  than  half  the  lights.  The  care  of  Lawton  had  an- 
ticipated every  improvement  that  their  situation  would 
allow,  and  blazing  fires  were  made  before  the  party  arrived. 
The  dragoons  who  had  been  charged  with  this  duty  had 
conveyed  a  few  necessary  articles  of  furniture,  and  her 
companions,  on  alighting,  found  something  like  habitable 
apartments  prepared  for  their  reception.  The  mind  of 
Sarah  had  continued  to  wander  during  the  ride,  and,  with 
the  ingenuity  of  the  insane,  she  accommodated  every  cir- 
cumstance to  the  feelings  that  were  uppermost  in  her 
own  bosom. 


256  THE   SPY. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  minister  to  a,  mind  that  has  sustained 
such  a  blow,"  said  Lavvton  to  Isabella  Singleton  ;  "  time  and 
God's  mercy  can  alone  cure  it  ;  but  something  more  may 
be  done  toward  the  bodily  comfort  of  all.  You  are  a  sol- 
dier's daughter,  and  used  to  scenes  like  this  ;  help  me  to 
exclude  some  of  the  cold  air  from  these  windows." 

Miss  Singleton  acceded  to  his  request,  and  while  Lawton 
was  endeavoring,  from  without,  to  remedy  the  defect  of 
broken  panes,  Isabella  was  arranging  a  substitute  for  a  cur- 
tain within. 

"I  hear  the  cart,"  said  the  trooper,  in  reply  to  one  of 
her  interrogatories.  "  Betty  is  tender-hearted  in  the  main  ; 
believe  me,  poor  George  will  not  only  be  safe,  but  com- 
fortable." 

"  God  bless  her  for  her  care,  and  bless  you  all,"  said 
Isabella,  fervently.  "  Dr.  Sitgreaves  has  gone  down  the 
road  to  meet  him,  I  know — what  is  that  glittering  in  the 
moon  ?" 

Directly  opposite  the  window  where  they  stood,  were 
the  out-buildings  of  the  farm,  and  the  quick  eye  of  Lawton 
caught  at  a  glance  the  object  to  which  she  alluded. 

"  'Tis  the  glare  of  firearms,"  said  the  trooper,  springing 
from  the  window  toward  his  charger,  which  yet  remained 
caparisoned  at  the  door.  His  movement  was  quick  as 
thought,  but  a  flash  of  fire  was  followed  by  the  whistling 
of  a  bullet  before  he  had  proceeded  a  step.  A  loud  shriek 
burst  from  the  dwelling,  and  the  captain  sprang  into  his 
saddle  ;  the  whole  was  the  business  of  but  a  moment. 

"Mount — mount  and  follow!"  shouted  the  trooper; 
and  before  his  astonished  men  could  understand  the  cause 
of  alarm,  Roanoke  had  carried  him  in  safety  over  the  fence 
which  lay  between  him  and  his  foe.  The  chase  was  for 
life  or  death,  but  the  distance  to  the  rocks  was  again  too 
short,  and  the  disappointed  trooper  saw  his  intended  vic- 
tim vanish  in  their  clefts,  where  he  could  not  follow. 

"By  the  life  of  Washington!"  muttered  Lawton,  as  he 
sheathed  his  sabre,  "I  would  have  made  two  halves  of  him 
had  he  not  been  so  nimble  on  the  foot — but  a  time  will 
come  ! "  So  saying  he  returned  to  his  quarters,  with  the 
indifference  of  a  man  who  knew  his  life  was  at  any  moment 
to  be  offered  a  sacrifice  to  his  country.  An  extraordinary 
tumult  in  the  house  induced  him  to  quicken  his  speed  ;  on 
arriving  at  the  door,  the  panic-stricken  Katy  informed  him 
that  the  bullet,  aimed  at  his  own  life,  had  taken  effect  in 
the  bosom  of  Miss  Singleton. 


THE   SPY.  257 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Hush'd  were  his  Gertrude's  lips  !  but  still  their  bland 
And  beautiful  expression  seem'd  to  melt 
With  love  that  could  not  die  !  and  still  his  hand 
She  presses  to  the  heart  no  more  that  felt. 

— Gertrude  of  Wyoming. 

THE  brief  arrangements  of  the  dragoons  had  prepared 
two  apartments  for  the  reception  of  the  ladies,  the  one  be- 
ing intended  as  a  sleeping-room,  and  situated  within  the 
other.  Into  the  latter  Isabella  was  immediately  conveyed, 
at  her  own  request,  and  placed  on  a  rude  bed  by  the  side' 
of  the  unconscious  Sarah.  When  Miss  Peyton  and  Frances 
flew  to  her  assistance,  they  found  her  with  a  smile  on  her 
pallid  lip,  and  a  composure  in  her  countenance  that  in- 
duced them  to  think  her  uninjured. 

"  God  be  praised  !  "  exclaimed  the  trembling  aunt  ;  "  the 
report  of  firearms,  and  your  fall,  had  led  me  into  an  error. 
Surely,  surely,  there  was  enough  of  horror  before  ;  but  this 
has  been  spared  us." 

Isabella  pressed  her  hand  upon  her  bosom,  still  smiling, 
but  with  a  ghastliness  that  curdled  the  blood  of  Frances. 

"Is  George  far  distant  ?  "  she  asked  ;  "  let  him  know — 
hasten  him,  that  I  may  see  my  brother  once  again." 

"  It  is  as  I  apprehended  !  "  shrieked  Miss  Peyton  ;  "  but 
you  smile — surely  you  are  not  hurt !  " 

"Quite  well — quite  happy,"  murmured  Isabella;  "  here 
is  a  remedy  for  every  pain." 

Sarah  arose  from  the  reclining  posture  she  had  taken, 
and  gazed  wildly  at  her  companion.  She  stretched  forth 
her  own  hand,  and  raised  that  of  Isabella  from  her  bosom. 
It  was  dyed  in  blood. 

"  See,"  said  Sarah,  "  but  will  it  not  wash  away  love  ? 
Marry,  young  woman,  and  then  no  one  can  expel  him  from 
your  heart,  unless  " — she  added,  whispering,  and  bending 
over  the  other — "you  find  another  there  before  you  ;  then 
die,  and  go  to  heaven — there  are  no  wives  in  heaven." 

The  lovely  maniac  hid  her  face  under  the  clothes,  and 
continued  silent  during  the  remainder  of  the  night.  At 
this  moment  Lawton  entered.  Inured  as  he  was  to  danger 
in  all  its  forms,  and  accustomed  to  the  horrors  af  d  partisan 
war,  the  trooper  could  not  behold  the  ruin  before  him  un- 

'7 


258  THE   SPY. 

moved.  He  bent  over  the  fragile  form  of  Isabella,  and  his 
gloomy  eye  betrayed  the  workings  of  his  soul. 

"  Isabella,"  he  at  length  uttered,  "  I  know  you  to  pos- 
sess a  courage  beyond  the  strength  of  woman." 

"Speak,"  she  said,  earnestly  ;  "  if  you  have  anything  to 
say,  speak  fearlessly." 

The  trooper  averted  his  face  as  he  replied  :  "None  ever 
receive  a  ball  there,  and  survive." 

"  I  have  no  dread  of  death,  Lawton,"  returned  Isabella 
— "I  thank  you  for  not  doubting  me  ;  I  felt  it  from  the 
first." 

"  These  are  not  scenes  for  a  form  like  yours,"  added  the 
trooper  ;  "'tis  enough  that  Britain  calls  our  youth  to  the 
field  ;  but  when  such  loveliness  becomes  the  victim  of  war, 
I  sicken  of  my  trade." 

"  Hear  me,  Captain  Lawton,"  said  Isabella,  raising  her- 
self with  difficulty,  but  rejecting  aid  ;  "from  early  woman- 
hood to  the  present  hour  have  I  been  an  mmate  of  camps 
and  garrisons.  I  have  lived  to  cheer  the  leisure  of  an  aged 
father,  and  think  you  I  would  change  those  days  of  danger 
and  privation  for  any  ease  ?  No  !  I  have  the  consolation 
of  knowing  in  my  dying  moments,  that  what  woman  could 
do  in  such  a  cause  I  have  done." 

"  Who  could  prove  a  recreant  and  witness  such  a  spirit  ! 
Hundreds  of  warriors  have  I  witnessed  in  their  blood,  but 
never  a  firmer  soul  among  them  all." 

"  'Tis  the  soul  only,"  said  Isabella  ;  "  my  sex  and  strength 
have  denied  me  the  dearest  of  privileges.  But  to  you,  Cap- 
tain Lawton,  nature  has  been  more  bountiful  ;  you  have  an 
arm  and  a  heart  to  devote  to  the  cause  ;  and  I  know  they 
are  an  arm  and  a  heart  that  will  prove  true  to  the  last. 

And  George — and "  she  paused,  her  lip  quivered,  and 

her  eye  sank  to  the  floor. 

"And  Dunwoodie!"  added  the  trooper;  ''would  you 
speak  of  Dunwoodie  ?  " 

'*  Name  him  not,"  said  Isabella,  sinking  back  and  con- 
cealing her  face  in  her  garments  ;  "  leave  me,  Lawton — 
prepare  poor  George  for  this  unexpected  blow." 

The  trooper  continued  for  a  little  while  gazing,  in  melan- 
choly interest,  at  the  convulsive  shudderings  of  her  frame, 
which  the  scanty  covering  could  not  conceal,  and  withdrew 
to  meet  his  comrade.  The  interview  between  Singleton 
and  his  sister  was  painful,  and,  for  a  moment,  Isabella 
yielded  to  a  burst  of  tenderness  ;  but,  as  if  aware  that  her 
hours  were  numbered,  she  was  the  first  to  rouse  herself  to 


THE   SPY.  259 

exertion.  At  her  earnest  request,  the  room  was  left  to 
herself,  the  captain,  and  Frances.  The  repeated  applica- 
tions of  the  surgeon,  to  be  permitted  to  use  professional 
aid,  were  steadily  rejected,  and,  at  length,  he  was  obliged 
unwillingly  to  retire. 

"  Raise  me,"  said  the  dying  young  woman,  "  and  let  me 
look  on  a  face  that  I  love  once  more."  Frances  silently 
complied,  and  Isabella  turned  her  eyes  in  sisterly  affection 
upon  George—"  It  matters  but  little,  my  brother  ; — a  few 
hours  must  close  the  scene." 

"  Live,  Isabella,  my  sister,  my  only  sister  !  "  cried  the 
youth,  with  a  burst  of  sorrow  that  he  could  not  control ; 
"  my  father  !  my  poor  father " 

"  There  is  the  sting  of  death  ;  but  he  is  a  soldier  and  a 
Christian.  Miss  Wharton,  I  would  speak  of  what  interests 
you,  while  yet  I  have  strength  for  the  task." 

"  Nay,"  said  Frances,  tenderly,  "  compose  yourself  ;  let 
no  desire  to  oblige  me  endanger  a  life  that  is  precious  to — 
to — so  many."  The  words  were  nearly  stifled  by  her  emo- 
tions, for  the  other  had  touched  a  chord  that  thrilled  to 
her  heart. 

"  Poor,  sensitive  girl !"  said  Isabella,  regarding  her  with 
tender  interest ;  "  but  the  world  is  still  before  you,  and  why 
should  I  disturb  the  little  happiness  it  may  afford  !  Dream 
on,  lovely  innocent,  and  may  God  keep  the  evil  day  of 
knowledge  far  distant  !" 

"  Oh,  there  is  even  now  little  left  for  me  to  enjoy,"  said 
Frances,  burying  her  face  in  the  clothes  ;  "  I  am  heart- 
stricken  in  all  that  I  most  loved." 

"No!"  interrupted  Isabella;  "you  have  one  induce- 
ment to  wish  for  life,  that  pleads  strongly  in  a  woman's 
breast.  It  is  a  delusion  that  nothing  but  death  can  destroy 
'  Exhaustion  compelled  her  to  pause,  and  her  auditors 
continued  in  breathless  suspense,  until,  recovering  her 
strength,  she  laid  her  hand  on  that  of  Frances,  and  contin- 
ued more  mildly:  "Miss  Wharton,  if  there  breathes  a 
spirit  congenial  to  Dunwoodie's,  and  worthy  of  his  love,  it 
is  your  own." 

A  flush  of  fire  passed  over  the  face  of  the  listener,  and 
she  raised  her  eyes,  flashing  with  an  ungovernable  look  of 
delight,  to  the  countenance  of  Isabella  ;  but  the  ruin  she 
beheld  recalled  better  feelings,  and  again  her  head  dropped 
upon  the  covering  of  the  bed.  Isabella  watched  her  emo- 
tion with  a  look  that  partook  both  of  pity  and  admiration. 

"  Such  have  been  the  feelings  that  I  have  escaped,"  she 


260  THE   SPY. 

continued  ;  "  yes,  Miss  Wharton,  Dunwoodie  is  wholly 
yours." 

"  Be  just  to  yourself,  my  sister,"  exclaimed  the  youth  ; 
"let  no  romantic  generosity  cause  you  to  forget  your  own 
character." 

She  heard  him,  and  fixed  a  gaze  of  tender  interest  on 
his  face,  but  slowly  shook  her  head  as  she  replied  : 

"  It  is  not  romance,  but  truth,  that  bids  me  speak.  Oh  ! 
how  much  have  I  lived  within  an  hour  !  Miss  Wharton,  I 
was  born  under  a  burning  sun,  and  my  feelings  seem  to 
have  imbibed  its  warmth  ;  I  have  existed  for  passion  only." 

"Say  not  so — say  not  so,  I  implore  you,"  cried  the  agi- 
tated brother  ;  "  think  how  devoted  has  been  your  love  to 
our  aged  father  ;  how  disinterested,  how  tender,  your  af- 
fection to  me  ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Isabella,  a  smile  of  mild  pleasure  beaming 
on  her  countenance  :  "  that,  at  least,  is  a  reflection  which 
may  be  taken  to  the  grave." 

Neither  Frances  nor  her  brother  interrupted  her  medita- 
tions, which  continued  for  several  minutes  ;  when,  sud- 
denly recollecting  herself,  she  continued  : 

"  I  remain  selfish  even  to  the  last  ;  with  me,  Miss  Whar- 
ton, America  and  her  liberties  was  my  earliest  passion,  and 

''  again  she  paused,  and  Frances  thought  it  was  the 

struggle  of  death  that  followed  ;  but  reviving,  she  pro- 
ceeded :  "  Why  should  I  hesitate  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave  ?  Dunwoodie  was  my  next  and  my  last.  But," 
burying  her  face  in  her  hands,  "it  was  a  love  that  was 
unsought." 

"Isabella!"  exclaimed  her  brother,  springing  from  the 
bed,  and  pacing  the  floor  in  disorder. 

"  See  how  dependent  we  become  under  the  dominion  of 
worldly  pride  ;  it  is  painful  to  George  to  learn  that  one  he 
loves  had  not  feelings  superior  to  her  nature  and  educa- 
tion." 

"Say  no  more,"  whispered  Frances;  "you  distress  us 
both — say  no  more,  I  entreat  you." 

"  In  justice  to  Dunwoodie  I  must  speak  ;  and  for  the 
same  reason,  my  brother,  you  must  listen.  By  no  act  or 
word  has  Dunwoodie  ever  induced  me  to  believe  he  wished 
me  more  than  a  friend  ;  nay,  latterly,  I  have  had  the  burn- 
ing shame  of  thinking  that  he  avoided  my  presence." 

"  Would  he  dare  ?  "  said  Singleton,  fiercely. 

"  Peace,  my  brother,  and  listen,"  continued  Isabella, 
rousing  herself  with  an  effort  that  was  final ;  "  here  is  the 


THE   SPY.  261 

innocent,  the  justifiable  cause.  We  are  both  motherless  ; 
but  that  aunt — that  mild,  plain-hearted,  observing  aunt, 
has  given  you  the  victory.  Oh  !  how  much  she  loses  who 
loses  a  female  guardian  to  her  youth.  I  have  exhibited 
those  feelings  which  you  have  been  taught  to  repress. 
After  this,  can  I  wish  to  live  ? " 

"  Isabella !  my  poor  Isabella !  you  wander  in  your 
mind." 

"  But  one  word  more — for  I  feel  that  blood,  which  ever 
flowed  too  swiftly,  rushing  where  nature  never  intended  it 
to  go.  Woman  must  be  sought  to  be  prized  ;  her  life  is 
one  of  concealed  emotions  ;  blessed  are  they  whose  early 
impressions  make  the  task  free  from  hypocrisy,  for  such 
only  can  be  happy  with  men  like — like  Dunwoodie."  Her 
voice  failed,  and  she  sank  back  on  her  pillow  in  silence. 
The  cry  of  Singleton  brought  the  rest  of  the  party  to  her 
bedside,  but  death  was  already  upon  her  countenance  ; 
her  remaining  strength  just  sufficed  to  reach  the  hand  of 
George,  and,  pressing  it  to  her  bosom  for  a  moment,  she 
relinquished  her  grasp,  and,  with  a  slight  convulsion,  ex- 
pired. 

Frances  Wharton  had  thought  that  fate  had  done  its 
worst  in  endangering  the  life  of  her  brother  and  destroy- 
ing the  reason  of  her  sister  ;  but  the  relief  conveyed  by 
the  dying  declaration  of  Isabella  taught  her  that  another 
sorrow  had  aided  in  loading  her  heart  with  grief.  She 
saw  the  whole  truth  at  a  glance  ;  nor  was  the  manly  de- 
licacy of  Dunwoodie  lost  upon  her — everything  tended  to 
raise  him  in  her  estimation  ;  and,  for  mourning  that 
duty  and  pride  had  induced  her  to  strive  to  think  less  of 
him,  she  was  compelled  to  substitute  regret  that  her  own 
act  had  driven  him  from  her  in  sorrow,  if  not  in  despera- 
tion. It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  youth,  however,  to  de- 
spair ;  and  Frances  knew  a  secret  joy  in  the  midst  of  her 
distress,  that  gave  a  new  spring  to  her  existence. 

The  sun  broke  forth,  on  the  morning  that  succeeded 
this  night  of  desolation,  in  unclouded  lustre,  and  seemed 
to  mock  the  petty  sorrows  of  those  who  received  his  rays. 
Law7ton  had  early  ordered  his  steed,  and  was  ready  to 
mount  as  the  first  burst  of  light  broke  over  the  hills.  His 
orders  were  already  given,  and  the  trooper  threw  his  leg 
across  the  saddle  in  silence  ;  and,  casting  a  glance  of  fierce 
chagrin  at  the  narrow  space  that  had  favored  the  flight  of 
the  Skinner,  he  gave  Roanoke  the  rein,  and  moved  slowly 
toward  the  valley. 


262  THE   SPY. 

The  stillness  of  death  pervaded  the  road,  nor  was  there 
a  single  vestige  of  the  scenes  of  the  night  to  tarnish  the 
loveliness  of  a  glorious  morn.  Struck  with  the  contrast 
between  man  and  nature,  the  fearless  trooper  rode  by 
each  pass  of  danger,  regardless  of  what  might  happen  ; 
nor  did  he  rouse  himself  from  his  musing  until  the  noble 
charger,  snuffing  the  morning  air,  greeted  the  steeds  of 
the  guard  under  Sergeant  Hollister. 

Here,  indeed,  was  to  be  seen  sad  evidence  of  the  mid- 
night fray  ;  but  the  trooper  glanced  his  eye  over  it  with 
the  coolness  of  one  accustomed  to  such  sights.  Without 
wasting  the  moments  in  useless  regrets,  he  proceeded,  at 
once,  to  business. 

"  Have  you  seen  anything  ? "  he  demanded  of  the  or- 
derly. 

"  Nothing,  sir,  that  we  dared  to  charge  upon,"  returned 
Hollister  ;  "  but  we  mounted  once,  at  the  report  of  dis- 
tant firearms." 

"'Tis  well,"  said  Lawton,  gloomily.  "Ah!  Hollister, 
I  would  give  the  animal  I  ride  to  have  had  your  single 
arm  between  the  wretch  who  drew  that  trigger  and  these 
useless  rocks,  which  overhang  every  bit  of  ground  as  if 
they  grudged  pasture  to  a  single  hoof." 

"  Under  the  light  of  day,  and  charging  man  to  man,  I 
am  as  good  as  another  ;  but  I  can't  say  that  I'm  over-fond 
of  fighting  with  those  that  neither  steel  nor  lead  can  bring 
down." 

"  What  silly  crotchet  is  uppermost,  now,  in  that  mysti- 
fied brain  of  thine,  Deacon  Hollister  ?  " 

"  I  like  not  the  dark  object  that  has  been  manoeuvring 
in  the  skirt  of  the  wood  since  the  first  dawn  of  day  ;  and 
twice,  during  the  night,  it  was  seen  marching  across  the 
firelight,  no  doubt  with  evil  intent." 

"  Is  it  yon  ball  of  black,  at  the  foot  of  the  rock-maple, 
that  you  mean  ?  In  truth  it  moves." 

"  But  without  mortal  motion,"  said  the  sergeant,  re- 
garding it  with  awful  reverence  ;  "  it  glides  along,  but  no 
feet  have  been  seen  by  any  who  watch  it  here." 

"  Had  it  wings,"  cried  Lawton,  "  it  is  mine  ;  stand  fast 
until  I  join."  The  words  were  hardly  uttered  before  Roa- 
noke  was  flying  across  the  plain,  and  apparently  verifying 
the  boast  of  his  master. 

"Those  cursed  rocks!"  ejaculated  the  trooper,  as  he 
saw  the  object  of  his  pursuit  approaching  the  hillside  ; 
but  either  from  want  of  practice  or  from  terror,  it  passed 


THE    SPY.  263 

the  obvious  shelter  they  offered,  and  fled  into  the  open 
plain. 

"  I  have  you,  man  or  devil  !  "  shouted  Lawton,  whirling 
his  sabre  from  its  scabbard.  "  Halt,  and  take  quarter  !  "" 

His  proposition  was  apparently  acceded  to  ;  for  at  the 
sound  of  his  powerful  voice  the  figure  sank  upon  the 
ground,  exhibiting  a  shapeless  ball  of  black,  without  life  or 
motion. 

"What  have  we  here?"  cried  Lawton,  drawing  up  by 
its  side  ;  "a  gala  suit  of  the  good  maiden,  Jeanette  Peyton, 
wandering  around  its  birthplace,  or  searching  in  vain  for 
its  discomfited  mistress  ? "  He  leaned  forward  in  his  stir- 
rups, and  placing  the  point  of  the  sword  under  the  silken 
garment,  by  throwing  aside  the  covering,  discovered  part 
of  the  form  of  the  reverend  gentleman  who  had  fled  from 
the  Locusts,  the  evening  before,  in  his  robes  of  office. 

"  In  truth,  Hollister  had  some  ground  for  his  alarm  ;  an 
army  chaplain  is,  at  any  time,  a  terror  to  a  troop  of 
horse." 

The  clergyman  had  collected  enough  of  his  disturbed 
faculties  to  discover  that  it  was  a  face  he  knew,  and, 
somewhat  disconcerted  at  the  terror  he  had  manifested, 
and  the  indecent  attitude  in  which  he  had  been  found,  he 
endeavored  to  rise  and  offer  some  explanation.  Lawton 
received  his  apologies  good-humoredly,  if  not  with  much 
faith  in  their  truth  ;  and,  after  a  short  communication 
upon  the  state  of  the  valley,  the  trooper  courteously 
alighted,  and  they  proceeded  toward  the  guard. 

"  I  am  so  little  acquainted,  sir,  with  the  rebel  uniform, 
that  I  really  was  unable  to  distinguish  whether  those 
men,  whom  you  say  are  your  own,  did  or  did  not  belong 
to  the  gang  of  marauders." 

"  Apology,  sir,  is  unnecessary,"  replied  the  trooper, 
curling  his  lip  ;  "it  is  not  your  task,  as  a  minister  of  God, 
to  take  note  of  the  facings  of  a  coat.  The  standard  under 
which  you  serve  is  acknowledged  by  us  all." 

"  I  serve  under  the  standard  of  his  gracious  Majesty 
George  III.,"  returned  the  priest,  wiping  the  cold  sweat 
from  his  brow  ;  "  but  really,  the  idea  of  being  scalped  has 
a  strong  tendency  to  unman  a  new  beginner,  like  myself." 

"Scalped  !  "  echoed  Lawton,  stopping  short  in  his  walk  ; 
then  recollecting  himself,  he  added,  with  composure — "If 
it  is  to  Dunwoodie's  squadron  of  Virginian  light  dragoons 
that  you  alluded,  it  may  be  well  to  inform  you  that  they 
generally  take  a  bit  of  the  skull  with  the  skin." 


264  THE   SPY. 

"  Oh  !  I  can  have  no  apprehensions  of  gentlemen  of 
your  appearance,"  said  the  divine,  with  a  smirk  ;  "  it  i? 
the  natives  that  I  apprehend." 

"  Natives  !  I  have  the  honor  to  be  one,  I  do  assure  you, 
sir." 

"  Nay,  I  beg  that  I  may  be  understood — I  mean  the 
Indians  ;  they  who  do  nothing  but  rob,  and  murder,  and 
destroy." 

"  And  scalp  !  " 

"Yes,  sir,  and  scalp  too,"  continued  the  clergyman,  ey- 
ing his  companion  a  little  suspiciously;  "  the  copper-col- 
ored, savage  Indians." 

"  And  did  you  expect  to  meet  those  nose-jewelled  gen- 
try in  the  neutral  ground  ?  " 

<;  Certainly  ;  we  understand  in  England  that  the  interior 
swarms  with  them." 

"And  call  you  this  the  interior  of  America?''  cried 
Lavvton,  again  halting,  and  staring  the  other  in  the  face 
with  a  surprise  too  naturally  expressed  to  be  counterfeited. 

"  Surely,  sir,  I  conceive  myself  to  be  in  the  interior." 

"Attend,"  said  Lavvton,  pointing  toward  the  east;  "see 
you  not  that  broad  sheet  of  water  which  the  eye  cannot 
compass  ?  thither  lies  the  England  you  deem  worthy  to 
hold  dominion  over  half  the  world.  See  you  the  land  of 
your  nativity  ?  " 

"  'Tis  impossible  to  behold  objects  at  a  distance  of  three 
thousand  miles  !"  exclaimed  the  wondering  priest,  a  little 
suspicious  of  his  companion's  sanity. 

"  No !  what  a  pity  it  is  that  the  powers  of  man  are  not 
equal  to  his  ambition.  Now  turn  your  eyes  westward  ; 
observe  that  vast  expanse  of  water  which  rolls  between  the 
shores  of  America  and  China." 

"I  see  nothing  but  land,"  said  the  trembling  priest; 
"  there  is  no  water  to  be  seen." 

"'Tis  impossible  to  behold  objects  at  a  distance  of  three 
thousand  miles  !  "  repeated  Lawton,  pursuing  his  walk  ; 
"if  you  apprehend  the  savages,  seek  them  in  the  ranks  of 
your  prince.  Rum  and  gold  have  preserved  their  loyalty." 

"  Nothing  is  more  probable  than  my  being  deceived," 
said  the  man  of  peace,  casting  furtive  glances  at  the  colos- 
sal stature  and  whiskered  front  of  his  companion  ;  "but 
Ihe  rumors  we  have  at  home,  and  the  uncertainty  of  meet- 
ing with  such  an  erremy  as  yourself,  induced  me  to  fly  at 
your  approach." 

"  Tvvas  not  judiciously  determined,"  said  the  trooper, 


THE   SPY.  265 

"  as  Roanoke  has  the  heels  of  you  greatly  ;  and  flying  from 
Scylla,  you  were  liable  to  encounter  Charybdis.  Those 
woods  and  rocks  cover  the  very  enemies  you  dread." 

"  The  savages !"  exclaimed  the  divine,  instinctively 
placing  the  trooper  in  the  rear. 

"  More  than  savages  ;  men  who,  under  the  guise  of  pa- 
triotism, prowl  through  the  community  with  a  thirst  for 
plunder  that  is  unsatiable,  and  a  love  of  cruelty  that  mocks 
the  ingenuity  of  the  Indian.  Fellows  whose  mouths  are 
filled  with  liberty  and  equality,  and  whose  hearts  are  over- 
flowing with  cupidity  and  gall — gentlemen  that  are  ycleped 
the  Skinners." 

"  I  have  heard  them  mentioned  in  our  army,"  said  the 
frightened  divine,  "  and  had  brought  them  to  be  the  abori- 
gines." 

"  You  did  the  savages  injustice." 

They  now  approached  the  spot  occupied  by  Hollister, 
who  witnessed  with  surprise  the  character  of  the  prisoner 
made  by  his  captain.  Lawton  gave  his  orders,  and  the 
men  immediately  commenced  securing  and  removing  such 
articles  of  furniture  as  were  thought  worthy  of  the  trouble  ; 
and  the  captain,  with  his  reverend  associate,  who  was 
mounted  on  a  mettled  horse,  returned  to  the  quarters  of 
the  troop. 

It  was  the  wish  of  Singleton  that  the  remains  of  his 
sister  should  be  conveyed  to  the  post  commanded  by  his 
father,  and  preparations  were  early  made  to  this-  effect. 
The  wounded  British  were  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
chaplain  ;  and  toward  the  middle  of  the  day  Lawton  saw 
all  the  arrangements  so  far  completed,  as  to  render  it  prob- 
able that  in  a  few  hours  he  would  be  left,  with  his  small 
party,  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  Corners. 

While  leaning  in  the  doorway,  gazing  in  moody  silence 
at  the  ground  which  had  been  the  scene  of  the  last  night's 
chase,  his  ear  caught  the  sound  of  a  horse,  and  the  next 
moment  a  dragoon  of  his  own  troop  appeared  dashing  up 
the  road,  as  if  on  business  of  the  last  importance.  The 
steed  was  foaming,  and  the  rider  had  the  appearance  of 
having  done  a  hard  day's  service.  Without  speaking,  he 
placed  a  letter  in  the  hand  of  Lawton,  and  led  his  charger 
to  the  stable.  The  trooper  knew  the  hand  of  the  major, 
and  ran  his  eye  over  the  following  : 

"  I  rejoice  it  is  the  order  of  Washington,  that  the  family 
of  the  Locusts  are  to  be  removed  above  the  Highlands. 
They  are  to  be  admitted  to  the  society  of  Captain  Whar- 


£66  THE   STY. 

ton,  who  waits  only  for  their  testimony  to  be  tried.  You 
will  communicate  this  order,  and  with  proper  delicacy  I 
do  not  doubt.  The  English  are  moving  up  the  river  ;  and 
the  moment  you  see  the  Whartons  in  safety,  break  up,  and 
join  your  troop.  There  will  be  good  service  to  be  done 
when  we  meet,  as>Sir  Henry  is  reported  to  have  sent  out 
a  real  soldier  in  command.  Reports  must  be  made  to  the 
commandment  at  Peekskill,  for  Colonel  Singleton  is  with- 
drawn to  headquarters,  to  preside  over  the  inquiry  upon 
poor  Wharton.  Fresh  orders  have  been  sent  to  haog  the 
peddler  if  wre  can  take  him,  but  they  are  not  from  the 
Commander-in-chief.  Detail  a  small  guard  with  the  ladies, 
and  get  into  the  saddle  as  soon  as  possible. 

"Yours  sincerely, 

"  PEYTON  DUNWOODIE." 

This  communication  entirely  changed  the  whole  ar- 
rangement. There  was  no  longer  any  motive  for  remov- 
ing the  body  of  Isabella,  since  her  father  was  no  longer 
with  his  command,  and  Singleton  reluctantly  acquiesced 
in  an  immediate  interment.  A  retired  and  lovely  spot  was 
selected  near  the  foot  of  the  adjacent  rocks,  and  such  rude 
preparations  were  made  as  the  time  and  the  situation  of 
the  country  permitted.  A  few  of  the  neighboring  inhabi- 
tants collected,  from  curiosity  and  interest,  and  Miss  Pey- 
ton and  Frances  wept  in  sincerity  over  her  grave.  The 
solemn  offices  of  the  Church  were  performed  by  the  min- 
ister who.  had  so  lately  stood  forth  to  officiate  in  another 
and  very  different  duty  ;  and  Lawton  bent  his  head,  and 
passed  his  hand  across  his  brow,  while  the  words  that  ac- 
companied the  first  clod  were  uttered. 

A  new  stimulus  was  given  to  the  Whartons  by  the  in- 
telligence conveyed  in  the  letter  of  Dunwoodie  ;  and 
Caesar,  with  his  horses,  was  once  more  put  in  requisition. 
The  relics  of  the  property  were  intrusted  to  a  neighbor,  in 
whom  they  had  confidence  ;  and  accompanied  by  the  un- 
conscious Sarah,  and  attended  by  four  dragoons  and  all 
the  American  wounded,  Mr.  Wharton's  party  took  their 
departure.  They  were  speedily  followed  by  the  English 
chaplain,  with  his  countrymen,  who  were  conveyed  to  the 
waterside,  where  a  vessel*  was  in  waiting  to  receive  them. 
Lawton  joyfully  witnessed  these  movements  ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  latter  were  out  of  sight,  he  ordered  his  own  bugle 
to  sound.  Everything  was  instantly  in  motion.  The  mare 
of  Mrs.  Flanagan  was  again  fastened  to  the  cart ;  Dr.  Sit- 


771  E    SPY,  267 

greaves  exhibited  his  shapeless  form  once  more  on  horse- 
back ;  and  the  trooper  appeared  in  the  saddle,  rejoicing 
in  his  emancipation.  The  word  to  march  was  given  ;  and 
Lawton,  throwing  a  look  of  sullen  ferocity  at  the  place  of 
the  Skinner's  concealment,  and  another  of  melancholy  re- 
gret toward  the  grave  of  Isabella,  led  the  way,  accompanied 
by  the  surgeon  in  a  brown  study  ;  while  Sergeant  Hollis- 
ter  and  Betty  brought  up  the  rear,  leaving  a  fresh  south- 
erly wind  to  whistle  through  the  open  doors  and  broken 
windows  of  the  "  Hotel  Flanagan,"  where  the  laugh  of 
hilarity,  the  joke  of  the  hardy  partisan,  and  the  lamenta- 
tions of  the  sorrowing,  had  so  lately  echoed. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

No  vernal  blooms  their  torpid  rocks  array, 

But  winter  lingering  chills  the  lap  of  May, 

No  zephyr  fondly  sues  the  mountain's  breast, 

But  meteors  glare,  and  stormy  glooms  invest. — GOLDSMITH. 

THE  roads  of  Westchester  are,  at  this  hour,  below  the 
improvements  of  the  country.  Their  condition  at  the  time 
of  the  tale  has  already  been  alluded  to  in  these  pages  ;  and 
the  reader  will,  therefore,  easily  imagine  the  task  assumed 
by  Caesar,  when  he  undertook  to  guide  the  translated  char- 
iot of  the  English  prelate  through  their  windings,  into  one 
of  the  less  frequented  passes  of  the  Highlands  of  the  Hud- 
son. 

While  Caesar  and  his  steeds  were  contending  with  these 
difficulties,  the  inmates  of  the  carriage  were  too  much  en- 
grossed with  their  own  cares  to  attend  to  those  who  served 
them.  The  mind  of  Sarah  had  ceased  to  wander  so  wildly 
as  at  first  ;  but  at  every  advance  that  she  made  toward 
reason,  she  seemecj  to  retire  a  step  from  animation  ;  from 
being  excited  and  flighty,  she  was  gradually  becoming 
moody  and  melancholy.  There  were  moments,  indeed, 
when  her  anxious  companions  thought  that  they  could  dis- 
cern marks  of  recollection  ;  but  the  expression  of  exquisite 
woe  that  accompanied  these  transient  gleams  of  reason, 
forced  them  to  the  dreadful  alternative  of  wishing  that  she 
might  forever  be  spared  the  agony  of  thought.  The  day's 
march  was  performed  chiefly  in  silence,  and  the  party 
found  shelter  for  the  night  in  different  farm-houses. 


268  THE   SPY. 

The  following  morning  the  cavalcade  dispersed.  The 
wounded  diverged  toward  the  river,  with  the  intention  of 
taking  water  at  Peekskill,  in  order  to  be  transported  to  the 
hospitals  of  the  American  army  above.  The  litter  of  Sin- 
gletori  was  conveyed  to  a  part  of  the  Highlands  where  his 
lather  held  his  quarters,  and  where  it  was  intended  that  the 
youth  should  complete  his  cure  ;  the  carriage  of  Mr.  Whar- 
ton,  accompanied  by  a  wagon  conveying  the  house-keeper 
and  what  baggage  had  been  saved,  and  could  be  trans- 
ported, resumed  its  route  toward  the  place  where  Henry 
Wharton  was  held  in  duresse,  and  where  he  only  waited 
their  arrival  to  be  put  on  trial  for  his  life. 

The  country  which  lies  between  the  waters  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Long  Island  Sound  is,  for  the  first  forty  miles  from 
their  junction,  a  succession  of  hills  and  dales.  The  land 
bordering  on  the  latter  then  becomes  less  abrupt  and  grad- 
ually assumes  a  milder  appearance,  until  it  finally  melts 
into  the  lovely  plains  and  meadows  of  the  Connecticut. 
But  as  you  approach  the  Hudson  the  rugged  aspect  in- 
creases, until  you  at  length  meet  with  the  formidable  bar- 
rier of  the  Highlands.  Here  the  Neutral  Ground  ceased. 
The  royal  army  held  the  two  points  of  land  that  commanded 
the  southern  entrance  of  the  river  into  the  mountains  ;  but 
all  the  remaining  passes  were  guarded  by  the  Americans. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  pickets  of  the  conti- 
nental army  were  sometimes  pushed  low  into  the  county, 
and  that  the  hamlet  of  the  White  Plains  was  occasionally 
maintained  by  parties  of  its  troops.  At  other  times  the  ad- 
vanced guards  were  withdrawn  to  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  county,  and,  as  has  been  shown,  the  intermediate 
country  was  abandoned  to  the  ravages  of  the  miscreants 
who  plundered  between  both  armies,  serving  neither. 

The  road  taken  by  our  party  was  not  the  one  that  com- 
municates between  the  two  principal  cities  of  the  State,  but 
was  a  retired  and  unfrequented  pass,  that  to  this  hour  is 
but  little  known,  and  which,  entering  the  hills  near  the 
eastern  boundary,  emerges  into  the  plain  above  many 
miles  from  the  Hudson. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  tired  steeds  of  Mr. 
Wharton  to  drag  the  heavy  chariot  up  the  lengthened  and 
steep  ascents  which  now  lay  before  them  ;  and  a  pair  of 
country  horses  were  procured,  with  but  little  regard  to 
their  owner's  wishes,  by  the  two  dragoons  who  still  contin- 
ued to  accompany  the  party.  With  their  assistance  Caesar 
was  enabled  to  advance,  by  slow  and  toilsome  steps,  into 


THE    SPY.  269 

the  bosom  of  the  hills.  Willing  to  relieve  her  own  melan- 
choly by  breathing  a  fresher  air,  and  also  to  lessen  the 
weight,  Frances  alighted  as  they  reached  the  foot  of  the 
mountain.  She  found  that  Katy  had  made  similar  prepa- 
rations, with  the  like  intention  of  walking  to  the  summit. 
It  was  near  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and,  from  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  their  guard  had  declared  that  the  end  of  theii 
journey  might  be  discerned.  Frances  moved  forward  with 
the  elastic  step  of  youth  ;  and,  followed  by  the  house- 
keeper at  a  little  distance,  she  soon  lost  sight  of  the  slug- 
gish carriage,  that  was  slowly  toiling  up  the  hill,  occasion- 
ally halting  to  allow  the  cattle  to  breathe. 

"Oh,  Miss  Fanny,  what  dreadful  times  these  be  !"  said 
Katy,  when  they  paused  for  breath  themselves;  "  I  know'd 
that  calamity  was  about  to  befall,  ever  sin'  the  streak  of 
blood  was  seen  in  the  clouds." 

"  There  has  been  blood  upon  earth,  Katy,  though  but 
little  is  ever  seen  in  the  clouds." 

"  Not  blood  in  the  clouds  ?"  echoed  the  house-keeper  , 
"yes,  that  there  has, often,  and  comets  with  fiery,  smoking 
tails.  Didn't  people  see  armed  men  in  the  heavens,  the 
year  the  war  begun  ?  and,  the  night  before  the  battle  of  the 
Plains,  wasn't  there  thunder,  like  the  cannon  themselves  ? 
— Ah  !  Miss  Fanny,  I'm  fearful  that  no  good  can  follow 
rebellion  against  the  Lord's  anointed  !  " 

"  These  events  are  certainly  dreadful,"  returned  Frances, 
"  and  enough  to  sicken  the  stoutest  heart.  But  what  can 
be  done,  Katy  ? — Gallant  and  independent  men  are  unwil- 
ling to  submit  to  oppression  ;  and  I  am  fearful  that  such 
scenes  are  but  too  common  in  war." 

"  If  I  could  but  see  anything  to  fight  about,"  said  Katy, 
renewing  her  walk  as  the  young  lady  proceeded,  "  I 
shouldn't  mind  it  so  much.  'Twas  said  the  king  wanted 
all  the  tea  for  his  own  family,  atone  time  ;  and  then  again, 
that  he  meant  the  colonies  should  pay  over  to  him  all  their 
earnings.  Now  this  is  matter  enough  to  fight  about — for 
I'm  sure  that  no  one,  however  he  maybe  lord  or  king,  has 
a  right  to  the  hard  earnings  of  another.  Then  it  was  all 
contradicted,  and  some  said  Washington  wanted  to  be 
king  himself ;  so  that  between  the  two,  one  doesn't  know 
which  to  believe." 

"  Believe  neither — for  neither  is  true.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  understand,  myself,  all  the  merits  of  this  war,  Katy  ; 
but  to  me  it  seems  unnatural  that  a  country  like  this 
should  be  ruled  by  another  so  distant  as  England." 


270  THE  SPY. 

"  So  I  have  heard  Harvey  say  to  his  father,  that  Is  dead 
and  in  his  grave,"  returned  Katy,  approaching  nearer  to 
the  young  lady,  and  lowering  her  voice.  "  Many  is  the 
good  time  that  I've  listened  to  them  talking,  when  all  the 
neighborhood  was  asleep  ;  and  such  conversations,  Miss 
Fanny,  that  you  can  have  no  idea  on  ! — Well,  to  say  the 
truth,  Harvey  was  a  mystified  body,  and  he  was  like  the 
winds  in  the  good  book  ;  no  one  could  tell  whence  he 
came,  or  whither  he  went." 

Frances  glanced  her  eye  at  her  companion  with  an  ap- 
parent desire  to  hear  more. 

"There  are  rumors  abroad  relative  to  the  character  of 
Harvey,"  she  said,  "  that  I  should  be  sorry  were  true." 

"'Tis  a  disparagement,  every  word  bn't,"  cried  Katy, 
vehemently  ;  "  Harvey  had  no  more  dealings  with  Beelze- 
bub than  you  or  I  had.  I'm  sure  if  Harvey  had  sold  him- 
self, he  would  take  care  to  be  better  paid  ;  though,  to  tell 
the  truth,  he  was  always  a  wasteful  and  disregardful  man." 

"  Nay,  nay,"  returned  the  smiling  Frances,  "  I  have  no 
stich  injurious  suspicion  of  him  ;  but  has  he  not  sold  him- 
self to  an  earthly  prince — one  too  much  attached  to  the 
interests  of  his  native  island  to  be  always  just  to  this 
country  ?" 

"To  the  king's  majesty!"  replied  Katy.  "Why,  Miss 
Fanny,  your  own  brother  that  is  in  gaol  serves  King 
George." 

"  True,"  said  Frances,  "  but  not  in  secret — openly,  man- 
fully, and  bravely." 

"'Tis  said  he  is  a  spy,  and  why  ain't  one  as  bad  as  an- 
other ? " 

"'Tis  untrue;  no  act  of  deception  is  worthy  of  my 
brother  ;  nor  of  any  would  he  be  guilty,  for  so  base  a  pur- 
pose as  gain,  or  promotion." 

"Well;  I'm  sure,"  said  Katy,  a  little  appalled  at  the 
manner  of  the  young  lady,  "  if  a  body  does  the  work  he 
should  be  paid  for  it.  Harvey  is  by  no  means  partic'lar 
about  getting  his  lawful  dues  ;  and  I  dar'st  to  say,  if  the 
truth  was  forthcoming,  King  George  owes  him  money  this 
very  minute." 

"  Then  you  acknowledge  his  connection  with  the  British 
army,"  said  Frances  ;  "  I  confess  there  have  been  moments 
when  I  have  thought  differently." 

"Lord,  Miss  Fanny,  Harvey  is  a  man  that  no  calcula- 
tion can  be  made  on.  Though  I  lived  in  his  house  for  a 
long  concourse  of  years,  I  have  never  known  whether  he 


Tin-:  SPY.  271 

belonged  above  or  below.*  The  time  that  Burg'yne  was 
taken,  he  came  home,  and  there  was  great  doings  between 
him  and  the  old  gentleman,  but  for  the  life  I  couldn't  tell 
if  'twas  joy  or  grief.  Then  here,  the  other  day,  when  the 
great  British  general— I'm  sure  I  have  been  so  flurried 
with  losses  and  troubles  that  I  forgot  his  name— 

"  Andre,"  said  Frances. 

"  Yes,  Ondree  ;  when  he  was  hanged,  acrost  the  Tappan, 
the  old  gentleman  was  near  hand  to  going  crazy  about  it, 
and  didn't  sleep  for  night  nor  day,  till  Harvey  got  back  ; 
and  then  his  money  was  mostly  golden  guineas,  but  the 
Skinners  took  it  all,  and  now  he  is  a  beggar,  or,  what's  the 
same  thing,  despisable  for  poverty  and  want." 

To  this  speech  Frances  made  no  reply,  but  continued 
her  walk  up  the  hill,  deeply  engaged  in  her  own  reflec- 
tions. The  allusion  to  Andre  had  recalled  her  thoughts 
to  the  situation  of  her  own  brother. 

They  soon  reached  the  highest  point  in  their  toilsome 
progress  to  the  summit,  and  Frances  seated  herself  on  a 
rock  to  rest  and  to  admire.  Immediately  at  her  feet  lay  a 
deep  deil,  but  little  altered  by  cultivation,  and  dark  with 
the  gloom  of  a  November  sunset.  Another  hill  rose  oppo- 
site to  the  place  where  she  sat,  at  no  great  distance,  along 
whose  rugged  sides  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  shapeless 
rocks,  and  oaks  whose  stinted  growth  showed  a  meagre 
soil. 

To  be  seen  in  their  perfection,  the  Highlands  must  be 
passed  immediately  after  the  fall  of  the  leaf.  The  scene  is 
then  the  finest,  for  neither  the  scanty  foliage  which  the  sum- 
mer lends  the  trees,  nor  the  snows  of  winter,  are  present  to 
conceal  the  minutest  object  from  the  eye.  Chilling  soli- 
tude is  the  characteristic  of  the  scenery  ;  nor  is  the  mind 
at  liberty,  as  in  March,  to  look  forward  to  a  renewed  veg-. 
etation  that  is  soon  to  check,  without  improving,  the  view. 

The  day  had  been  cloudy  and  cool,  and  the  thin  fleecy 
clouds  hung  around  the  horizon,  often  promising  to  dis- 
perse, but  as  frequently  disappointing  Frances  in  the  hope 
of  catching  a  parting  gleam  from  the  setting  sun.  At 
length,  a  solitary  gleam  struck  on  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tain on  which  she  was  gazing,  and  moved  gracefully  up  its 
side,  until,  reaching  the  summit,  it  stood  for  a  minute, 
forming  a  crown  of  glory  to  the  sombre  pile.  So  strong 

*  The  American  party  was  called  the  party  belonging  "above,"  and  the 
British  that  of  ''below."  The  terms  had  reference  to  the  course  of  the 
Hudson. 


272  THE    SPY. 

were  the  rays,  that  what  was  before  indistinct  now  clearly 
opened  to  the  view.  With  a  feeling  of  awe  at  being  thus 
unexpectedly  admitted,  as  it  were,  into  the  secrets  of  this 
desert  place,  Frances  gazed  intently,  until,  among  the 
scattered  trees  and  fantastic  rocks,  something  like  a  rude 
structure  was  seen.  It  was  low,  and  so  obscured  by  the 
color  of  its  materials,  that  but  for  its  roof  and  the  glitter- 
ing of  a  window,  it  must  have  escaped  her  notice.  While 
yet  lost  in  the  astonishment  created  by  discovering  a  habi- 
tation in  such  a  spot,  on  moving  her  eyes  she  perceived 
another  object  that  increased  her  wonder.  It  apparently 
was  a  human  figure,  but  of  singular  mould  and  unusual  de- 
formity. It  stood  on  the  edge  of  a  rock,  a  little  above  the 
hut,  and  it  was  no  difficult  task  for  our  heroine  to  fancy  it 
was  gazing  at  the  vehicles  that  were  ascending  the  side  of 
the  mountain  beneath  her.  The  distance,  however,  was 
too  great  to  distinguish  with  precision.  After  looking 
at  it  a  moment  in  breathless  wonder,  Frances  had  just 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  ideal,  and  that  what  she 
saw  was  a  part  of  the  rock  itself,  when  the  object  moved 
swiftly  from  its  position,  and  glided  into  the  hut,  at  once 
removing  every  doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  either.  Whether 
it  was  owing  to  the  recent  conversation  that  she  had  been 
holding  with  Katy,  or  to  some  fancied  resemblance  that 
she  discerned,  Frances  thought,  as  the  figure  vanished 
from  her  view,  that  it  bore  a  marked  likeness  to  Birch, 
moving  under  the  weight  of  his  pack.  She  continued  to 
gaze  toward  the  mysterious  residence,  when  the  gleam  of 
light  passed  away,  and  at  the  same  instant  the  tones  of  a 
bugle  rang  through  the  glens  and  hollows,  and  were  re- 
echoed in  every  direction.  Springing  on  her  feet,  the 
alarmed  girl  heard  the  trampling  of  horses,  and  directly  a 
party  in  the  well-known  uniforms  of  the  Virginians  came 
sweeping  round  the  point  of  rock  near  her,  and  drew  up 
at  a  short  distance.  Again  the  bugle  sounded  a  lively 
strain,  and  before  the  agitated  Frances  had  time  to  rally 
her  thoughts,  Dunwoodie  dashed  by  the  party  of  dra- 
goons, threw  himself  from  his  charger,  and  advanced  to 
her  side. 

His  manner  was  earnest  and  interested,  but  in  a  slight 
degree  constrained.  In  a  few  words  he  explained  that  he 
had  been  ordered  up,  with  a  party  of  Lawton's  men,  in  the 
absence  of  the  captain  himself,  to  attend  the  trial  of 
Henry,  which  was  fixed  for  the  morrow  ;  and  that,  anxious 
for  their  safety  in  the  rude  passes  of  the  mountain,  he  had 


THE    SPY.  273 

ridden  a  mile  or  two  in  quest  of  the  travellers.  Frances 
explained  with  a  trembling  voice  the  reason  of  her  being 
in  advance,  and  taught  him  momentarily  to  expect  the  ar- 
rival of  her  father.  The  constraint  of  his  manner  had, 
however  unwillingly  on  her  part,  communicated  itself  to 
her  own  deportment,  and  the  approach  of  the  chariot  was 
a  relief  to  both.  The  major  handed  her  in,  spoke  a  few 
words  of  encouragement  to  Mr.  Wharton  and  to  Miss  Pey- 
ton, and  again  mounting,  led  the  way  toward  the  plains  of 
Fishkill,  which  broke  on  their  sight,  on  turning  the  rock, 
with  the  effect  of  enchantment.  A  short  half-hour  brought 
them  to  the  door  of  the  farm-house,  which  the  care  of 
Dunwoodie  had  already  prepared  for  their  reception,  and 
where  Captain  Wharton  was  anxiously  expecting  their  ar- 
rival. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

These  limbs  are  strengthen' d  with  a  soldier's  toil, 

Nor  has  this  cheek  been  ever  blanch'd  with  fear — 

But  this  sad  tale  of  thine  enervates  all 

Within  me  that  I  once  could  boast  as  man  ; 

Chill  trembling  agues  seize  upon  my  frame, 

And  tears  of  childish  sorrow  pour,  apace, 

Through  scarred  channels  that  were  mark'd  by  wounds. — Duo. 

THE  friends  of  Henry  Wharton  had  placed  so  much  re- 
liance on  his  innocence,  that  they  were  unable  to  see  the 
full  danger  of  his  situation.  As  the  moment  of  trial,  how- 
ever, approached,  the  uneasiness  of  the  youth  himself  in- 
creased ;  and  after  spending  most  of  the  night  with  his 
afflicted  family,  he  awoke,  on  the  following  morning,  from 
a  short  and  disturbed  slumber,  to  a  clearer  sense  of  his  con- 
dition, and  a  survey  of  the  means  that  were  to  extricate 
him  from  it  with  life.  The  rank  of  Andre,  and  the  impor- 
tance of  the  measures  he  was  plotting,  together  with  the 
powerful  intercessions  that  had  been  made  in  his  behalf, 
occasioned  his  execution  to  be  stamped  with  greater  noto- 
riety than  the  ordinary  events  of  the  war.  But  spies  were 
frequently  arrested  ;  and  the  instances  that  occurred  of 
summary  punishment  for  this  crime  were  numerous.  These 
were  facts  that  were  well  known  to  both  Dunwoodie  and 
the  prisoner ;  and  to  their  experienced  judgments  the 
preparations  for  the  trial  were  indeed  alarming.  Notwith- 
standing their  apprehensions,  they  succeeded  so  far  in  con- 


274 

cealing  them,  that  neither  Miss  Peyton  nor  Frances  was 
aware  of  their  extent.  A  strong  guard  was  stationed  in 
the  out-building  of  the  farm-house  where  the  prisoner  was 
quartered,  and  several  sentinels  watched  the  avenues  that 
approached  the  dwelling.  Another  was  constantly  near 
the  room  of  the  British  officer.  A  court  was  already  de- 
tailed to  examine  into  the  circumstances  ;  and  upon  their 
decision  the  fate  of  Henry  rested. 

The  moment  at  length  arrived,  and  the  different  actors 
in  the  approaching  investigation  assembled.  Frances  ex- 
perienced a  feeling  like  suffocation  as,  after  taking  her 
seat  in  the  midst  of  her  family,  her  eyes  wandered  over  the 
group  who  were  thus  collected.  The  judges,  three  in  num- 
ber, sat  by  themselves,  clad  in  the  vestments  of  their  pro- 
fession, and  maintained  a  gravity  worthy  of  the  occasion, 
and  becoming  in  their  rank.  In  the  centre  was  a  man  of 
advanced  years,  and  whose  whole  exterior  bore  the  stamp 
of  early  and  long-tried  military  habits.  This  was  the  pres- 
ident of  the  court  ;  and  Frances,  after  taking  a  hasty  and 
unsatisfactory  view  of  his  associates,  turned  to  his  benevo- 
lent countenance  as  to  the  harbinger  of  mercy  to  her 
brother.  There  was  a  melting  and  subdued  expression  in 
the  features  of  the  veteran,  that,  contrasted  with  the  rigid 
decency  and  composure  of  the  others,  could  not  fail  to  at- 
tract her  notice.  His  attire  was  strictly  in  conformity  to 
the  prescribed  rules  of  the  service  to  which  he  belonged  ; 
but  while  his  air  was  erect  and  military,  his  fingers  trifled, 
with  a  kind  of  convulsive  and  unconscious  motion,  with  a 
bit  of  crape  that  entwined  the  hilt  of  the  sword  on  which 
his  body  partly  reclined,  and  which,  like  himself,  seemed 
a  relic  of  older  times.  There  were  the  workings  of  an  un- 
quiet soul  within  ;  but  his  military  front  blended  awe  with 
the  pity  that  its  exhibition  excited.  His  associates  were 
officers  selected  from  the  eastern  troops,  who  held  the  fort- 
resses of  West  Point  and  the  adjacent  passes  ;  they  were 
men  who  had  attained  the  meridian  of  life,  and  the  eye 
sought  in  vain  the  expression  of  any  passion  or  emotion  on 
which  it  might  seize  as  an  indication  of  human  infirmity. 
In  their  demeanor  there  was  a  mild,  but  a  grave,  intel- 
lectual reserve.  If  there  was  no  ferocity  nor  harshness 
to  chill,  neither  was  there  compassion  nor  interest  to  at- 
tract. They  were  men  who  had  long  acted  under  the  do- 
minion of  a  prudent  reason,  and  whose  feelings  seemed 
trained  to  a  perfect  submission  to  their  judgments. 

Before  these  arbiters  of  his  fate   Henry  Wharton  was 


THE   SPY.  275 

ushered,  under  the  custody  of  armed  men.  A  profound 
and  awful  silence  succeeded  his  entrance,  and  the  blood  of 
Frances  chilled  as  she  noted  the  grave  character  of  the 
whole  proceedings.  There  was  but  little  of  pomp  in  the 
preparations  to  impress  her  imagination  ;  but  the  reserved, 
business-like  air  of  the  whole  scene  made  it  seem,  indeed, 
as  if  the  destinies  of  life  awaited  the  result.  Two  of  the 
judges  sat  in  grave  reserve,  fixing  their,  inquiring  eyes  on 
the  object  of  their  investigation  ;  but  the  president  con- 
tinued gazing  around  with  uneasy,  convulsive  motions  of 
the  muscles  of  the  face,  that  indicated  a  restlessness  foreign 
to  his  years  and  duty.  It  was  Colonel  Singleton,  who,  but 
the  day  before,  had  learned  the  fate  of  Isabella,  but  who 
stood  forth  in  the  discharge  of  a  duty  that  his  country  re- 
quired at  his  hands.  The  silence,  and  the  expectation  in 
every  eye,  at  length  struck  him,  and  making  an  effort  to 
collect  himself,  he  spoke,  in  the  tones  of  one  used  to  au- 
thority. 

"  Bring  forth  the  prisoner,"  he  said,  with  a  wave  of  the 
hand. 

The  sentinels  dropped  the  points  of  their  bayonets  to- 
ward the  judges,  and  Henry  Wharton  advanced,  with^a 
firm  step,  into  the  centre  of  the  apartment.  All  was  now 
anxiety  and  eager  curiosity.  Frances  turned  for  a  moment 
in  grateful  emotion,  as  the  deep  and  perturbed  breathing 
of  Dunwoodie  reached  her  ears  ;  but  her  brother  again 
concentrated  all  her  interest  in  one  feeling  of  intense  care. 
In  the  background  were  arranged  the  inmates  of  the  family 
who  owned  the  dwelling,  and  behind  them,  again,  was  a 
row  of  shining  faces  of  ebony,  glistening  with  pleased  won- 
der. Among  these  was  the  faded  lustre  of  Caesar  Thomp- 
son's countenance. 

"You  are  said,"  continued  the  president,  "to  be  Henry 
Wharton,  a  captain  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  6oth  Regi- 
ment of  Foot." 

"  I  am." 

"  I  like  your  candor,  sir  ;  it  partakes  of  the  honorable 
feelings  of  a  soldier,  and  cannot  fail  to  impress  your  judges 
favorably." 

"It  would  be  prudent,"  said  one  of  his  companions,  "  to 
advise  the  prisoner  that  he  is  bound  to  answer  no  more  than 
he  deems  necessary  ;  although  we  are  a  court  of  martial 
law,  yet,  in  this  respect,  we  own  the  principles  of  all  free 
governments." 

A  nod  of  approbation  from  the  silent  members  was  be- 


276  THE    SPY. 

stowed  on  this  remark,  and  the  president  proceeded  with 
caution,  referring  to  the  minutes  he  held  in  his  hand. 

"  It  is  an  accusation  against  you,  that,  being  an  officer 
of  the  enemy,  you  passed  the  pickets  of  the  American  army 
at  the  White  Plains,  in  disguise,  on  the  29111  of  October 
last,  whereby  you  are  suspected  of  views  hostile  to  the  in- 
terests of  America,  and  have  subjected  yourself  to  the  pun- 
ishment of  a  spy." 

The  mild  but  steady  tones  of  the  speaker,  as  he  slowly 
repeated  the  substance  of  tins  charge,  were  full  of  author- 
ity. The  accusation  was  so  plain,  the  facts  so  limited,  the 
proof  so  obvious,  and  the  penalty  so  well  established,  that 
escape  seemed  impossible.  But  Henry  replied,  with  earn- 
est grace  : 

"That  I  passed  your  pickets  in  disguise,  is  true; 
but " 

"  Peace!"  interrupted  the  president;  "  the  usages  of 
war  are  stern  enough  in  themselves  ;  you  need  not  aid 
them  to  your  own  condemnation." 

"  The  prisoner  can  retract  that  declaration,  if  he  please," 
remarked  another  judge.  "  His  confession,  if  taken,  goes 
fully  to  prove  the  charge." 

"  I  retract  nothing  that  is  true,"  said  Henry,  proudly. 

The  two  nameless  judges  heard  him  in  silent  compos- 
ure, yet  there  was  no  exultation  mingled  with  their  gravity. 
The  president  now  appeared,  however,  to  take  a  new  in- 
terest in  the  scene. 

"Your  sentiment  is  noble,  sir,"  he  said  ;  "I  only  regret 
that  a  youthful  soldier  should  so  far  be  misled  by  loyalty 
as  to  lend  himself  to  the  purposes  of  deceit." 

"  Deceit !  "  echoed  Wharton  ;  "  I  thought  it  prudent  to 
guard  against  capture  from  my  enemies." 

"A  soldier,  Captain  Wharton,  should  never  meet  his 
enemy  but  openly,  and  with  arms  in  his  hands.  I  have 
served  two  kings  of  England,  as  I  now  serve  my  native 
land  ;  but  never  did  I  approach  a  foe  unless  under  the 
light  of  the  sun,  and  with  honest  notice  that  an  enemy  was 
nigh." 

"  You  are  at  liberty  to  explain  what  your  motives  were 
in  entering  the  ground  held  by  our  army,  in  disguise,"  said 
the  other  judge,  with  a  slight  movement  of  the  muscles  of 
his  mouth. 

"  I  am  the  son  of  this  aged  man  before  you,"  continued 
Henry.  "  It  was  to  visit  him  that  I  encountered  the  dan- 
ger. Besides,  the  country  below  is  seldom  held  bv  vour 


THE   SPY.  277 

troops,  and  its  very  name  implies  a  right  to  either  party 
to  move  at  pleasure  over  its  territory." 

"  Its  name,  as  a  neutral  ground,  is  unauthorized  by  law ; 
it  is  an  appellation  that  originates  with  the  condition  of 
the  country.  But  wherever  an  army  goes,  it  carries  its 
rights  along,  and  the  first  is  the  ability  to  protect  itself." 

"  I  am  no  casuist,  sir,"  returned  the  youth  ;  "  but  I  feel 
that  my  father  is  entitled  to  my  affection,  and  I  would  en- 
counter greater  risks  to  prove  it  to  him  in  his  old  age." 

"A  very  commendable  spirit,"  cried  the  veteran.  "  Come, 
gentlemen,  this  business  brightens  ;  I  confess  at  first  it 
was  very  bad  ;  but  no  man  can  censure  him  for  desiring 
to  see  his  parents." 

"  And  have  you  proof  that  such  onl^  was  your  inten- 
tion ? " 

"Yes — here,"  said  Henry,  admitting  a  ray  of  hope; 
"here  is  proof — my  father,  my  sister,  Major  Dunwoodie, 
all  know  it." 

"Then,  indeed,"  returned  his  immovable  judge,  "we 
may  be  able  to  save  you.  It  would  be  well,  sir,  to  exam- 
ine further  into  this  business." 

"  Certainly."  said  the  president,  with  alacrity  ;  "  let  the 
older  Mr.  Wharton  approach  and  take  the  oath." 

The  father  made  an  effort  at  composure,  and,  advancing 
with  a  feeble  step,  he  complied  with  the  necessary  forms 
of  the  court. 

"You  are  the  father  of  the  prisoner?"  said  Colonel 
Singleton,  in  a  subdued  voice,  after  pausing  a  moment  in 
respect  for  the  agitation  of  the  witness. 

"  He  is  my  only  son." 

"  And  what  do  you  know  of  his  visit  to  your  house,  on 
the  2pth  day  of  October  last." 

"  He  came,  as  he  told  you,  to  see  me  and  his  sisters." 

"Was  he  in  disguise  ?"  asked  the  other  judge. 

"  Fie  did  not  wear  the  uniform  of  the  6oth." 

"  To  see  his  sisters,  too  ! "  said  the  president,  with  great 
emotion.  "  Have  you  daughters,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  have  two — both  are  in  this  house." 

"  Had  he  a  wig?"  interrupted  the  officer. 

"  There  was  some  such  thing,  I  do  believe,  upon  his 
head." 

''And  how  long  had  you  been  separated?"  asked  the 
president. 

"  One  year  and  two  months." 

"  Did  he  wear  a  loose  great-coat  of  coarse  material  ? * 


278  THE   SPY. 

inquired  the  officer,  referring  to  the  paper  that  contained 
the  charges. 

"There  was  an  overcoat." 

"And  you  think  that  it  was  to  see  you,  only,  that  he 
came  out  ?" 

"  Me,  and  my  daughters." 

"A  boy  of  spirit,"  whispered  the  president  to  his  silent 
comrade.  "  I  see  but  little  harm  in  such  a  freak  ;  'twas 
imprudent,  but  then  it  was  kind." 

"  Do  you  know  that  your  son  was  intrusted  with  no 
commission  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  that  the  visit  to 
you  was  not  merely  a  cloak  to  other  designs  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  know  it  ? "  said  Mr.  Wharton,  in  alarm  ; 
"  would  Sir  Henry  intrust  me  with  such  a  business  ?  " 

"  Know  you  anything  of  this  pass?"  exhibiting  the  pa- 
per that  Dunwoodie  had  retained  when  Whartori  was  ta- 
ken. 

"  Nothing — upon  my  honor,  nothing,"  cried  the  father, 
shrinking  from  the  paper  as  from  contagion. 

"On  your  oath  ?" 

"  Nothing." 

"  Have  you  other  testimony  ? — this  does  not  avail  you, 
Captain  Wharton.  You  have  been  taken  in  a  situation 
where  your  life  is  forfeited  ;  the  labor  of  proving  your  in- 
nocence rests  with  yourself.  Take  time  to  reflect,  and  be 
cool." 

There  was  a  frightful  calmness  in  the  manner  of  this 
judge  that  appalled  the  prisoner.  In  the  sympathy  of  Col- 
onel Singleton,  he  could  easily  lose  sight  of  his  danger  ; 
but  the  obdurate  and  collected  air  of  the  others  was  omi- 
nous of  his  fate.  He  continued  silent,  casting  imploring 
glances  toward  his  friend.  Dunwoodie  understood  the 
.appeal,  and  offered  himself  as  a  witness.  He  was  sworn, 
and  desired  to  relate  what  he  knew.  His  statement  did 
not  materially  alter  the  case,  and  Dunwoodie  felt  that  it 
could  not.  To  him  personally  but  little  was  known,  and 
that  little  rather  militated  against  the  safety  of  Henry  than 
otherwise.  His  account  was  listened  to  in  silence,  and  the 
significant  shake  of  the  head  that  was  made  by  the* silent 
member  spoke  too  plainly  what  effect  it  had  produced. 

"  Still  you  think  that  the  prisoner  had  no  other  object 
than  what  he  has  avowed  ?"  said  the  president,  when  he 
had  ended. 

"  None  other,  I  will  pledge  my  life,"  cried  the  major, 
with  fervor. 


THE    SPY.  279 

"Will  you  swear  it  ?  "  asked  the  immovable  judge. 

"  How  can  I  ?  God  alone  can  tell  the  heart ;  but  I 
have  known  this  gentleman  from  a  boy  ;  deceit  never 
formed  part  of  his  character.  He  is  above  it." 

"  You  say  that  he  escaped,  and  was  retaken  in  open 
arms  ?  "  said  the  president. 

"  He  was  ;  nay,  he  received  a  wound  in  the  combat. 
You  see  he  yet  moves  his  arm  with  difficulty.  Would  he, 
think  you,  sir,  have  trusted  himself  where  he  could  fall 
again  into  our  hands,  unless  conscious  of  innocence  ?  " 

"  Would  Andre  have  deserted  a  field  of  battle,  Major 
Dunwoodie,  had  he  encountered  such  an  event,  near 
Tarrytown  ? "  asked  his  deliberate  examiner.  "  Is  it  not 
natural  to  youth  to  seek  glory  ?  " 

"  Do  you  call  this  glory  ?  "  exclaimed  the  major  ;  "  an 
ignominious  death,  and  a  tarnished  name." 

"Major  Dunwoodie,"  returned  the  other,  still  with  in- 
veterate gravity,  "  you  have  acted  nobly  ;  your  duty  has 
been  arduous  and  severe,  but  it  has  been  faithfully  and 
honorably  discharged  ;  ours  must  not  be  less  so." 

During  the  examination,  the  most  intense  interest  pre- 
vailed among  the  hearers.  With  that  kind  of  feeling 
which  could  not  separate  the  principle  from  the  cause, 
most  of  the  auditors  thought  that  if  Dunwoodie  failed  to 
move  the  hearts  of  Henry's  judges,  no  other  possessed  the 
power.  Caesar  thrust  his  misshapen  form  forward  ;  and 
his  features,  so  expressive  of  the  concern  he  felt,  and  so 
different  from  the  vacant  curiosity  pictured  in  the  coun- 
tenances of  the  other  blacks,  caught  the  attention  of  the 
silent  judge.  For  the  first  time  he  spoke  : 

"  Let  that  black  be  brought  forward." 

It  was  too  late  to  retreat,  and  Caesar  found  himself  con- 
fronted with  a  row  of  rebel  officers,  before  he  knew  what 
was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts.  The  others  yielded  the 
examination  to  the  one  who  suggested  it,  and  using  all 
due  deliberation,  he  proceeded  accordingly. 

"  You  know  the  prisoner  ?" 

"  I  tink  he  ought,"  returned  the  black,  in  a  manner  as 
sententious  as  that  of  his  examiner. 

"  Did  he  give  you  the  wig,  when  he  threw  it  aside  ? " 

"  I  don't  want  'em,"  grumbled  Caesar;  "got  a  berry 
good  hair  he'self." 

"  Were  you  employed  in  carrying  any  letters  or  mes- 
sages while  Captain  Wharton  was  in  your  master's 
house  ?  " 


280  THE   SPY. 

"  I  do  what  a  tell  me,"  returned  the  black. 

"  But  what  did  they  tell  you  to  do  ? " 

"Sometimes  a  one  ting — sometimes  anoder." 

"  Enough,"  said  Colonel  Singleton,  with  dignity  ;  "  you 
have  the  noble  acknowledgment  of  a  gentleman,  what 
more  can  you  obtain  from  this  slave  ?  Captain  Wharton, 
you  perceive  the  unfortunate  impression  against  you. 
Have  you  other  testimony  to  adduce  ?" 

To  Henry  there  now  remained  but  little  hope  ;  his  con- 
fidence in  his  security  was  fast  ebbing  ;  with  an  indefinite 
expectation  of  assistance  from  the  loveliness  of  his  sister, 
he  fixed  an  earnest  gaze  on  the  pallid  features  of  Frances. 
She  arose,  and  with  a  tottering  step  moved  toward  the 
judges  ;  the  paleness  of  her  cheek  continued  but  for  a 
moment,  and  gave  place  to  a  flush  of  fire,  and  with  a  light 
but  firm  tread,  she  stood  before  them.  Raising  her  hand 
to  her  polished  forehead,  Frances  threw  aside  her  exuber- 
ant locks,  and  displayed  a  picture  of  beauty  and  inno- 
cence to  their  view  that  might  have  moved  even  sterner 
natures.  The  president  shrouded  his  eyes  for  a  moment, 
as  if  the  wild  eye  and  speaking  countenance  recalled  the 
image  of  another.  The  movement  was  transient,  and  re- 
covering himself,  he  said,  with  an  earnestness  that  be- 
trayed secret  wishes. 

"To  you,  then,  your  brother  previously  communicated 
his  intention  of  paying  your  family  a  secret  visit  ? " 

"  No  ! — no  ! "  said  Frances,  pressing  her  hand  on  her 
brain,  as  if  to  collect  her  thoughts  ;  "  he  told  me  nothing 
— we  knew  not  of  the  visit  until  he  arrived  ;  but  can  it  be 
necessary  to  explain  to  gallant  men,  that  a  child  would 
incur  hazard  to  meet  his  only  parent,  and  that  in  times 
like  these,  and  in  a  situation  like  ours  ?" 

"  But  was  this  the  first  time  ?  Did  he  never  talk  of 
doing  so  before  ? "  inquired  the  colonel,  leaning  toward 
her  with  paternal  interest. 

"Certainly — certainly,"  cried  Frances,  catching  the  ex- 
pression of  his  own  benevolent  countenance.  "  This  is 
but  the  fourth  of  his  visits." 

"  I  knew  it,"  exclaimed  the  veteran,  rubbing  his  hands 
with  delight ;  "  an  adventurous,  warm-hearted  son — I  war- 
rant me,  gentlemen,  a  fiery  soldier  in  the  field  !  In  what 
disguise  did  he  come  ?" 

"In  none,  for  none  were  then  necessary  ;  the  royal 
troops  covered  the  country,  and  gave  him  safe  passage." 

"  And  was  this  the  first  of  his  visits  out  of  the  uniform 


P}'.  281 

of  his  regiment  ?  "  asked  the  colonel,  in  a  suppressed  voice, 
avoiding  the  penetrating  looks  of  his  companions. 

"Oh!  the  very  first,"  exclaimed  the  eager  girl;  "  his 
first  offence,  I  do  assure  you,  if  offence  it  be." 

"  But  you  wrote  him — you  urged  the  visit;  surely, 
young  lady,  you  wished  to  see  your  brother?"  added  the 
impatient  colonel. 

"  That  we  wished  it  and  prayed  for  it — oh,  how  fervently 
we  prayed  for  it! — is  true  ;  but  to  have  held  communion 
with  the  royal  army  would  have  endangered  our  father, 
and  we  dared  not." 

"  Did  he  leave  the  house  until  taken,  or  had  he  inter- 
course with  any  out  of  your  own  dwelling  ?  " 

"  With  none — no  one,  excepting  our  neighbor,  the  ped- 
dler Birch." 

"With  whom?"  exclaimed  the  colonel,  turning  pale, 
and  shrinking  as  from  the  sting  of  an  adder. 

Dunvvoodie  groaned  aloud,  and  striking  his  head  with 
his  hand,  cried,  in  piercing  tones,  "  He  is  lost  ! "  and 
rushed  from  the  apartment. 

"  But  Harvey  Birch,"  repeated  Frances,  gazing  wildly 
at  the  door  through  which  her  lover  had  disappeared. 

"  Harvey  Birch  !  "  echoed  all  the  judges.  The  two  im- 
movable members  of  the  court  exchanged  looks,  and  threw 
an  inquisitive  glance  at  their  prisoner. 

"  To  you,  gentlemen,  it  can  be  no  new  intelligence  to 
hear  that  Harvey  Birch  is  suspected  of  favoring  the  royal 
cause,"  said  Henry,  again  advancing  before  the  judges  ; 
"for  he  has  already  been  condemned  by  your  tribunals  to 
the  fate  that  I  now  see  awaits  myself.  I  will  therefore  ex- 
plain, that  it  was  by  his  assistance  I  procured  the  disguise, 
and  passed  your  pickets  ;  but  to  my  dying  moment,  and 
with  my  dying  breath,  I  will  avow,  that  my  intentions  were 
as  pure  as  the  innocent  being  before  you." 

"  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  president,  solemnly,  "  the 
enemies  of  American  liberty  have  made  mighty  and  subtle 
efforts  to  overthrow  our  power.  A  more  dangerous  man, 
for  his  means  and  education,  is  not  ranked  among  our  foes 
than  this  peddler  of  Westchester.  He  is  a  spy — artful,  de- 
lusive, and  penetrating  beyond  the  abilities  of  any  of  his 
class.  Sir  Henry  could  not  do  better  than  to  associate  him 
with  the  officer  in  his  next  attempt.  He  would  have  saved 
Andre.  Indeed,  young  man,  this  is  a  connection  that  may 
prove  fatal  to  you." 

The  honest  indignation  that  bemned  on  the  countenance 


282  THE   SPY. 

of  the  aged  warrior,  was  met  by  a  look  of  perfect  conviction 
on  the  part  of  his  comrades. 

'•  I  have  ruined  him  !  "  cried  Frances,  clasping  her  hands 
in  terror  ;  "  do  you  desert  us  ?  then  he  is  lost,  indeed  !  " 

"Forbear  ! — lovely  innocent — forbear!"  said  the  colonel, 
with  strong  emotion  ;  "you  injure  none,  but  distress  us  all." 

*'  Is  it  then  such  a  crime  to  possess  natural  affection  ?" 
said  Frances,  wildly  ;  "  would  Washington — the  noble,  up- 
right, impartial  Washington — judge  so  harshly  ?  Delay,  till 
Washington  can  hear  his  tale." 

"  It  is  impossible,"  said  the  president,  covering  his  eyes 
as  if  to  hide  her  beauty  from  his  view. 

"  Impossible  !  Oh  !  but  for  a  week  suspend  your  judg- 
ment. '  On  my  knees  I  entreat  you,  as  you  will  expect 
mercy  yourself,  when  no  human  power  can  avail  you,  give 
him  but  a  day." 

"  It  is  impossible,"  repeated  the  colonel,  in  a  voice  that 
was  nearly  choked  ;  "our  orders  are  peremptory,  and  too 
long  delay  has  been  given  already." 

He  turned  from  the  kneeling  suppliant,  but  could  not, 
or  would  not,  extricate  the  hand  that  she  grasped  with 
frenzied  fervor. 

"Remand  your  prisoner,"  said  one  of  the  judges  to  the 
officer  who  had  the  charge  of  Henry.  "  Colonel  Single- 
ton, shall  we  withdraw  ?  " 

"  Singleton  !  Singleton  !  "  echoed  Frances  ;  "  then  you 
are  a  father,  and  know  how  to  pity  a  father's  woes  ;  you 
cannot,  will  not,  wound  a  heart  that  is  now  nearly  crushed. 
Hear  me,  Colonel  Singleton;  as  God  will  listen  to  your 
dying  prayers,  hear  me,  and  spare  my  brother  ! " 

"Remove  her,"  said  the  colonel,  gently  endeavoring  to 
extricate  his  hand  ;  but  none  appeared  disposed  to  obey. 
Frances  eagerly  strove  to  read  the  expression  of  his  averted 
face,  and  resisted  all  his  efforts  to  retire. 

"  Colonel  Singleton  !  how  lately  was  your  own  son  in 
suffering  and  in  danger  !  under  the  roof  of  my  father  he 
was  cherished — under  my  father's  roof  he  found  shelter  and 
protection.  Oh  !  suppose  that  son,  the  pride  of  your  age, 
the  solace  and  protection  of  your  infant  children,  and  then 
pronounce  my  brother  guilty,  if  you  dare  !  " 

"  What  right  has  Heath  to  make  an  executioner  of  me  !  " 
exclaimed  the  veteran,  fiercely,  rising  with  a  face  flushed 
like  fire,  and  every  vein  and  artery  swollen  with  suppressed 
emotion.  "  But  I  forget  myself  ;  pprne,  gentlemen,  let  us 
mount  ;  our  pninful  duty  must  be  done," 

I 


THE   SPY.  2&3 

"Mount  not!  go  not!"  shrieked  Frances;  "can  you 
tear  a  son  from  his  parent  ?  a  brother  from  his  sister,  so 
coldly  ?  Is  this  the  cause  I  have  so  ardently  loved  ?  Are 
these  the  men  that  I  have  been  taught  to  reverence  ?  But 
you  relent,  you  do  hear  me,  you  will  pity  and  forgive." 

"  Lead  on,  gentlemen,"  said  the  colonel,  motioning  to- 
ward the  door,"  and  erecting  himself  into  an  air  of  military 
grandeur,  in  the  vain  hope  of  quieting  his  feelings. 

"Lead  not  on,  but  hear  me,"  cried  Frances,  grasping 
his  hand  convulsively  ;  "  Colonel  Singleton,  you  are  a 
father !— pity — rnercy — mercy  for  the  son  !  mercy  for  the 
daughter  !  Yes — you  had  a  daughter.  On  this  bosom  she 
poured  out  her  last  breath  ;  these  hands  closed  her  eyes  ; 
these  very  hands,  that  are  now  clasped  in  prayer,  did  those 
offices  for  her  that  you  condemn  my  poor,  poor  brother, 
to  require." 

One  mighty  emotion  the  veteran  struggled  with,  and 
quelled  ;  but  with  a  groan  that  shook  his  whole  frame. 
He  even  looked  around  in  conscious  pride  at  his  victory  ; 
but  a  second  burst  of  feelings  conquered.  His  head,  white 
with  the  frost  of  seventy  winters,  sank  upon  the  shoulder 
of  the  frantic  suppliant.  The  sword  that  had  been  his 
companion  in  so  many  fields  of  blood  dropped  from  his 
nerveless  hand,  and  as  he  cried  : 

"  May  God  bless  you  for  the  deed  !  "  he  wept  aloud. 

Long  and  violent  was  the  indulgence  that  Colonel  Sin- 
gleton yielded  to  his  feelings.  On  recovering,  he  gave  the 
senseless  Frances  into  the  arms  of  her  aunt,  and,  turning 
with  an  air  of  fortitude  to  his  comrades,  he  said  : 

"  Still,  gentlemen,  we  have  our  duty  as  officers  to  dis- 
charge ; — our  feelings  as  men  may  be  indulged  hereafter. 
What  is  your  pleasure  with  the  prisoner  ? " 

One  of  the  judges  placed  in  his  hand  a  written  sentence, 
that  he  had  prepared  while  the  colonel  was  engaged  with 
Frances,  and  declared  it  to  be  the  opinion  of  himself  and 
his  companion. 

It  briefly  stated  that  Henry  Wharton  had  been  detected 
in  passing  the  lines  of  the  American  army  as  a  spy,  and  in 
disguise.  That  thereby,  according  to  the  laws  of  war,  he 
wasliable  to  suffer  death,  and  that  this  court  adjudged  him 
to  the  penalty  ;  recommending  him  to  be  executed,  by 
hanging,  before  nine  o'clock  on  the  following  morning. 

It  was  not  usual  to  inflict  capital  punishment,  even  on 
the  enemy,  without  referring  the  case  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  for  his  approbation  ;  or,  in  his  absence,  to  the  of- 


2s4  Tin-   STY. 

ficer  commanding  for  the  time  being.  But,  as  Washington 
held  his  headquarters  at  New  Windsor,  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Hudson,  sufficient  time  was  yet  before  them  to 
receive  his  answer. 

"This  is  short  notice,"  said  the  veteran,  holding  the  pen 
in  his  hand  in  a  suspense  that  had  no  object  ;  "  not  a  day 
to  fit  one  so  young  for  heaven  ?  " 

"The  royal  officers  gave  Hale*  but  an  hour,"  returned 
his  comrade;  "we  have  granted  the  usual  time.  But 
Washington  has  the  power  to  extend  it,  or  to  pardon." 

"  Then  to  Washington  will  I  go,"  cried  the  colonel,  re- 
turning the  paper  with  his  signature  ;  "  and  if  the  services 
of  an  old  man  like  me,  or  that  brave  boy  of  mine,  entitle 
me  to  his  ear,  I  will  yet  save  the  youth." 

So  saying  he  departed,  full  of  his  generous  intentions  in 
favor  of  Henry  Wharton. 

The  sentence  of  the  court  was  communicated,  with 
proper  tenderness,  to  the  prisoner  ;  and  after  giving  a  few 
necessary  instructions  to  the  officer  in  command,  and  des- 
patching a  courier  to  headquarters  with  their  report,  the 
remaining  judges  mounted  and  rode  to  their  own  quarters, 
with  the  same  unmoved  exterior,  but  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  same  dispassionate  integrity  that  they  had 
maintained  throughout  the  trial. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Have  you  no  countermand  for  Claudio  yet  ? 

But  he  must  die  to-morrow  ? — Measure  for  Measure. 

A  FEW  hours  were  passed  by  the  prisoner,  after  his  sen- 
tence was  received,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  Mr.  Whar- 
ton wept  in  hopeless  despondency  over  the  untimely  fate 

*  An  American  officer  of  this  name  was  detected  within  the  British  lines 
in  disguise,  in  search  of  military  information.  He  was  tried  and  executed, 
as  stated  in  the  text,  as  soon  as  the  preparations  could  be  made.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  reproached  under  the  gallows  with  dishonoring  the  rank  he 
held  by  his  fate.  "  What  a  death  for  an  officer  to  die  !  "  said  one  of  his 
captors. — "  Gentlemen,  any  death  is  honorable  when  a  man  dies  in  a 
cause  like  that  of  America,"  was  his  answer. 

Andre  was  executed  amid  the  tears  of  his  enemies  :  Hale  died  unpitied, 
and  with  reproaches  in  his  ears  ;  and  yet  one  was  the  victim  of  ambition, 
and  the  other  of  devotion  to  his  country.  Posterity  will  do  justice  be- 
tween them. 


THE   SPY.  285 

of  his  son  ;  and  Frances,  after  recovering  from  her  insensi- 
bility, experienced  an  anguish  of  feeling  to  which  the  bit- 
terness of  death  itself  would  have  been  comparatively  light. 
Miss  Peyton  alone  retained  a  vestige  of  hope,  or  presence 
of  mind  to  suggest  what  might  be  proper  to  be  done  under 
their  circumstances.  The  comparative  composure  of  the 
good  aunt  arose  in  no  degree  from  any  want  of  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  her  nephew,  but  it  was  founded  in  a  kind  of 
instinctive  dependence  on  the  character  of  Washington. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  same  colony  with  herself  ;  and  air 
though  his  early  military  services,  and  her  frequent  visits 
to  the  family  of  her  sister,  and  subsequent  establishment  at 
its  head,  had  prevented  their  ever  meeting,  still  she  was 
familiar  with  his  domestic  virtues,  and  well  knew  that  the 
rigid  inflexibility  for  which  his  public  acts  were  distin- 
guished formed  no  part  of  his  reputation  in  private  life. 
He  was  known  in  Virginia  as  a  consistent,  but  just  and 
lenient,  master ;  and  she  felt  a  kind  of  pride  in  associating 
in  her  mind  her  countryman  with  the  man  who  led  the 
armies,  and  in  a  great  measure  controlled  the  destinies,  of 
America.  She  knew  that  Henry  was  innocent  of  the  crime 
for  which  he  was  condemned  to  suffer,  and,  with  that  kind 
of  simple  faith  that  is  ever  to  be  found  in  the  most  ingen- 
uous characters,  could  not  conceive  of  those  constructions 
and  interpretations  of  law  that  inflicted  punishment  with- 
out the  actual  existence  of  crime.  But  even  her  confiding 
hopes  were  doomed  to  meet  with  a  speedy  termination. 
Toward  noon,  a  regiment  of  militia,  that  was  quartered 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  moved  up  to  the  ground  in 
front  of  the  house  that  held  our  heroine  and  her  family, 
and  deliberately  pitched  their  tents,  with  the  avowed  in- 
tention of  remaining  until  the  following  morning,  to 
give  solemnity  and  effect  to  the  execution  of  a  British 
spy. 

Dunwoodie  had  performed  all  that  was  required  of  him 
by  his  orders,  and  was  at  liberty  to  retrace  his  steps  to  his 
expecting  squadron,  which  was  impatiently  waiting  his  re- 
turn, to  be  led  against  a  detachment  of  the  enemy,  that  was 
known  to  be  slowly  moving  up  the  banks  of  the  river,  in 
order  to  cover  a  party  of  foragers  in  its  rear.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  a  small  party  of  Lawton's  troop,  under  the 
expectation  that  their  testimony  might  be  required  to  con- 
vict the  prisoner  ;  and  Mason,  the  lieutenant,  was  in  com- 
mand. But  the  confession  of  Captain  Wharton  had  re- 
moved the  necessity  of  examining  any  witnesses  on  behalf 


286  THE   SPY. 

of  the  people.*  The  major,  from  an  unwillingness  to  en- 
counter the  distress  of  Henry's  friends,  and  a  dread  of 
trusting  himself  within  its  influence,  had  spent  the  time 
we  have  mentioned  in  walking  by  himself,  in  keen  anxiety, 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  dwelling.  Like  Miss  Peyton, 
he  had  some  reliance  on  the  mercy  of  Washington,  al- 
though moments  of  terrific  doubt  and  despondency  were 
continually  crossing  his  mind.  To  him  the  rules  of  service 
were  familiar,  and  he  was  more  accustomed  to  consider  his 
general  in  the  capacity  of  a  ruler,  than  as  exhibiting  the 
characteristics  of  the  individual.  A  dreadful  instance  had 
too  recently  occurred,  which  fully  proved  that  Washington 
was  above  the  weakness  of  sparing  another  in  mercy  to 
himself.  While  pacing,  with  hurried  steps  through  the 
orchard,  laboring  under  these  constantly  recurring  doubts, 
enlivened  by  transient  rays  of  hope,  Mason  approached, 
accoutered  completely  for  the  saddle. 

''Thinking  that  you  might  have  forgotten  the  news 
brought  this  morning  from  below,  sir,  I  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  order  the  detachment  under  arms,"  said  the  lieu- 
tenant, very  coolly,  cutting  down  with  his  sheathed  sabre 
the  mullin  tops  that  grew  within  his  reach. 

"What  news?"  cried  the  major,  starting. 

"  Only  that  John  Bull  is  out  in  Westchester,  with  a  train 
of  wagons  which,  if  he  fills,  will  compel  us  to  retire 
through  these  cursed  hills  in  search  of  provender.  These 
greedy  Englishmen  are  so  shut  up  on  York  Island,  that 
when  they  do  venture  out,  they  seldom  leave  straw  enough 
to  furnish  the  bed  of  a  Yankee  heiress." 

"  Where  did  the  express  leave  them,  did  you  say  ?  The 
intelligence  has  entirely  escaped  my  memory." 

"On  the  heights  above  Sing-Sing,"  returned  the  lieu- 
tenant, with  no  little  amazement.  "The  road  below  looks 
like  a  hay-market,  and  all  the  swine  are  sighing  forth 
their  lamentations  as  the  corn  passes  them  toward  Kings- 
bridge.  George  Singleton's  orderly,  who  brought  up  the 
tidings,  says  that  our  horses  were  holding  consultation  if 
they  should  not  go  down  without  their  riders  and  eat  an- 
other meal,  for  it  is  questionable  with  them  whether  they 
can  get  a  full  stomach  again.  If  they  are  suffered  to  get 
back  with  their  plunder,  we  shall  not  be  able  to  find  a 
piece  of  pork  at  Christmas  fat  enough  to  fry  itself." 

"  Peace,  with  all  this  nonsense  of  Singleton's  orderly, 

*  In  America,  justice  is  administered  in  the  name  of  "the  good  people," 
etc.,  etc.  ;  the  sovereignty  residing  with  them. 


THE   SPY.  287 

Mr.  Mason,"  cried  Dunwoodie,  impatiently  ;  "let  him  learn 
to  wait  the  orders  of  his  superiors." 

"  I  beg  pardon  in  his  name,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  the 
subaltern  ;  "  but,  like  myself,  he  was  in  error.  We  both 
thought  it  was  the  order  of  General  Heath,  to  attack  and 
molest  the  enemy  whenever  he  ventured  out  of  his  nest." 

"  Recollect  yourself,  Lieutenant  Mason,"  said  the  major, 
"  or  I  may  have  to  teach  you  that  your  orders  pass  through 
me." 

"I  know  it,  Major  Dunwoodie — I  know  it;  and  I  am 
sorry  that  your  memory  is  so  bad  as  to  forget  that  I  never 
have  yet  hesitated  to  obey  them." 

"  Forgive  me,  Mason,"  cried  Dunwoodie,  taking  both 
his  hands  ;  "I  do  know  you  for  a  brave  and  obedient 
soldier  ;  forget  my  humor.  But  this  business — Had  you 
ever  a  friend  ?" 

"  Nay,  nay,"  interrupted  the  lieutenant  ;  "  forgive  me 
and  my  honest  zeal.  I  knew  of  the  orders,  and  was  fearful 
that  censure  might  fall  on  my  officer.  But  remain,  and 
let  a  man  breathe  a  syllable  against  the  corps,  and  every 
sword  will  start  from  the  scabbard  of  itself  ;  besides,  they 
are  still  moving  up,  and  it  is  a  long  road  from  Croton  to 
Kingsbridge.  Happen  what  may,  I  see  plainly  that  we 
shall  be  on  their  heels  before  they  are  housed  again  !  " 

"  Oh  !  that  the  courier  was  returned  from  headquar- 
ters !  "  exclaimed  Dunwoodie.  "  This  suspense  is  insup- 
portable." 

"  You  have  your  wish,"  cried  Mason ;  "  here  he  is  at 
the  moment,  and  riding  like  the  bearer  of  good  news. 
God  send  it  may  be  so  ;  for  I  can't  say  that  I  particularly 
like  myself  to  see  a  brave  young  fellow  dancing  upon 
nothing." 

Dunwoodie  heard  but  very  little  of  this  feeling  declara- 
tion ;  for,  ere  half  of  it  was  uttered,  he  had  leaped  the 
fence  and  stood  before  the  messenger. 

"What  news?"  cried  the  major,  the  moment  that  the 
soldier  stopped  his  horse. 

"  Good  !"  exclaimed  the  man  ;  and  feeling  no  hesitation 
to  intrust  an  officer  so  well  known  as  Major  Dunwoodie, 
he  placed  the  paper  in  his  hands,  as  he  added,  "  but  you 
can  read  it,  sir,  for  yourself." 

Dunwoodie  paused  not  to  read,  but  flew,  with  the 
elastic  spring  of  joy,  to  the  chamber  of  the  prisoner.  The 
sentinel  knew  him,  and  he  was  suffered  to  pass  without 
question. 


288  THE   SPY. 

"  Oh  !  Peyton,"  cried  Frances,  as  he  entered  the  apart- 
ment, "you  look  like  a  messenger  from  heaven  !  bring  you 
tidings  of  mercy  ?  " 

"  Here,  Frances — here,  Henry — here,  dear  cousin  Jean- 
ette,"  cried  the  youth,  as  with  trembling  hands  he  broke 
the  seal  ;  "  here  is  the  letter  itself,  directed  to  the  captain 
of  the  guard.  But  listen " 

All  did  listen  with  intense  anxiety  ;  and  the  pang  of 
blasted  hope  was  added  to  their  misery,  as  they  saw  the 
glow  of  delight  which  had  beamed  on  the  countenance  of 
the  major  give  place  to  a  look  of  horror.  The  paper  con- 
tained the  sentence  of  the  court,  and  underneath  was  writ- 
ten these  simple  words  : 

"Approved — GEO.  WASHINGTON." 

"  He's  lost !  he's  lost  !  "  cried  Frances,  sinking  into  the 
arms  of  her  aunt. 

"  My  son  !  my  son  !  "  sobbed  the  father,  "  there  is  mercy 
in  heaven,  if  there  is  none  on  earth.  May  Washington  never 
want  that  mercy  he  thus  denies  to  my  innocent  child  !  " 

"Washington!"  echoed  Dunwoodie,  gazing  around  him 
in  vacant  horror.  "  Yes,  'tis  the  act  of  Washington  him- 
self ;  these  are  his  characters  ;  his  very  name  is  here,  to 
sanction  the  dreadful  deed." 

"  Cruel,  cruel  Washington  !"  cried  Miss  Peyton  ;  "  how 
has  his  familiarity  with  blood  changed  his  nature  !  " 

"Blame  him  not,"  said  Dunwoodie  ;  "it  is  the  general, 
and  not  the  man  ;  my  life  on  it  he  feels  the  blow  he  is  com- 
pelled to  inflict." 

"  I  have  been  deceived  in  him,"  cried  Frances.  "  He  is 
not  the  savior  of  his  country,  but  a  cold  and  merciless  ty- 
rant. Oh  !  Peyton,  Peyton  !  how  have  you  misled  me  in 
his  character  ! " 

"  Peace,  dear  Frances  ;  peace,  for  God's  sake  ;  use  not 
such  language.  He  is  but  the  guardian  of  the  law." 

"  You  speak  the  truth,  Major  Dunwoodie,"  said  Henry, 
recovering  from  the  shock  of  having  his  last  ray  of  hope 
extinguished,  and  advancing  from  his  seat  by  the  side  of 
his  father.  "  I,  who  am  to  suffer,  blame  him  not.  Every 
indulgence  has  been  granted  me  that  I  can  ask.  On  the 
verge  of  the  grave,  I  cannot  continue  unjust.  At  such  a 
moment,  with  so  recent  an  instance  of  danger  to  your  cause 
from  treason,  I  wonder  not  at  Washington's  unbending 
justice.  Nothing  now  remains  but  to  prepare  for  that  fate 
which  so  speedily  awaits  me.  To  you,  Major  Dunwoodie, 
I  make  my  first  request/' 


THE    SPY.  289 

"  Name  it,"  said  the  major,  giving  utterance  with  diffi- 
culty. 

Henry  turned,  and  pointing  to  the  group  of  weeping 
mourners  near  him,  he  continued  : 

"  Be  a  son  to  this  aged  man  ;  help  his  weakness,  and 
defend  him  from  any  usage  to  which  the  stigma  thrown 
upon  me  may  subject  him.  He  has  not  many  friends 
among  the  rulers  of  this  country  ;  let  your  powerful  name 
be  found  among  them." 

"  It  shall." 

"  And  this  helpless  innocent,"  continued  Henry,  point- 
ing to  where  Sarah  sat,  unconscious  of  what  was  passing — 
"  I  had  hoped  for  an  opportunity  to  avenge  her  wrong  ;  "  a 
flush  of  excitement  passed  over  his  features  ;  "  but  such 
thoughts  are  evil — I  feel  them  to  be  wrong.  Under  your 
care,  Peyton,  she  will  find  sympathy  and  refuge." 

"  She  shall,"  whispered  Dunwoodie. 

"This  good  aunt  has  claims  upon  you  already;  of  her 
I  will  not  speak  ;  but  here,"  taking  the  hand  of  Frances, 
and  dwelling  upon  her  countenance  with  an  expression  of 
fraternal  affection — "  here  is  the  choicest  gift  of  all.  Take 
her  to  your  bosom,  and  cherish  her  as  you  would  cultivate 
innocence  and  virtue." 

The  major  could  not  repress  the  eagerness  with  which 
he  extended  his  hand  to  receive  the  precious  boon  ;  but 
Frances,  shrinking  from  his  touch,  hid  her  face  in  the 
bosom  of  her  aunt. 

"No,  no,  no  !  "  she  murmured  ;  "  none  can  ever  be  any- 
thing to  me  who  aid  in  my  brother's  destruction." 

Henry  continued  gazing  at  her  in  tender  pity  for  seve- 
ral moments,  before  he  again  resumed  a  discourse  that  all 
felt  was  most  peculiarly  his  own. 

"  I  have  been  mistaken,  then.  I  did  think,  Peyton,  that 
your  worth,  your  noble  devotion  to  a  cause  that  you  have 
been  taught  to  revere,  that  your  kindness  to  our  father 
when  in  imprisonment,  your  friendship  for  me — in  short, 
that  your  character  was  understood  and  valued  by  my  sis- 
ter."" 

"  It  is — it  is,"  whispered  Frances,  burying  her  face  still 
deeper  in  the  bosom  of  her  aunt. 

"I  believe,  dear  Henry,"  said  Dunwoodie,  "this  is  a 
subject  that  had  better  not  be  dwelt  upon  now." 

"You  forget,"  returned  the  prisoner,  with  a  faint  smile, 
"how  much  I  have  to  do,  and  how  little  time  is  left  to  do 
it  in." 


290  THE   SPY. 

"  I  apprehend,"  continued  the  major,  with  a  face  of  fire, 
"  that  Miss  Wharton  has  imbibed  some  opinions  of  me  that 
would  make  a  compliance  with  your  request  irksome  to  her 
— opinions  that  it  is  now  too  late  to  alter." 

"No,  no,  no,"  cried  Frances,  quickly;  "you  are  ex- 
onerated. Peyton,  with  her  dying  breath  she  removed  my 
doubts." 

"Generous  Isabella!"  murmured  Dunwoodie;  "but 
still,  Henry,  spare  your  sister  now  ;  nay,  spare  even  me." 

"  I  speak  in  pity  to  myself,"  returned  the  brother, 
gently  removing  Frances  from  the  arms  of  her  aunt. 
"  What  a  time  is  this  to  leave  two  such  lovely  females 
without  a  protector !  Their  abode  is  destroyed,  and 
misery  will  soon  speedily  deprive  them  of  their  last  male 
friend,"  looking  at  his  father  ;  "  can  I  die  in  peace  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  danger  to  which  they  will  be  ex- 
posed ? " 

"You  forget  me,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  shrinking  at  the 
idea  of  celebrating  nuptials  at  such  a  moment. 

"  No,  my  dear  aunt,  I  forget  you  not,  nor  shall  I,  until 
I  cease  to  remember  ;  but  you  forget  the  times  and  the 
danger.  The  good  woman  who  lives  in  this  house  has  al- 
ready despatched  a  messenger  for  a  man  of  God,  to  smooth 
my  passage  to  another  world.  Frances,  if  you  would  wish 
me  to  die  in  peace,  to  feel  a  security  that  will  allow  me  to 
turn  my  whole  thoughts  to  heaven,  you  will  let  this  clergy- 
man unite  you  to  Dunwoodie." 

Frances  shook  her  head,  but  remained  silent. 

"  I  ask  for  no  joy — no  demonstration  of  a  felicity  that 
you  will  not,  cannot  feel,  for  months  to  come  ;  but  obtain 
a  right  to  his  powerful  name — give  him  an  undisputed 
title  to  protect  you — 

Again  the  maid  made  an  impressive  gesture  of  denial. 

"  For  the  sake  of  that  unconscious  sufferer" — pointing 
to  Sarah — "  for  your  sake — for  my  sake — my  sister " 

"  Peace,  Henry,  or  you  will  break  my  heart,"  cried  the 
agitated  girl  ;  "  not  for  worlds  would  I  at  such  a  moment 
engage  in  the  solemn  vows  that  you  wish.  It  would  ren- 
der me  miserable  for  life." 

"You  love  him  not,"  said  Henry,  reproachfully.  "I 
cease  to  importune  you  to  do  what  is  against  your  incli- 
nation." 

Frances  raised  one  hand  to  conceal  her  countenance,  as 
she  extended  the  other  toward  Dunwoodie,  and  said  ear- 
nestly : 


THE    SPY.  291 

"  Now  you  are  unjust  to  me — before,  you  were  unjust 
to  yourself." 

"  Promise  me,  then,"  said  Wharton,  musing  awhile  in 
silence,  "  that  as  soon  as  the  recollection  of  my  fate  is  soft- 
ened, you  will  give  my  friend  that  hand  for  life,  and  I  am 
satisfied." 

"I  do  promise,"  said  Frances,  withdrawing  the  hand 
that  Dunwoodie  delicately  relinquished,  without  even  pre- 
suming to  press  it  to  his  lips. 

"Well,  then,  my  good  aunt,"  continued  Henry,  "will 
you  leave  me  for  a  short  time  alone  with  my  friend  ?  I 
have  a  few  melancholy  commissions  with  which  to  intrust 
him,  and  would  spare  you  and  my  sister  the  pain  of  hear- 
ing them." 

"There  is  yet  time  to  see  Washington  again,"  said  Miss 
Peyton,  moving  toward  the  door  ;  and  then,  speaking  with 
extreme  dignity,  she  continued — "  I  will  go  myself,  surely 
he  will  listen  to  a  woman  from  his  own  colony  ! — and  we 
are  in  some  degree  connected  with  his  family." 

"  Why  not  apply  to  Mr.  Harper?"  said  Frances,  recol- 
lecting the  parting  words  of  their  guest  for  the  first 
time. 

"  Harper  ? "  echoed  Dunwoodie,  turning  toward  her 
with  the  swiftness  of  lightning;  "what  of  him  ?  do  you 
know  him  ? " 

"  It  is  vain,"  said  Henry,  drawing  him  aside  ;  "  Frances 
clings  to  hope  with  the  fondness  of  a  sister.  Retire,  my 
love,  and  leave  me  with  my  friend." 

Frances  read  an  expression  in  the  eye  of  Dunwoodie 
that  chained  her  to  the  spot.  After  struggling  to  com- 
mand her  feelings,  she  continued  : 

"  He  stayed  with  us  for  two  days — he  was  with  us  when 
Henry  was  arrested." 

"  And — and — did  you  know  him  ?  " 

"  Nay,"  continued  Frances,  catching  her  breath  as  she 
witnessed  the  intense  interest  of  her  lover  ;  "  we  knew  him 
not  ;  he  came  to  us  in  the  night,  a  stranger,  and  remained 
with  us  during  the  severe  storm  ;  but  he  seemed  to  take 
an  interest  in  Henry,  and  promised  him  his  friendship." 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  youth,  in  astonishment;  "did 
he  know  your  brother  ?  " 

"  Certainly  ; — it  was  at  his  request  that  Henry  threw 
aside  his  disguise." 

"  But,"  said  Dunwoodie,  turning  pale  with  suspense, 
"he  knew  him  not  as  an  officer  of  the  royal  army  ?" 


292  THE    SPY. 

"  Indeed  he  did,"  cried  Miss  Peyton  ;  "  and  he  cautioned 
us  against  this  very  danger." 

Dunwoodie  caught  up  the  fatal  paper,  that  still  lay 
where  it  had  fallen  from  his  own  hands,  and  studied  its 
characters  intently.  Something  seemed  to  bewilder  his 
brain.  He  passed  his  hand  over  his  forehead,  while  each 
eye  was  fixed  on  him  in  dreadful  suspense — all  feeling 
afraid  to  admit  those  hopes  anew  that  had  once  been  so 
sadly  destroyed. 

"  What  said  he  ?  what  promised  he  ?  "  at  length  Dun- 
woodie asked,  with  feverish  impatience. 

"  He  bid  Henry  apply  to  him  when  in  danger,  and  prom- 
ised to  requite  the  son  for  the  hospitality  of  the  father." 

"  Said  he  this,  knowing  him  to  be  a  British  officer  ? " 

"  Most  certainly  ;  and  with  a  view  to  this  very  dan- 
ger." 

"  Then,"  cried  the  youth  aloud,  and  yielding  to  his  rapt- 
ure, "  then  you  are  safe — then  will  I  save  him  ;  yes,  Har- 
per will  never  forget  his  word." 

"  But  has  he  the  power  ? "  said  Frances  ;  "  can  he  move 
the  stubborn  purpose  of  Washington  ?  " 

"  Can  he  !  If  he  cannot,"  shouted  the  youth,  "  if  he  can- 
not, who  can  ? — Greene  and  Heath,  and  young  Hamilton, 
are  nothing  compared  to  this  Harper.  But,"  rushing  to 
his  mistress,  and  pressing  her  hands  convulsively,  "  repeat 
to  me — you  say  you  have  his  promise  ?  " 

"Surely,  surely,  Peyton  ; — his  solemn,  deliberate  prom- 
ise, knowing  all  of  the  circumstances." 

"  Rest  easy,"  cried  Dunwoodie,  holding  her  to  his  bosom 
for  a  moment,"  "rest  easy,  for  Henry  is  safe." 

He  waited  not  to  explain,  but  darting  from  the  room,  he 
left  the  family  in  amazement.  They  continued  in  silent 
wonder  until  they  heard  the  feet  of  his  charger,  as  he 
dashed  from  the  door  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow. 

A  longtime  was  spent  after  this  abrupt  departure  of  the 
youth,  by  the  anxious  friends  he  had  left,  in  discussing  the 
probability  of  his  success.  The  confidence  of  his  manner 
had,  however,  communicated  to  his  auditors  something  of 
his  own  spirit.  Each  felt  the  prospects  of  Henry  were  again 
brightening,  and  with  their  reviving  hopes  they  experi- 
enced a  renewal  of  spirits,  which  in  all  but  Henry  himself 
amounted  to  pleasure  ;  with  him,  indeed,  his  state  was  too 
awful  to  admit  of  trifling,  and  for  a  few  hours  he  was  con- 
demned to  feel  how  much  more  intolerable  was  suspense 
than  even  the  certainty  of  calamity.  Not  so  with  Frances. 


THE   SPY. 


293 


She,  with  all  the  reliance  of  affection,  reposed  in  security 
on  the'assurance  of  Dunwoodie,  without  harassing  herself 
with  doubts  that  she  possessed  not  the  means  of  satisfying  ; 
but  believing  her  lover  able  to  accomplish  everything  that 
man  could  do,  and  retaining  a  vivid  recollection  of  the 
manner  and  benevolent  appearance  of  Harper,  she  aban- 
doned herself  to  all  the  felicity  of  renovated  hope. 

The  joy  of  Miss  Peyton  was  more1"  sobered,  and  she  took 
frequent  occasions  to  reprove  her  niece  for  her  spirits  be- 
fore there  was  a  certainty  that  their  expectations  were  to  be 
realized.  But  the  slight  smile  that  hovered  around  the  lips 
of  the  virgin  contradicted  the  very  sobriety  of  feeling  that 
she  inculcated. 

"  Why,  dearest  aunt,"  said  Frances,  playfully,  in  reply 
to  one  of  her  frequent  reprimands,  "  would  you  have  me 
repress  the  pleasure  that  I  feel  at  Henry's  deliverance, 
when  you  yourself  have  so  often  declared  it  to  be  impqs- 
sible  that  such  men  as  ruled  in  our  country  could  sacrifice 
an  innocent  man  ?" 

"  Nay,  I  did  believe  it  impossible,  my  child,  and  yet 
think  so  ;  but  still  there  is  a  discretion  to  be  shown  in  joy 
as  well  as  in  sorrow." 

Frances  recollected  the  declaration  of  Isabella,  and 
turned  an  eye  filled  with  tears  of  gratitude  on  her  excel- 
lent aunt,  as  she  replied  : 

"  True  ;  but  there  are  feelings  that  will  not  yield  to  rea- 
son. Ah  !  here  are  those  monsters,  who  have  come  to  wit- 
ness the  death  of  a  fellow-creature,  moving  around  yon 
field  as  if  life  was,  to  them,  nothing  but  a  military  show." 

"  It  is  but  little  more  to  the  hireling  soldier,"  said  Henry, 
endeavoring  to  forget  his  uneasiness. 

"You  gaze,  my  love,  as  if  you  thought  a  military  show 
of  some  importance,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  observing  her 
niece  to  be  looking  from  the  window  with  a  fixed  and  ab- 
stracted attention.  But  Frances  answered  not. 

From  the  window  where  she  stood,  the  pass  that  they 
had  travelled  through  the  Highlands  was  easily  to  be  seen  ; 
and  the  mountain  which  held  on  its  summit  the  mysterious 
hut  was  directly  before  her.  Its  sides  were  rugged  and 
barren  ;  huge  and  apparently  impassable  barriers  of  rocks 
presenting  themselves  through  the  stunted  oaks,  which, 
stripped  of  their  foliage,  were  scattered  over  its  surface. 
The  base  of  the  hill  was  not  half  a  mile  from  the  house, 
and  the  object  which  attracted  the  notice  of  Frances  was 
the  figure  of  a  man  emerging  from  behind  a  rock  of  re« 


294  THE   SPY. 

markable  formation,  and  as  suddenly  disappearing.  This 
manoeuvre  was  several  times  repeated,  as  if  it  were  the  in- 
tention of  the  fugitive  (for  such  by  his  air  he  seemed  to  be) 
to  reconnoitre  the  proceedings  of  the  soldiery,  and  assure 
himself  of  the  position  of  things  on  the  plain.  Notwith- 
standing the  distance,  Frances  instantly  imbibed  the  opin- 
ion that  it  was  Birch.  Perhaps  this  impression  was  partly 
owing  to  the  air  and  figure  of  the  man,  but  in  a  great 
measure  to  the  idea  that  presented  itself  on  formerly  be- 
holding the  object  at  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  That 
they  were  the  same  figure  she  was  confident,  although  this 
wanted  the  appearance  which,  in  the  other,  she  had  taken 
for  the  pack  of  the  peddler.  Harvey  had  so  connected 
himself  with  the  mysterious  deportment  of  Harper,  within 
her  imagination,  that  under  circumstances  of  less  agitation 
than  those  in  which  she  had  labored  since  her  arrival,  she 
wpuld  have  kept  her  suspicions  to  herself.  Frances,  there- 
fore, sat  ruminating  on  this  second  appearance  in  silence, 
and  endeavoring  to  trace  what  possible  connection  this 
extraordinary  man  could  have  with  the  fortunes  of  her  own 
family.  He  had  certainly  saved  Sarah,  in  some  degree, 
from  the  blow  that  had  partially  alighted  on  her,  and  in 
no  instance  had  he  proved  himself  to  be  hostile  to  their  in- 
terests. 

After  gazing  for  a  long  time  at  the  point  where  she  had 
last  seen  the  figure,  in  the  vain  expectation  of  its  reappear- 
ance, she  turned  to  her  friends  in  the  apartment.  Miss 
Peyton  was  sitting  by  Sarah,  who  gave  some  slight  addi- 
tional signs  of  observing  what  passed,  but  who  still  con- 
tinued insensible  either  to  joy  or  grief. 

"  I  suppose,  by  this  time,  my  love,  that  you  are  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  manoeuvres  of  a  regiment,"  said  Miss 
Peyton  ;  "  it  is  no  bad  quality  in  a  soldier's  wife,  at  all 
events." 

"  I  am  not  a  wife  yet,"  said  Frances,  coloring  to  the 
eyes  ;  "  and  we  have  little  reason  to  wish  for  another  wed- 
ding in  our  family." 

"Frances!"  exclaimed  her  brother,  starting  from  his 
seat  and  pacing  the  floor  in  violent  agitation,  "  touch  not 
the  chord  again,  I  entreat  you.  While  my  fate  is  uncer- 
tain, I  would  wish  to  be  at  peace  with  all  men." 

"Then  let  the  uncertainty  cease,"  cried  Frances,  spring- 
ing to  the  door,  "for  here  comes  Peyton  with  the  joyful 
intelligence  of  your  release." 

The  words  were  hardly  uttered,  before  the  door  opened 


THE    SPY.  295 

and  the  major  entered.  In  his  air  there  was  the  appear- 
ance of  neither  success  nor  defeat,  but  there  was  a 
marked  display  of  vexation.  He  took  the  hand  that  Fran- 
ces, in  the  fulness  of  her  heart,  extended  toward  him,  but 
instantly  relinquishing  it,  threw  himself  into  a  chair,  in 
evident  fatigue. 

"  You  have  failed,"  said  Wharton,  with  a  bound  of  his 
heart,  but  an  appearance  of  composure. 

"Have  you  seen  Harper?"  cried  Frances,  turning  pale. 

"  I  have  not  ;  I  crossed  the  river  in  one  boat  as  he  must 
have  been  coming  to  this  side  in  another.  I  returned  with- 
out delay,  and  traced  him  for  several  miles  into  the  High- 
lands, by  the  western  pass,  but  there  I  unaccountably  lost 
him.  I  have  returned  here  to  relieve  your  uneasiness  ;  but 
see  him  I  will  this  night,  and  bring  a  respite  for  Henry." 

"  But  you  saw  Washington  ?"  asked  Miss  Peyton. 

Dunwoodie  gazed  at  her  a  moment  in  abstracted  mus- 
ing, and  the  question  was  repeated.  He  answered  gravely, 
and  with  some  reserve  : 

"The  commander-in-chief  had  left  his  quarters." 

''But,  Peyton,"  cried  Frances,  in  returning  terror,  "if 
they  should  not  see  each  other,  it  will  be  too  late.  Harper 
alone  will  not  be  sufficient." 

Her  lover  turned  his  eyes  slowly  on  her  anxious  coun- 
tenance, and  dwelling  a  moment  on  her  features,  said,  still 
musing: 

"  You  say  that  he  promised  to  assist  Henry  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  of  his  own  accord,  and  in  requital  for  the 
hospitality  he  had  received." 

Dunwoodie  shook  his  head,  and  began  to  look  grave. 

"  I  like  not  that  word  hospitality — it  has  an  empty 
sound  ;  there  must  be  something  more  reasonable  to  tiev 
Harper.  I  dread  some  mistake  :  repeat  to  me  all  that 
passed." 

Frances,  in  a  hurried  and  earnest  voice,  complied  with 
his  request.  She  related  particularly  the  manner  of  his 
arrival  at  the  Locusts,  the  reception  that  he  received,  and 
the  events  that  passed,  as  minutely  as  her  memory  could 
supply  her  with  the  means.  As  she  alluded  to  the  con- 
versation that  occurred  between  her  father  and  his  guest, 
the  major  smiled,  but  remained  silent.  She  then  gave  a 
detail  of  Henry's  arrival,  and  the  events  of  the  following 
day.  She  dwelt  upon  the  part  where  Harper  had  desired 
her  brother  to  throw  aside  his  disguise,  and  recounted, 
with  wonderful  accuracy,  his  remarks  upon  the  hazard  of 


296  THE   SPY. 

the  step  that  the  youth  had  taken.  She  even  remembered 
a  remarkable  expression  of  his  to  her  brother,  "  that  he 
was  safer  from  Harper's  knowledge  of  his  person  than  he 
would  be  without  it."  Frances  mentioned,  with  the 
warmth  of  youthful  admiration,  the  benevolent  character 
of  his  deportment  to  herself,  and  gave  a  minute  relation 
of  his  adieux  to  the  whole  family. 

Dunwoodie  at  first  listened  with  grave  attention  ;  evi- 
dent satisfaction  followed  as  she  proceeded.  When  she 
spoke  of  herself,  in  connection  with  their  guest,  he  smiled 
with  pleasure,  and  as  she  concluded,  he  exclaimed  with 
delight : 

"  We  are  safe  ! — we  are  safe  !  " 

But  he  was  interrupted,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  owlet  loves  the  gloom  of  night, 

The  lark  salutes  the  day, 
The  timid  dove.will  coo  at  hand — 

But  falcons  soar  away. — Song  in  Duo. 

IN  a  country  settled,  like  these  States,  by  a  people  who 
fled  their  native  land  and  much-loved  firesides,  victims  of 
consciences  and  religious  zeal,  none  of  the  decencies  and 
solemnities  of  a  Christian  death  are  dispensed  with,  when 
circumstances  will  admit  of  their  exercise.  The  good 
woman  of  the  house  was  a  strict  adherent  to  the  forms  of 
the  Church  to  which  she  belonged  ;  and  having  herself 
been  awakened  to  a  sense  of  her  depravity  by  the  minis- 
'try  of  the  divine  who  harangued  the  people  of  the  adjoin- 
ing parish,  she  thought  it  was  from  his  exhortations  only 
that  salvation  could  be  meted  out  to  the  short-lived  hopes 
of  Henry  Wharton.  Not  that  the  kind-hearted  matron 
was  so  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of  the  religion  which  she 
professed  as  to  depend  theoretically  on  mortal  aid  for 
protection  ;  but  she  had,  to  use  her  own  phrase,  "sat  so 

long  under  the  preaching  of  good  Mr.  ,"  that  she  had 

unconsciously  imbibed  a  practical  reliance  on  his  assist- 
ance, for  that  which  her  faith  should  have  taught  her 
could  have  come  from  the  Deity  alone.  With  her,  the 
consideration  of  death  was  at  all  times  awful  ;  and  the  in- 
stant that  the  sentence  of  the  prisoner  was  promulgated, 
she  despatched  Caesar,  mounted  on  one  of  her  husband's 


THE   SPY.  297 

best  horses,  in  quest  of  her  clerical  monitor.  This  step 
had  been  taken  without  consulting  either  Henry  or  his 
friends  ;  and  it  was  only  when  the  services  of  Caesar  were 
required  on  some  domestic  emergency,  that  she  explained 
the  nature  of  his  absence.  The  youth  heard  her,  at  first, 
with  an  unconquerable  reluctance  to  admit  of  such  a 
spiritual  guide  ;  but  as  our  view  of  the  things  of  this  life 
becomes  less  vivid,  our  prejudices  and  habits  cease  to  re- 
tain their  influence  ;  and  a  civil  bow  of  thanks  was  finally 
given  in  requital  for  the  considerate  care  of  the  well- 
meaning  woman. 

The  black  returned  early  from  his  expedition,  and,  as 
well  as  could  be  gathered  from  his  somewhat  incoherent 
narrative,  a  minister  of  God  might  be  expected  to  arrive 
in  the  course  of  the  day.  The  interruption  that  we  men- 
tioned in  our  preceding  chapter  was  occasioned  by  the 
entrance  of  the  landlady.  At  the  intercession  of  Dun- 
woodie,  orders  had  been  given  to  the  sentinel  who  guarded 
the  door  of  Henry's  room,  that  the  members  of  the  pris- 
oner's family  should,  at  all  times,  have  free  access  to  his 
apartment  ;  Caesar  was  included  in  this  arrangement,  as  a 
matter  of  convenience,  by  the  officer  in  command  ;  but 
strict  inquiry  and  examination  was  made  into  the  errand 
of  every  other  applicant  for  admission.  The  major  had, 
however,  included  himself  among  the  relatives  of  the 
British  officer ;  and  one  pledge,  that  no  rescue  should  be 
attempted,  was  given  in  his  name  for  them  all.  A  short 
conversation  was  passing  between  the  woman  of  the  house 
and  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  before  the  door  that  the 
sentinel  had  already  opened  in  anticipation  of  the  decision 
of  his  non-commissioned  commandant. 

"Would  you  refuse  the  consolations  of  religion  to  a 
fellow-creature  about  to  suffer  death  ? "  said  the  matron, 
with  earnest  zeal.  "Would  you  plunge  a  soul  into  the 
fiery  furnace,  and  a  minister  at  hand  to  point  out  the 
straight  and  narrow  path  ?  " 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,  good  woman,"  returned  the  corporal, 
gently  pushing  her  away  ;  "  I've  no  notion  of  my  back 
being  a  highway  for  any  man  to  walk  to  heaven  upon.  A 
pretty  figure  I  should  make  at  the  pickets,  for  disobeying 
orders.  Just  step  down  and  ask  Lieutenant  Mason,  and 
you  may  bring  in  the  whole  congregation.  We  have  not 
taken  the  guard  from  the  foot-soldiers  but  an  hour,  and  I 
shouldn't  like  to  have  it  said  that  we  know  less  of  our  duty 
than  the  militia." 


298 

"  Admit  the  woman,"  said  Dunwoodie,  sternly,  observ- 
ing, for  the  first  time,  that  one  of  his  own  corps  was  on 
post. 

The  corporal  raised  his  hand  to  his  cap,  and  fell  back  in 
silence  ;  the  soldier  stood  to  his  arms,  and  the  matron  en- 
tered. 

"  Here  is  a  reverend  gentleman  below,  come  to  soothe 
the  parting  soul,  in  the  place  of  our  own  divine,  who  is 
engaged  with  an  appointment  that  could  not  be  put  aside  ; 
'tis  to  bury  old  Mr.  - 

"Show  him  in,"  said  Henry,  with  feverish  impatience. 

"  But  will  the  sentinel  let  him  pass  ?     I  would  not  wish 

a  friend  of  Mr.  to  be  rudely  stopped  on  the  threshold, 

and  he  a  stranger." 

All  eyes  were  now  turned  on  Dunwoodie,  who,  looking 
at  his  watch,  spoke  a  few  words  with  Henry,  in  tin  under- 
tone, and  hastened  from  the  apartment,  followed  by 
Frances.  The  subject  of  their  conversation  was  a  wish 
expressed  by  the  prisoner  for  a  clergyman  of  his  own  per- 
suasion, and  a  promise  from  the  major,  that  one  should  be 
sent  from  Fishkill  town,  through  which  he  was  about  to 
pass  on  his  way  to  the  ferry  to  intercept  the  expected  re- 
turn of  Harper.  Mason  soon  made  his  bow  at  the  door, 
and  willingly  complied  with  the  wishes  of  the  landlady  ; 
and  the  divine  was  invited  to  make  his  appearance  accord- 
ingly. 

The  person  who  was  ushered  into  the  apartment,  pre- 
ceded by  Caesar,  and  followed  by  the  matron,  was  a  man 
beyond  the  middle  age,  or  who  might  rather  be  said  to  ap- 
proach the  down-hill  of  life.  In  stature  he  was  above  the 
size  of  ordinary  men,  though  his  excessive  leanness  might 
contribute  in  deceiving  as  to  his  height  ;  his  countenance 
was  sharp  and  unbending,  and  every  muscle  seemed  set  in 
rigid  compression.  No  joy,  or  relaxation,  appeared  ever 
to  have  dwelt  on  features  that  frowned  habitually,  as  if  in 
detestation  of  the  vices  of  mankind.  The  brows  were 
beetling,  dark, .and  forbidding,  giving  the  promise  of  eyes 
of  no  less  repelling  expression  ;  but  the  organs  were  con- 
cealed beneath  a  pair  of  enormous  green  goggles,  through 
which  they  glared  around  with  a  fierceness  that  denounced 
the  coming  day  of  wrath.  All  was  fanaticism,  uncharita- 
bleness,  and  denunciation.  Long,  lank  hair,  a  mixture  of 
gray  and  black,  fell  down  his  neck,  and  in  some  degree 
obscured  the  sides  of  his  face,  and,  parting  on  his  forehead, 
fell  in  either  direction  in  straight  and  formal  screens.  On 


THE   SPY.  299 

the  top  of  this  ungraceful  exhibition  was  laid,  impending 
forward,  so  as  to  overhang  in  some  measure  the  whole 
fabric,  a  large  hat  of  three  equal  cocks.  His  coat  was  of 
a  rusty  black,  and  his  breeches  and  stockings  were  of  the 
same  color  ;  his  shoes  without  lustre,  and  half  concealed 
beneath  huge  plated  buckles. 

He  stalked  into  the  room,  and  giving  a  stiff  nod  with  his 
head,  took  the  chair  offered  him  by  the  black,  in  dignified 
silence.  For  several  minutes  no  one  broke  this  ominous 
pause  in  the  conversation  ;  Henry  feeling  a  repugnance  to 
his  guest  that  he  was  vainly  endeavoring  to  conquer,  and 
the  stranger  himself  drawing  forth  occasional  sighs  and 
groans,  that  threatened  a  dissolution  of  the  unequal  con- 
nection between  his  sublimated  soul  and  its  ungainly  tene- 
ment. During  this  death-like  preparation,  Mr.  Wharton, 
with  a  feeling  nearly  allied  to  that  of  his  son,  led  Sarah 
from  the  apartment.  His  retreat  was  noticed  by  the  divine, 
in  a  kind  of  scornful  disdain,  who  began  to  hum  the  air  of 
a  popular  psalm  tune,  giving  it  the  full  richness  of  the 
twang  that  distinguishes  the  Eastern*  psalmody. 

"  Caesar,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  "  hand  the  gentleman  some 
refreshment  ;  he  must  need  it  after  his  ride." 

"  My  strength  is  not  in  the  things  of  life,"  said  the  di- 
vine, speaking  in  a  hollow,  sepulchral  voice.  "  Thrice  have 
I  this  day  held  forth  in  my  master's  service,  and  fainted 
not  ;  still  it  is  prudent  to  help  this  frail  tenement  of  clay, 
for,  surely,  *  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire.'  " 

Opening  a  pair  of  enormous  jaws,  he  took  a  good  meas- 
ure of  the  proffered  brandy,  and  suffered  it  to  glide  down- 
ward with  that  sort  of  facility  with  which  man  is  prone  to 
sin. 

"  I  apprehend,  then,  sir,  that  fatigue  will  disable  you 
from  performing  the  duties  which  kindness  had  induced 
you  to  attempt." 

"  Woman  !  "  exclaimed  the  stranger,  with  energy,  "  when 
was  I  ever  known  to  shrink  from  a  duty  ?  But  'judge  not, 
lest  ye  be  judged,'  and  fancy  not  that  it  is  given  to  mortal 
eyes  to  fathom  the  intentions  of  the  Deity." 

"  Nay,"  returned  the  maiden,  meekly/ and  slightly  dis- 
gusted with  his  jargon.  "  I  pretend  not  to  judge  of  either 
events,  or  the  intentions  of  my  fellow-creatures,  much  less 
of  those  of  Omnipotence." 

"  Tis  well,  woman — 'tis  well,"  cried  the   minister,  wav- 

*  By  "  Plastern "  is  meant  the  States  of  New  England,  which,  being 
originally  settled  by  Puritans,  still  retain  many  distinct  shades  of  character. 


300  THE   SPY. 

ing  his  hand  with  supercilious  disdain  ;  "  humility  becom- 
eth  thy  sex,  and  lost  condition  ;  thy  weakness  driveth  thee 
on  headlong,  like  'unto  the  bosom  of  destruction.'" 

Surprised  at  this  extraordinary  deportment,  yielding  to 
that  habit  which  urges  us  to  speak  reverently  on  sacred 
subjects,  even  when  perhaps  we  had  better  continue  si- 
lent, Miss  Peyton  replied  : 

"  There  is  a  power  above,  that  can  and  will  sustain  us 
all  in  well-doing,  if  we  seek  its  support  in  humility  and 
truth." 

The  stranger  turned  a  lowering  look  at  the  speaker,  and 
then  composing  himself  into  an  air  of  self-abasement,  he 
continued,  in  the  same  repelling  tones  : 

'*  It  is  not  everyone  that  crieth  out  for  mercy  that  will 
be  heard.  The  ways  of  Providence  are  not  to  be  judged  by 
men — 'many  are  called,  but  few  chosen.'  It  is  easier  to 
talk  of  humility  than  to  feel  it.  Are  you  so  humble,  vile 
worm,  as  to  wish  to  glorify  God  by  your  own  damnation  ? 
If  not,  away  with  you  for  a  publican  and  a  pharisee  !  " 

Such  gross  fanaticism  was  uncommon  in  America,  and 
Miss  Peyton  began  to  imbibe  the  impression  that  her  guest 
was  deranged  ;  but  remembering  that  he  had  been  sent  by 
a  well-known  divine,  and  one  of  reputation,  she  discarded 
the  idea,  and,  with  some  forbearance,  observed  : 

"  I  may  deceive  myself  in  believing  that  mercy  is  prof- 
fered to  all,  but  it  is  so  soothing  a  doctrine  that  I  would 
not  willingly  be  undeceived," 

"  Mercy  is  only  for  the  elect,"  cried  the  stranger,  with 
an  unaccountable  energy  ;  "and  you  are  in  the  'valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death.'  Are  you  not  a  follower  of  idle  cere- 
monies, which  belong  to  the  vain  church  that  our  tyrants 
would  gladly  establish  here,  along  with  their  stamp-acts 
and  tea-laws  ?  Answer  me  that,  woman  ;  and  remember 
that  Heaven  hears  your  answer  ;  are  you  not  of  that  idola- 
trous communion  ?" 

"  I  worship  at  the  altars  of  my  fathers,"  said  Miss  Pey- 
ton, motioning  to  Henry  for  silence  ;  "  but  bow  to  no  other 
idol  than  my  own  infirmities." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know  ye,  self-righteous  and  papal  as  ye  are 
— followers  of  forms,  and  listeners  to  bookish  preaching; 
think  you,  woman,  that  holy  Paul  had  notes  in  his  hand 
to  propound  the  word  to  the  believers?" 

"My  presence  disturbs  you,"  said  Miss  Peyton,  rising  ; 
"  I  will  leave  you  with  my  nephew,  and  offer  those  prayers 
in  private  that  I  did  wish  to  mingle  with  his." 


THE    SPY.  301 

So  saying,  she  withdrew,  followed  by  the  landlady,  who 
was  not  a  little  shocked,  and  somewhat  surprised,  by  the 
intemperate  zeal  of  her  new  acquaintance  ;  for,  although 
the  good  woman  believed  that  Miss  Peyton  and  her  whole 
church  were  on  the  high  road  to  destruction,  she  was  by  no 
means  accustomed  to  hear  such  offensive  and  open  avowals 
of  their  fate. 

Henry  had  with  difficulty  repressed  the  indignation  ex- 
cited by  this  unprovoked  attack  on  his  meek  and  unresist- 
ing aunt  ;  but  as  the  door  closed  on  her  retiring  figure,  he 
gave  way  to  his  feelings. 

"  I  must  confess,  sir,"  he  exclaimed,  with  heat,  "that  in 
receiving  a  minister  of  God  I  thought  I  was  admitting  a 
Christian,  and  one  who,  by  feeling  his  own  weaknesses, 
knew  how  to  pity  the  frailties  of  others.  You  have  wounded 
the  meek  spirit  of  an  excellent  woman,  and  I  acknowledge 
but  little  inclination  to  mingle  in  prayer  with  so  intolerant 
a  spirit." 

The  minister  stood  erect,  with  grave  composure,  follow- 
ing with  his  eyes,  in  a  kind  of  scornful  pity,  the  retiring  fe- 
males, and  suffered  the  expostulation  of  the  youth  to  be 
given  as  if  unworthy  of  his  notice.  A  third  voice,  how- 
ever, spoke  : 

"  Such  a  denunciation  would  have  driven  many  women 
into  fits  ;  but  it  has  answered  the  purpose  well  enough,  as 
it  is." 

"  Who's  that  ?"  cried  the  prisoner,  in  amazement,  gazing 
around  the  room  in  quest  of  the  speaker: 

"  It  is  I,  Captain  Wharton,"  said  Harvey  Birch,  remov- 
ing the  spectacles,  and  exhibiting  his  piercing  eyes,  shin- 
ing under  a  pair  of  false  eyebrows. 

"  Good  Heavens — Harvey !  " 

"  Silence  !"  said  the  peddler,  solemnly  ;  "'tis  a  name 
not  to  be  mentioned,  and  least  of  all  here,  within  the  heart 
of  the  American  army."  Birch  paused,  and  gazed  around 
him  for  a  moment,  with  an  emotion  exceeding  the  base  pas- 
sion of  fear,  and  then  continued,  in  a  gloomy  tone,  "There 
are  a  thousand  halters  in  that  very  name,  and  little  hope 
would  there  be  left  me  of  another  escape,  should  I  be  again 
taken.  This  is  a  fearful  venture  that  I  am  making  ;  but  I 
could  not  sleep  in  quiet,  and  know  that  an  innocent  man. 
was  about  to  die  the  death  of  a  dog,  when  I  might  save 
him." 

"  No,"  said  Henry,  with  a  glow  of  generous  feeling  on 
his  cheek  ;  "  if  the  risk  to  yourself  be  so  heavy,  retire  as 


302  THE   SPY. 

you  came,  and  leave  me  to  my  fate.  Dunwoodie  is  mak- 
ing, even  now,  powerful  exertions  in  my  behalf  ;  and  if  he 
meets  with  Mr.  Harper  in  the  course  of  the  night,  my  lib- 
eration is  certain." 

"  Harper ! "  echoed  the  peddler,  remaining  with  his 
hands  raised,  in  the  act  of  replacing  the  spectacles  ;  "what 
do  you  know  of  Harper  ?  and  why  do  you  think  he  will  do 
you  service  ?  " 

"I  have  his  promise  ; — you  remember  our  recent  meet- 
ing in  my  father's  dwelling,  and  he  then  gave  an  unasked 
promise  to  assist  me." 

"  Yes — but  do  you  know  him  ?  that  is — why  do  you  think 
he  has  the  power  ?  or  what  reason  have  you  for  believing 
he  will  remember  his  word  ?" 

"  If  there  ever  was  a  stamp  of  truth,  or  simple,  honest 
benevolence,  in  the  countenance  of  man,  it  shone  in  his," 
said  Henry  ;  "besides,  Dunwoodie  has  powerful  friends  in 
the  rebel  army,  and  it  would  be  better  that  I  take  the 
chance  where  I  am,  than  thus  to  expose  you  to  certain 
death,  if  detected." 

"Captain  Wharton,"  said  Birch,  looking  guardedly 
around,  and  speaking  with  impressive  seriousness  of  man- 
ner, "if  I  fail  you,  all  fail  you.  No  Harper  nor  Dunwoodie 
can  save  your  life  ;  unless  you  get  out  with  me,  and  that 
within  the  hour,  you  die  to-morrow  on  the  gallows  of  a 
murderer.  Yes,  such  are  their  laws  ;  the  man  who  fights, 
and  kills,  and  plunders,  is  honored  ;  but  he  who  serves  his 
country  as  a  spy,  no  matter  how  faithfully,  no  matter  how 
honestly,  lives  to  be  reviled,  or  dies  like  the  vilest  crim- 
inal." 

"  You  forget,  Mr.  Birch,"  said  the  youth,  a  little  indig- 
nantly, "  that  I  am  not  a  treacherous,  lurking  spy,  who  de- 
ceives to  betray  ;  but  innocent  of  the  charge  imputed  to 
me." 

The  blood  rushed  over  the  pale,  meagre  features  of  the 
peddler,  until  his  face  was  one  glow  of  fire  ;  but  it  passed 
quickly  away,  and  he  replied  : 

"  I  have  told  you  truth.  Caesar  met  me,  as  he  was  go- 
ing on  his  errand  this  morning,  and  with  him  I  have  laid 
the  plan,  which,  if  executed  as  I  wish,  will  save  you — other- 
wise you  are  lost ;  and  I  again  tell  you,  that  no  other  power 
on  earth,  not  even  Washington,  can  save  you." 

"I  submit,"  said  the  prisoner,  yielding  to  his  earnest 
manner,  and  goaded  by  the  fears  that  were  thus  awakened 
anew. 


THE   SPY.  303 

The  peddler  beckoned  him  to  be  silent  and,  walking  to 
the  door,  opened  it  with  the  stiff,  formal  air  with  which  he 
had  entered  the  apartment. 

"  Friend,  let  no  one  enter,"  he  said  to  the  sentinel  ;  "  we 
are  about  to  go  to  prayer,  and  would  wish  to  be  alone." 

"  I  don't  know  that  any  will  wish  to  interrupt  you,"  re- 
turned the  soldier,  with  a  waggish  leer  of  his  eye  ;  "  but, 
should  they  be  so  disposed,  I  have  no  power  to  stop  them, 
if  they  be  of  the  prisoner's  friends  ;  I  have  my  orders,  and 
must  mind  them,  whether  the  Englishman  goes  to  Heaven 
or  not." 

"Audacious  sinner!"  said  the  pretended  priest,  "have 
you  not  the  fear  of  God  before  your  eyes  ?  I  tell  you,  as 
you  will  dread  punishment  at  the  last  day,  to  let  none  of 
the  idolatrous  communion  enter,  to  mingle  in  the  prayers 
of  the  righteous." 

"  Whew — ew — ew— what  a  noble  commander  you'd  make 
for  Sergeant  Hollister*!  you'd  preach  him  dumb  in  a  roll- 
call.  Hark'ee,  I'll  thank  you  not  to  make  such  a  noise 
when  you  hold  forth  as  to  drown  our  bugles,  or  you  may 
get  a  poor  fellow  a  short  horn  at  his  grog,  for  not  turning 
out  to  evening  parade  ;  if  you  want  to  be  alone,  have  you 
no  knife  to  stick  over  the  door-latch,  that  you  must  have 
a  troop  of  horse  to  guard  your  meeting-house  ?" 

The  peddler  took  the  hint,,  and.  closed  the  door  immedi- 
ately, using  the  precaution  suggested  by  the  dragoon. 

"You  overact  your  part,"  said  young  Wharton,  in  con- 
stant apprehension  of  discovery  ;  "  your  zeal  is  too  intem- 
perate." 

"  For  a  foot-soldier  and  them  Eastern  militia  it  might 
be,"  said  Harvey,  turning  a  bag  upside  down  that  Caesar 
now  handed  him  ;  "  but  these  dragoons  are  fellows  that 
you  must  brag  down.  A  faint  heart,  Captain  Wharton, 
would  do  but  little  here  ;  but  come,  here  is  a  black  shroud 
for  your  good-looking  countenance,"  taking  at  the  same 
time  a  parchment  mask  and  fitting  it  to  the  face  of 
Henry.  "  The  master  and  the  man  must  change  places 
for  a  season." 

"  I  don't  tink  he  look  a  bit  like  me,"  said  Caesar,  with 
disgust,  as  he  surveyed  his  young  master  with  his  new  com- 
plexion. 

"  Stop  a  minute,  Caesar,"  said  the  peddler,  with  the  lurk- 
ing drollery  that  at  times  formed  part  of  his  manner,  "  till 
we  get  on  the  wool." 

"  He  worse  than   ebber  now,"  cried  the  discontented 


3°4 


THE   SPY. 


African.  "  A  think  colored  man  like  a  sheep.  I  nebber 
see  such  a  lip,  Harvey ;  he  most  as  big  as  a  sausage  ! " 

Great  pains  had  been  taken  in  forming  the  different  ar- 
ticles used  in  the  disguise  of  Captain  VVharton,  and  when 
arranged,  under  the  skilful  superintendence  of  the  ped- 
dler, they  formed  together  a  transformation  that  would 
easily  escape  detection  from  any  but  an  extraordinary  ob- 
server. 

The  mask  was  stuffed  and  shaped  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  preserve  the  peculiarities,  as  well  as  the  color,  of  the 
African  visage  ;  and  the  wig  was  so  artfully  formed  of 
black  and  white  wool,  as  to  imitate  the  pepper-and-salt 
color  of  Caesar's  own  head,  and  to  exact  plaudits  from  the 
black  himself,  who  thought  it  an  excellent  counterfeit  in 
everything  but  quality. 

"There  is  but  one  man  in  the  American  army  who  could 
detect  you,  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  peddler,  surveying 
his  work  with  satisfaction,  "  and  he  is  just  now  out  of  our 
way." 

"  And  who  is  he  ?  " 

"The  man  who  made  you  a  prisoner.  He  would  see 
your  white  skin  through  a  plank.  But  strip,  both  of  you  ; 
your  clothes  must  be  exchanged  from  head  to  foot." 

Caesar,  who  had  received  minute  instructions  from  the 
peddler  in  their  morning  interview,  immediately  com- 
menced throwing  aside  his  coarse  garments,  \vhich  the 
youth  took  up  and  prepared  to  invest  himself  with  ;  unable, 
however,  to  repress  a  few  signs  of  loathing. 

In  the  manner  of  the  peddler  there  was  an  odd  mixture 
of  care  and  humor;  the  former  was  the  result  of  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  their  danger,  and  the  means  necessary  to  be 
used  in  avoiding  it  ;  and  the  latter  proceeded  from  the  un- 
avoidably ludicrous  circumstances  before  him,  acting  on 
an  indifference  which  sprang  from  habit  and  long  familiar- 
ity with  such  scenes  as  the  present. 

"  Here,  captain,"  he  said,  taking  up  some  loose  wool, 
and  beginning  to  stuff  the  stockings  of  Caesar,  which  were 
already  on  the  leg  of  the  prisoner;  "some  judgment  is 
necessary  in  shaping  this  limb.  You  will  have  to  display 
it  on  horseback  ;  and  the  Southern  dragoons  are  so  used 
to  the  brittle-shins  that,  should  they  notice  your  well- 
turned  calf,  they'd  know  at  once  that  it  never  belonged  to 
a  black." 

"  Golly ! "  said  Caesar,  with  a  chuckle  that  exhibited  a 
mouth  open  from  ear  to  ear,  "  Massy  Harry  breeches  fit." 


THE    SPY.  305 

"  Anything  but  your  leg,"  said  the  peddler,  coolly  pur- 
suing the  toilet  of  Henry.  "  Slip  on  the  coat,  captain,  over 
all.  Upon  my  word,  you  would  pass  well  at  a  pinkster 
frolic  ;  and  here.  Caesar,  place  this  powdered  wig  over  your 
curls,  and  be  careful  and  look  out  of  the  window  whenever 
the  door  is  opened,  and  on  no  account  speak,  or  you  will 
betray  all." 

"  I  s'pose  Harvey  tink  a  color'd  man  an't  got  a  tongue 
like  oder  folk,"  grumbled  the  black,  as  he  took  the  station 
assigned  to  him. 

Everything  now  was  arranged  for  action,  and  the  ped- 
dler very  deliberately  went  over  the  whole  of  his  injunc- 
tions to  the  two  actors  in  the  scene.  The  captain  he  con- 
jured to  dispense  with  his  erect  military  carriage,  and  for 
a  season  to  adopt  the  humble  paces  of  his  father's  negro  ; 
and  Caesar  he  enjoined  to  silence  and  disguise,  so  long  as  he 
could  possibly  maintain  them.  Thus  prepared,  he  opened 
the  door  and  called  aloud  to  the  sentinel,  who  had  retired 
to  the  farthest  end  of  the  passage,  in  order  to  avoid  receiv- 
ing any  of  that  spiritual  comfort  which  he  felt  was  the  sole 
property  of  another. 

"  Let  the  woman  of  the  house  be  called,"  said  Harvey, 
in  the  solemn  key  of  his  assumed  character  ;  "and  let  her 
come  alone.  The  prisoner  is  in  a  happy  train  of  medita- 
tion, and  must  not  be  led  from  his  devotions." 

Caesar  sank  his  face  between  his  hands,  and  when  the 
soldier  looked  into  the  apartment,  he  thought  he  saw  his 
charge  in  deep  abstraction.  Casting  a  glance  of  huge  con- 
tempt at  the  divine,  he  called  aloud  for  the  good  woman 
of  the  house.  She  hastened  to  the  summons,  with  earnest 
zeal,  entertaining  a  secret  hope  that  she  was  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  gossip  of  a  death-bed  repentance. 

"Sister,"  said  the  minister,  in  the  authoritative  tones  of 
a  master,  "  have  you  in  the  house  'The  Christian  Criminal's 
Last  Moments,  or  Thoughts  on  Eternity,  for  Them  who 
Die  a  Violent  Death  ? ' ' 

"  I  never  heard  of  the  book  !  "  said  the  matron,  in  aston- 
ishment. 

"  'Tis  not  unlikely  ;  there  are  many  books  you  have  never 
heard  of  ;  it  is  impossible  for  this  poor  penitent  to  pass  in 
peace  without  the  consolations  of  that  volume.  One 
hour's  reading  in  it  is  worth  an  age  of  man's  preaching." 

"  Bless  me,  what  a  treasure  to  possess  ! — when  was  it  put 
out?" 

"  It  was  first  put  out  at  Geneva,  in  the  Greek  language, 

20 


3o6  THE   SPY. 

and  then  translated  at  Boston.  It  is  a  book,  woman,  that 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  Christian,  especially  such 
as  die  upon  the  gallows.  Have  a  horse  prepared  instantly 

for  this  black,  who  shall  accompany  me  to  my  Brother , 

and  I  will  send  down  the  volume  yet  in  season.  Brother, 
compose  thy  mind  ;  you  are  now  in  the  narrow  path  to 
glory." 

Caesar  wriggled  a  little  in  his  chair,  but  he  had  sufficient 
recollection  to  conceal  his  face  with  hands  that  were,  in 
their  turn,  concealed  by  gloves.  The  landlady  departed  to 
comply  with  this  very  reasonable  request,  and  the  group 
of  conspirators  were  again  left  to  themselves. 

"  This  is  well,"  said  the  peddler  ;  "  but  the  difficult  task 
is  to  deceive  the  officer  who  commands  the  guard — he  is 
lieutenant  to  Lawton,  and  has  learned  some  of  the  cap- 
tain's own  cunning  in  these  things.  Remember,  Captain 
Wharton,"  continued  he,  with  an  air  of  pride,  "  that  now 
is  the  moment  when  everything  depends  on  our  cool- 
ness." 

"  My  fate  can  be  made  but  little  worse  than  it  is  at  pres- 
ent, my  worthy  fellow,"  said  Henry  ;  "  but  for  your  sake 
I  will  do  all  that  in  me  lies." 

"  And  wherein  can  I  be  more  forlorn  and  persecuted 
than  I  now  am?"  asked  the  peddler,  with  that  wild  inco- 
herence which  often  crossed  his  manner.  "But  I  have 
promised  one  to  save  you,  and  to  him  I  never  have  yet 
broken  my  word." 

"And  who  is  he?  "  said  Henry,  with  awakened  interest. 

"No  one." 

The  man  soon  returned,  and  announced  that  the  horses 
were  at  the  door.  Harvey  gave  the  captain  a  glance,  and 
led  the  way  down  the  stairs,  first  desiring  the  woman  to 
leave  the  prisoner  to  himself,  in  order  that  he  might  digest 
the  wholesome  mental  food  that  he  had  so  lately  received. 

A  rumor  of  the  odd  character  of  the  priest  had  spread 
from  the  sentinel  at  the  door  to  his  comrades  ;  so  that  when 
Harvey  and  Wharton  reached  the  open  space  before  the 
building,  they  found  a  dozen  idle  dragoons  loitering  about, 
with  the  waggish  intention  of  quizzing  the  fanatic,  and 
employed  in  affected  admiration  of  the  steeds. 

"  A  fine  horse  !  "  said  the  leader  in  this  plan  of  mischief; 
"but  a  little  low  in  flesh ;  I  suppose  from  hard  labor  in 
your  calling," 

"  My  calling  may  be  laborsome  to  both  myself  and  this 
faithful  beast,  but  then  a  day  of  settling  is  at  hand,  that 


THE    SPY.  307 

will  reward  me  for  all  my  outgoings  and  incomings,"  said 
Birch,  putting  his  foot  in  the  stirrup  and  preparing  to 
mount. 

"  You  work  for  pay,  then,  as  we  fight  for't  ? "  cried  an- 
other of  the  party. 

"  Even  so — is  not  the  laborer  worthy  of  his  hire  ?" 

"  Come,  suppose  you  give  us  a  little  preaching  ;  we 
have  a  leisure  moment  just  now,  and  there's  no  telling  how 
much  good  you  might  do  a  set  of  reprobates  like  us,  in  a 
few  words  ;  here,  mount  this  horse-block,  and  take  your 
text  where  you  please." 

The  men  now  gathered  in  eager  delight  around  the 
peddler,  who,  glancing  his  eye  expressively  toward  the 
captain,  who  had  been  suffered  to  mount,  replied : 

"Doubtless,  for  such  is  my  duty.  But"  Caesar,  you  can 
ride  up  the  road  and  deliver  the  note — the  unhappy 
prisoner  will  be  wanting  the  book,  for  his  hours  are 
numbered." 

"Ay — ay,  go  along,  Caesar,  and  get  the  book,"  shouted 
half  a  dozen  voices,  all  crowding  eagerly  around  the  ideal 
priest,  in  anticipation  of  a  frolic. 

The  peddler  inwardly  dreaded  that,  in  their  unceremo- 
nious handling  of  himself  and  garments,  his  hat  and  wig 
might  be  displaced,  when  detection  would  be  certain  ;  he 
was  therefore  fain  to  comply  with  their  request.  Ascend- 
ing the  horse-block,  after  hemming  once  or  twice,  and 
casting  several  glances  at  the  captain,  who  continued  im- 
movable, he  commenced  as  follows  : 

"  I  shall  call  your  attention,  my  brethren,  to  that  portion 
of  Scripture  which  you  will  find  in  the  second  book  of 
Samuel,  and  which  is  written  in  the  following  words  : — 
'  And  the  king  lamented  over  Abner,  and  said,  Died  Abner  as  a 
fool  dieth  ?  Thy  hands  were  not  bound,  nor  thy  feet  put  into  fet- 
ters:  as  a  man  falleth  before  wicked  men,  so  fellest  thou.  And 
all  the  people  wept  again  over  him.'  Caesar,  ride  forward,  I 
say,  and  obtain  the  book  as  directed  ;  thy  master  is  groan- 
ing in  spirit  even  now  for  the  want  of  it." 

"An  excellent  text!  "cried  the  dragoons.  ''Go  on — 
go  on — let  the  snowball  stay  ;  he  wants  to  be  edified  as  well 
as  another." 

''What  are  you  at  there,  scoundrels  ?"  cried  Lieuten- 
ant Mason,  as  he  came  in  sight  from  a  walk  he  had  taken, 
to  sneer  at  the  evening  parade  of  the  regiment  of  militia  ; 
"away  with  every  man  of  you  to  your  quarters,  and  let  me 
find  that  each  horse  is  cleaned  and  littered  when  I  come 


3o8  THE   SPY. 

round."  The  sound  of  the  officer's  voice  operated  like  a 
charm,  and  no  priest  could  desire  a  more  silent  congrega- 
tion, although  he  might  possibly  have  wished  for  one 
that  was  more  numerous.  Mason  had  not  done  speaking, 
when  it  was  reduced  to  the  image  of  Caesar  only.  The 
peddler  took  that  opportunity  to  mount,  but  he  had  to 
preserve  the  gravity  of  his  movements  ;  for  the  remark  of 
the  troopers  upon  the  condition  of  their  beasts  was  but 
too  just,  and  a  dozen  dragoon  horses  stood  saddled  and 
bridled  at  hand,  ready  to  receive  their  riders  at  a  moment's 
warning. 

"  Well,  have  you  bitted  the  poor  fellow  within,"  said 
Mason,  "  that  he  can  take  his  last  ride  under  the  curb  of 
divinity,  old  gentleman  ?" 

"There  is  evil  in  thy  conversation,  profane  man," 
cried  the  priest,  raising  his  hands  and  casting  his  eyes 
upward  in  holy  horror  ;  u  so  I  will  depart  from  thee  un- 
hurt, as  Daniel  was  liberated  from  the  lion's  den." 

"Off  with  you,  fora  hypocritical,  psalm-singing,  cant- 
ing rogue  in  disguise,"  said  Mason,  scornfully;  "by  the 
life  of  Washington  !  it  worries  an  honest  fellow  to  see 
such  voracious  beasts  of  prey  ravaging  a  country  for  which 
he  sheds  his  blood.  If  I  had  you  on  a  Virginia  plantation 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  I'd  teach  you  to  worm  the 
tobacco  with  the  turkeys." 

"  I  leave  you,  and  shake  the  dust  off  my  shoes,  that 
no  remnant  of  this  wicked  hole  may  tarnish  the  vestments 
of  the  godly." 

"  Start,  or  I  will  shake  the  dust  from  your  jacket, 
designing  knave  !  A  fellow  to  be  preaching  to  my  men  ! 
There's  Hollister  put  the  devil  in  them  by  his  exhorting  ; 
the  rascals  were  getting  too  conscientious  to  strike  a  blow 
that  would  raise  the  skin.  But  hold  !  whither  do  you 
travel,  master  blackey,  in  such  godly  company?" 

"  He  goes,"  said  the  minister,  hastily  speaking  for  his 
companion,  "  to  return  with  a  book  of  much  condolence 
and  virtue  to  the  sinful  youth  above,  whose  soul  will 
speedily  become  white,  even  as  his  outwards  are  black  and 
unseemly.  Would  you  deprive  a  dying  man  of  the  con- 
solation of  religion  ?" 

"  No,  no,  poor  fellow,  his  fate  is  bad  enough  ;  a  famous 
good  breakfast  his  prim  body  of  an  aunt  gave  us.  But 
harkee,  Mr.  Revelations,  if  the  youth  must  die  secundum 
artem,  let  it  be  under  a  gentleman's  direction  ;  and  my 
advice  is,  that  you  never  trust  that  skeleton  of  yours 


THE   SPY.  309 

among  us  again,  or  I  will  take  the  skin  off  and  leave  you 
naked." 

"  Out  upon  thee  for  a  reviler  and  scoffer  of  goodness  ! " 
said  Birch,  moving  slowly,  and  with  a  due  observance  of 
clerical  dignity,  down  the  road,  followed  by  the  imaginary 
Caesar ;  "  but  I  leave  thee,  and  that  behind  me  that  will 
prove  thy  condemnation,  and  take  from  thee  a  hearty  and 
joyful  deliverance." 

"  Damn  him,"  muttered  the  trooper  ;  the  fellow  rides 
like  a  stake,  and  his  legs  stick  out  like  the  cocks  of  his  hat. 
I  wish  I  had  him  below  these  hills,  where  the  law  is  not 
over-particular,  I'd — 

"  Corporal  of  the  guard  ! — corporal  of  the  guard  ! " 
shouted  the  sentinel  in  the  passage  to  the  chambers  ;  "  cor- 
poral of  the  guard  ! — corporal  of  the  guard  !  " 

The  subaltern  flew  up  the  narrow  stairway  that  led  to 
the  room  of  the  prisoner,  and  demanded  the  meaning  of 
the  outcry. 

The  soldier  was  standing  at  the  open  door  of  the  apart- 
ment, looking  in  with  a  suspicious  eye  on  the  supposed 
British  officer.  On  observing  his  lieutenant,  he  fell  back 
with  habitual  respect,  and  replied,  with  an  air  of  puzzled 
thought : 

"  I  don't  know,  sir  ;  but  just  now  the  prisoner  looked 
queer.  Ever  since  the  preacher  has  left  him  he  don't  look 
as  he  used  to  do — but,"  gazing  intently  over  the  shoulder 
of  his  officer,  "  it  must  be  him,  too  !  There  is  the  same 
powdered  head,  and  the  darn  in  the  coat,  where  he  was  hit 
the  day  he  had  the  last  brush  with  the  enemy." 

"And  then  all  this  noise  is  occasioned  by  your  doubting 
whether  that  poor  gentleman  is  your  prisoner  or  not,  is  it, 
sirrah  ?  Who  the  devil  do  you  think  it  can  be  else  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  who  else  it  can  be,"  returned  the  fellow, 
sullenly  ;  "  but  he  is  grown  thicker  and  shorter,  if  it  is  he  ; 
and  see  for  yourself,  sir,  he  shakes  all  over,  like  a  man  in 
an  ague." 

This  was  but  too  true.  Caesar  was  an  alarmed  auditor 
of  this  short  conversation,  and,  from  congratulating  him- 
self upon  the  dexterous  escape  of  his  young  master,  his 
thoughts  were  very  naturally  beginning  to  dwell  upon  the 
probable  consequences  to  his  own  person.  The  pause  that 
succeeded  the  last  remark  of  the  sentinel  in  no  degree  con- 
tributed to  the  restoration  of  his  faculties.  Lieutenant 
Mason  was  busied  in  examining  with  his  own  eyes  the  sus- 
pected person  of  the  black,  and  Caesar  was  aware  of  the 


3 io  THE   SPY. 

fact,  by  stealing  a  look  through  a  passage  under  one  of  his 
arms  that  he  had  left  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  recon- 
noitring. Captain  Lawton  would  have  discovered  the 
fraud  immediately,  but  Mason  was  by  no  means  so  quick- 
sighted  as  his  commander.  He  therefore  turned  rather 
contemptuously  to  the  soldier  and,  speaking  in  an  under- 
tone, observed  : 

"  That  anabaptist,  methodistical,  quaker,  psalm-singing 
rascal  has  frightened  the  boy  with  his  farrago  about  flames 
and  brimstone.  I'll  step  in  and  cheer  him  with  a  little 
rational  conversation." 

"  I  have  heard  of  fear  making  a  man  white,"  said  the 
soldier,  drawing  back,  and  staring  as  if  his  eyes  would  start 
from  their  sockets,  "  but  it  has  changed  the  royal  captain 
to  a  black  !  " 

The  truth  was  that  Caesar,  unable  to  hear  what  Mason 
uttered  in  a  low  voice,  and  having  every  fear  aroused  in 
him  by  what  had  already  passed,  incautiously  removed  the 
wig  a  little  from  one  of  his  ears  in  order  to  hear  the  bet- 
ter, without  in  the  least  remembering  that  its  color  might 
prove  fatal  to  his  disguise.  The  sentinel  had  kept  his  eyes 
fastened  on  his  prisoner,  and  noticed  the  action.  The  at- 
tention of  Mason  was  instantly  drawn  to  the  same  object  ; 
and,  forgetting  all  delicacy  for  a  brother  officer  in  distress, 
or,  in  short,  forgetting  everything  but  the  censure  that 
might  alight  on  his  corps,  the  lieutenant  sprang  forward 
and  seized  the  terrified  African  by  the  throat  ;  for  no 
sooner  had  Caesar  heard  his  color  named,  than  he  knew 
his  discovery  was  certain  ;  and  at  the  first  sound  of 
Mason's  heavy  boot  on  the  floor  he  arose  from  his  seat, 
and  retreated  precipitately  to  a  corner  of  the  room. 

"Who  are  you  ?"  cried  Mason,  dashing  the  head  of  the 
old  man  against  the  angle  of  the  wall  at  each  interroga- 
tory ;  "who  the  devil  are  you,  and  where  is  the  English- 
man ?  Speak,  thou  thunder-cloud  !  Answer  me,  you 
jackdaw,  or  I'll  hang  you  on  the  gallows  of  the  spy ! " 

Caesar  continued  firm.  Neither  the  threats  nor  the  blows 
could  extract  any  reply,  until  the  lieutenant,  by  a  very 
natural  transition  in  the  attack,  sent  his  heavy  boot  for- 
ward in  a  direction  that  brought  it  in  direct  contact  with 
the  most  sensitive  part  of  the  negro — his  shin.  The  most 
obdurate  heart  could  not  have  exacted  further  patience, 
and  Caesar  instantly  gave  in.  The  first  words  he  spoke 
were  : 

"  Golly  !  Massa,  you  tink  I  got  no  feelin'  ? " 


THE   SPY.  31  r 

"  By  heavens  !  "  shouted  the  lieutenant,  "  it  is  the  negro 
himself  !  Scoundrel  !  where  is  your  master,  and  who  was 
the  priest  ?  "  While  speaking,  he  made  a  movement  as  if 
about  to  renew  the  attack  ;  but  Caesar  cried  aloud  for 
mercy,  promising  to  tell  ajl  that  he  knew. 

"Who  was  the  priest  ?"  repeated  the  dragoon,  drawing 
back  his  formidable  leg,  and  holding  it  in  threatening  sus- 
pense. 

"  Harvey,  Harvey  !  "  cried  Caesar,  dancing  from  one  leg 
to  the  other,  as  he  thought  each  member  in  turn  might  be 
assailed. 

"  Harvey  who,  you  black  villain  ? "  cried  the  impatient 
lieutenant,  as  he  executed  a  full  measure  of  vengeance  by 
letting  his  leg  fly. 

"  Birch  ! "  shrieked  Caesar,  falling  on  his  knees,  the  tears 
rolling  in  large  drops  over  his  shining  face. 

"  Harvey  Birch  !  "  echoed  the  trooper,  hurling  the  black 
from  him  and  rushing  from  the  room.  "  To  arms  !  to 
arms  !  Fifty  guineas  for  the  life  of  the  peddler-spy — give 
no  quarter  to  either.  Mount !  mount !  to  arms  !  to  horse  ! " 

During  the  uproar  occasioned  by  the  assembling  of  the 
dragoons,  who  all  rushed  tumultuously  to  their  horses, 
Caesar  rose  from  the  floor,  where  he  had  been  thrown  by 
Mason,  and  began  to  examine  into  his  injuries.  Happily 
for  himself,  he  had  alighted  on  his  head,  and  consequently 
sustained  no  material  damage. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Away  went  Gilpin,  neck  or  nought, 

Away  went  hat  and  wig  j 
He  little  dreamt,  when  he  set  out, 

Of  running  such  a  rig. — COWPER. 

THE  road  which  it  was  necessary  for  the  peddler  and  the 
English  captain  to  travel,  in  order  to  reach  the  shelter  of 
the  hills,  lay  for  a  half-mile  in  full  view  from  the  door  of 
the  building  that  had  so  recently  been  the  prison  of  the 
latter  ;  running  for  the  whole  distance  over  the  rich  plain 
that  spreads  to  the  very  foot  of  the  mountains,  which  here 
rise  in  a  nearly  perpendicular  ascent  from  their  bases  ;  it 
then  turned  short  to  the  right,  and  was  obliged  to  follow 
the  windings  of  nature,  as  it  won  its  way  into  the  bosom 
01  the  Highlands. 


3 12  THE   SPY. 

To  preserve  the  supposed  difference  in  their  stations, 
Harvey  rode  a  short  distance  ahead  of  his  companion,  and 
maintained  the  sober,  dignified  pace  that  was  suited  to  his 
assumed  character.  On  their  right,  the  regiment  of  foot 
that  we  have  already  mentioned,  lay  in  tents  ;  and  the  sen- 
tinels who  guarded  their  encampment  were  to  be  seen 
moving  with  measured  tread  under  the  skirts  of  the  hills 
themselves. 

The  first  impulse  of  Henry  was,  certainly,  to  urge  the 
beast  he  rode  to  his  greatest  speed  at  once,  and  by  a  coup- 
de-main  not  only  accomplish  his  escape,  but  relieve  him- 
self from  the  torturing  suspense  of  his  situation.  But  the 
orward  movement  that  the  youth  made  for  this  purpose 
was  instantly  checked  by  the  peddler. 

"  Hold  up  !  "  he  cried,  dexterously  reining  his  own  horse 
across  the  path  of  the  other  ;  "  would  you  ruin  us  both  ? 
Fall  into  the  place  of  a  black,  following  his  master.  Did 
you  not  see  their  blooded  chargers,  all  saddled  and  bridled, 
standing  in  the  sun  before  the  house  ?  How  long  do  you 
think  that  miserable  Dutch  horse  you  are  on  would  hold 
his  speed,  if  pursued  by  the  Virginians  ?  Every  foot  that 
we  can  gain,  without  giving  the  alarm,  counts  a  day  in  our 
lives.  Ride  steadily  after  me,  and  on  no  account  look 
back.  They  are  as  subtle  as  foxes,  ay,  and  as  ravenous 
for  blood  as  wolves  !  " 

Henry  reluctantly  restrained  his  impatience,  and  fol- 
lowed the  direction  of  the  peddler.  His  imagination,  how- 
ever, continually  alarmed  him  with  the  fancied  sounds  of 
pursuit ;  though  Birch,  who  occasionally  looked  back 
under  the  pretence  of  addressing  his  companion,  assured 
him  that  all  continued  quiet  and  peaceful. 

li  But,"  said  Henry,  "  it  will  not  be  possible  for  Caesar 
to  remain  long  undiscovered.  Had  we  not  better  put  our 
horses  to  the  gallop,  and  by  the  time  they  can  reflect  on  the 
cause  of  our  flight,  we  can  reach  the  corner  of  the  woods  ? " 

"  Ah !  you  little  know  them,  Captain  Wharton,"  re- 
turned the  peddler  ;  "  there  is  a  sergeant  at  this  moment 
looking  after  us,  as  if  he  thought  all  was  not  right ;  the 
keen-eyed  fellow  watches  me  like  a  tiger  lying  in  wait  for 
his  leap.  When  I  stood  on  the  horse-block,  he  half  sus- 
pected that  something  was  wrong.  Nay,  check  your 
beast— we  must  let  the  animals  walk  a  little,  for  he  is  lay- 
ing his  hand  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  If  he  mounts, 
we  are  gone.  The  foot-soldiers  could  reach  us  now  with 
their  muskets." 


THE   SPY.  313 

"  What  does  he  now  ?  "  asked  Henry,  reining  his  horse 
to  a  walk,  but  at  the  same  time  pressing  his  heels  into  the 
animal's  sides,  to  be  in  readiness  for  a  spring. 

"  He  turns  from  his  charger,  and  looks  the  other  way  ; 
now  trot  on  gently — not  so  fast — not  so  fast.  Observe 
the  sentinel  in  the  field,  a  little  ahead  of  us — he  eyes  us 
keenly." 

"Never  mind  the  foot-man,"  said  Henry,  impatiently; 
"  he  can  do  nothing  but  shoot  us,  whereas  these  dragoons 
may  make  me  a  captive  again.  Surely,  Harvey,  there  are 
horses  moving  down  the  road  behind  us.  Do  you  see 
nothing  particular  ?" 

"Humph!"  ejaculated  the  peddler;  "there  is  some- 
thing particular,  indeed,  to  be  seen  behind  the  thicket  on 
our  left.  Turn  your  head  a  little,  and  you  may  see  and 
profit  by  it  too." 

Henry  eagerly  seized  this  permission  to  look  aside,  and 
the  blood  curdled  to  his  heart  as  he  observed  that  they 
were  passing  a  gallows,  which  unquestionably  had  been 
erected  for  his  own  execution.  He  turned  his  face  from 
the  sight  in  undisguised  horror. 

"There  is  a  warning  to  be  prudent,"  said  the  peddler, 
in  the  sententious  manner  that  he  often  adopted. 

"  It  is  a  terrific  sight,  indeed  !  "  cried  Henry,  for  a  mo- 
ment veiling  his  eyes  with  his  hand,  as  if  to  drive  a  vision 
from  before  him. 

The  peddler  moved  his  body  partly  around,  and  spoke 
with  energetic  but  gloomy  bitterness — "  And  yet,  Captain 
Wharton,  you  see  it  where  the  setting  sun  shines  full  upon 
you  ;  the  air  you  breathe  is  clear,  and  fresh  from  the  hills 
before  you.  Every  step  that  you  take  leaves  that  hated 
gallows  behind  ;  and  every  dark  hollow,  and  every  shape- 
less rock  in  the  mountains,  offers  you  a  hiding-place  from 
the  vengeance  of  your  enemies.  But  I  have  seen  the  gib- 
bet raised  when  no  place  of  refuge  offered.  Twice  have  I 
been  buried  in  dungeons,  where,  fettered  and  in  chains,  I 
have  passed  nights  in  torture,  looking  forward  to  the 
morning's  dawn  that  was  to  light  me  to  a  death  of  infamy. 
The  sweat  has  started  from  limbs  that  seemed  already 
drained  of  their  moisture  ;  and  if  I  ventured  to  the  hole 
that  admitted  air  through  grates  of  iron  to  look  out  upon 
the  smiles  of  nature,  which  God  lias  bestowed  for  the 
meanest  of  his  creatures,  the  gibbet  has  glared  before  my 
eyes,  like  an  evil  conscience  harrowing  the  soul  pf  a  dying 
man.  Four  times  have  I  been  in  their  power,  besides  this 


3 14  THE   SPY. 

last ;  but — twice — did  I  think  my  hour  had  come.  It  is 
hard  to  die  at  the  best,  Captain  Wharton  ;  but  to  spend 
your  last  moments  alone  and  unpitied,  to  know  that  none 
near  you  so  much  as  think  of  the  fate  that  is  to  you  the 
closing  of  all  that  is  earthly  ;  to  think  that  in  a  few  hours 
you  are  to  be  led  from  the  gloom  which,  as  you  dwell  on 
what  follows,  becomes  dear  to  you,  to  the  face  of  day,  and 
there  to  meet  all  eyes  fixed  upon  you,  as  if  you  were  a 
wild  beast  ;  and  to  lose  sight  of  everything  amid  the  jeers 
and  scoffs  of  your  fellow-creatures — that,  Captain  Whar- 
ton, that  indeed  is  to  die  ! " 

Henry  listened  in  amazement,  as  his  companion  uttered 
this  speech  with  a  vehemence  altogether  new  to  him  ; 
both  seemed  to  have  forgotten  their  danger  and  their  dis- 
guises. 

"  What  !  were  you  ever  so  near  death  as  that  ?  " 

"Have  I  not  been  the  hunted  beast  of  these  hills  for 
three  years  past  ? "  resumed  Harvey  ;  "  and  once  they 
even  led  me  to  the  foot  of  the  gallows  itself,  and  I  es- 
caped only  by  an  alarm  from  the  royal  troops.  Had  they 
been  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  I  must  have  died.  There 
was  I  placed  in  the  midst  of  unfeeling  men,  and  gaping 
women  and  children,  as  a  monster  to  be  cursed.  When  I 
would  pray  to  God,  my  ears  were  insulted  with  the  his- 
tory of  my  crimes  ;  and  when,  in  all  that  multitude,  I 
looked  around  for  a  single  face  that  showed  me  any  pity, 
I  could  find  none — no,  not  even  one  ;  all  cursed  me  as  a 
wretch  who  would  sell  his  country  for  gold.  The  sun  was 
brighter  to  my  eyes  than  common — but  it  was  the  last 
time  I  should  see  it.  The  fields  were  gay  and  pleasant, 
and  everything  seemed  as  if  this  world  was  a  kind  of 
heaven.  Oh  !  how  sweet  life  was  to  me  at  that  moment ! 
'Twas  a  dreadful  hour,  Captain  Wharton,  and  such  as  you 
have  never  known.  You  have  friends  to  feel  for  you,  but 
I  had  none  but  a  father  to  mourn  my  loss,  when  he  might 
hear  of  it  ;  but  there  was  no  pity,  no  consolation  near,  to 
soothe  my  anguish.  Everything  seemed  to  have  deserted 
me.  I  even  thought  that  HE  had  forgotten  that  I  lived." 

''What !  did  you  feel  that  God  himself  had  forsaken  you. 
Harvey  ? " 

"God  never  forsakes  his  servants,"  returned  Birch,  with 
reverence,  and  exhibiting  naturally  a  devotion  that  hitherto 
he  had  only  assumed. 

"And  who  did  you  mean  by  HE  ? " 

The  peddler  raised  himself  in  his  saddle  to  the  stiff  and 


THE   SPY.  315 

upright  posture  that  was  suited  to  his  outward  appear- 
ance. The  look  of  lire,  that  for  a  short  time  glowed  on 
his  countenance,  disappeared  in  the  solemn  lines  of  un- 
bending self-abasement,  and,  speaking  as  if  addressing  a 
negro,  he  replied  : 

"  In  heaven  there  is  no  distinction  of  color,  my  brother  ; 
therefore  you  have  a  precious  charge  within  you,  that  you 
must  hereafter  render  an  account  of ; "  dropping  his  voice 
— "  this  is  the  last  sentinel  near  the  road  ;  look  not  back, 
as  you  value  your  life." 

Henry  remembered  his  situation,  and  instantly  assumed 
the  humble  demeanor  of  his  adopted  character.  The  un- 
accountable energy  of  the  peddler's  manner  was  soon  for- 
gotten in  the  sense  of  his  own  immediate  danger  ;  and  with 
the  recollection  of  his  critical  situation,  returned  all  the  un- 
easiness that  he  had  momentarily  forgotten. 

"  What  see  you,  Harvey  ?  "  he  cried,  observing  the  ped- 
dler to  gaze  toward  the  building  they  had  left  with  omin- 
ous interest ;  "  what  see  you  at  the  house  ?  " 

"  That  which  bodes  no  good  to  us,"  returned  the  pre- 
tended priest.  "  Throw  aside  the  mask  and  wig  ;  you  will 
need  all  your  senses  without  much  delay  ;  throw  them  in 
the  road.  There  are  none  before  us  that  I  dread,  but  there 
are  those  behind  who  will  give  us  a  fearful  chase." 

"  Nay,  then,"  cried  the  captain,  casting  the  implements 
of  his  disguise  into  the  highway,  "  let  us  improve  our  time 
to  the  utmost.  We  want  a  full  quarter  to  the  turn,  why 
not  push  for  it  at  once  ? " 

"  Be  cool  ;  they  are  in  alarm,  but  they  will  not  mount 
without  an  officer,  unless  they  see  us  fly — now  he  comes, 
he  moves  to  the  stables  ;  trot  briskly  ;  a  dozen  are  in  their 
saddles,  but  the  officer  stops  to  tighten  his  girths  ;  they 
hope  to  steal  a  march  upon  us  ;  he  is  mounted  ;  now  ride, 
Captain  Wharton,  for  your  life,  and  keep  at  my  heels.  If 
you  quit  me,  you  will  be  lost !  " 

A  second  request  was  unnecessary.  The  instant  that 
Harvey  put  his  horse  to  his  speed,  Captain  Wharton  was 
at  his  heels,  urging  the  miserable  animal  he  rode  to  the 
utmost.  Birch  had  selected  his  own  beast ;  and  although 
vastly  inferior  to  the  high-fed  arid  blooded  chargers  of  the 
dragoons,  still  it  was  much  superior  to  the  little  pony  that 
had  been  thought  good  enough  to  carry  Caesar  Thompson 
on  an  errand.  A  very  few  jumps  convinced  the  captain 
that  his  companion  was  fast  leaving  him,  and  a  fearful 
glance  thrown  behind  him  informed  the  fugitive  that  his 


316  TIM-:   SPY. 

enemies  were  as  speedily  approaching.  With  that  aban- 
donment that  makes  misery  doubly  grievous,  when  it  is  to 
be  supported  alone,  Henry  cried  aloud  to  the  peddler  not 
to  desert  him.  Harvey  instantly  drew  up,  and  suffered  his 
companion  to  run  alongside  of  his  own  horse.  The  cocked 
hat  and  wig  of  the  peddler  fell  from  his  head  the  moment 
that  his  steed  began  to  move  briskly,  and  this  development 
of  their  disguise,  as  it  might  be  termed,  was  witnessed  by 
the  dragoons,  who  announced  their  observation  by  a  bois- 
terous shout,  that  seemed  to  be  uttered  in  the  very  ears  of 
the  fugitives,  so  loud  was  the  cry,  and  so  short  the  dis- 
tance between  them. 

"  Had  we  not  better  leave  our  horses  ? "  said  Henry, 
"and  make  for  the  hills  across  the  fields,  on  our  left  ? — the 
fence  will  stop  our  pursuers. 

"  That  way  lies  the  gallows,"  returned  the  peddler ; 
"these  fellows  go  three  feet  to  our  two,  and  would  mind 
the  fences  no  more  than  we  do  these  ruts  ;  but  it  is  a  short 
quarter  to  the  turn,  and  there  are  two  roads  behind  the 
wood.  They  may  stand  to  choose  until  they  can  take  the 
track,  and  we  shall  gain  a  little  upon  them  there." 

"But  this  miserable  horse  is  blown  already,"  cried 
Henry,  urging  his  beast  with  the  end  of  his  bridle,  at  the 
same  time  that  Harvey  aided  his  efforts  by  applying  the 
lash  of  a  heavy  riding-whip  he  carried;  "he  will  never 
stand  it  for  half  a  mile  farther." 

"  A  quarter  will  do ;  a  quarter  will  do,"  said  the  ped- 
dler ;  "  a  single  quarter  will  save  us,  if  you  follow  my  di- 
rections." 

Somewhat  cheered  by  the  cool  and  confident  manner  of 
his  companion,  Henry  continued  silently  urging  his  horse 
forward.  A  few  moments  brought  them  to  the  desired 
turn,  and  as  they  doubled  round  a  point  of  low  under-bush, 
the  fugitives  caught  a  glimpse  of  their  pursuers  scattered 
along  the  highway.  Mason  and  the  sergeant,  being  better 
mounted  than  the  rest  of  the  party,  were  much  nearer  to 
their  heels  than  even  the  peddler  thought  could  be  possi- 
ble. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  for  some  distance  up  the 
dark  valley  that  wound  among  the  mountains,  a  thick  un- 
derwood of  saplings  had  been  suffered  to  shoot  up,  where 
the  heavier  growth  was  felled  for  the  sake  of  the  fuel.  At 
the  sight  of  this  cover  Henry  again  urged  the  peddler  to 
dismount,  and  to  plunge  into  the  woods  ;  but  his  request 
was  promptly  refused.  The  two  roads  before  mentioned 


THE    SPY.  317 

met  at  a  very  sharp  angle,  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
turn,  and  both  were  circuitous,  so  that  but  little  of  either 
could  be  seen  at  a  time.  The  peddler  took  the  one  which 
led  to  the  left,  but  held  it  only  a  moment  ;  for,  on  reach- 
ing a  partial  opening  in  the  thicket,  he  darted  across  into 
the  right-hand  path,  and  led  the  way  up  the  steep  ascent 
which  lay  directly  before  them.  This  manoeuvre  saved 
them.  On  reaching  the  fork,  the  dragoons  followed  the 
track,  and  passed  the  spot  where  the  fugitives  had  crossed 
to  the  other  road,  before  they  missed  the  marks  of  the 
footsteps.  Their  loud  cries  were  heard  by  Henry  and 
the  peddler,  as  their  wearied  and  breathless  animals  toiled 
up  the  hill,  ordering  their  comrades  in  the  rear  to  ride  in 
the  right  direction. 

The  captain  again  proposed  to  leave  their  horses,  and 
dash  into  the  thicket. 

"  Not  yet,  not  yet,"  said  Birch,  in  a  low  voice  ;  "  the  road 
falls  from  the  top  of  this  hill  as  steep  as  it  rises  ;  first  let 
us  gain  the  top."  While  speaking  they  reached  the  de- 
sired summit,  and  both  threw  themselves  from  their  horses, 
Henry  plunging  into  the  thick  underwood  which  covered 
the  side  of  the  mountain  for  some  distance  above  them. 
Harvey  stopped  to  give  each  of  their  beasts  a  few  severe 
blows  of  his  whip,  then  drove  them  headlong  down  the 
path  on  the  other  side  of  the  eminence,  and  then  followed 
his  example. 

The  peddler  entered  the  thicket  with  a  little  caution, 
and  avoided,  as  much  as  possible,  rustling  or  breaking  the 
branches  in  his  way. 

There  was  but  time  only  to  shelter  his  person  from  view, 
when  a  dragoon  led  up  the  ascent  ;  and  on  reaching  the 
height,  he  cried  aloud — 

"  I  saw  one  of  their  horses  turning  the  hill  this  minute." 

"  Drive  on  ;  spur  forward,  my  lads,"  shouted  Mason ; 
"  give  the  Englishman  quarter,  but  cut  down  the  peddler, 
and  make  an  end  of  him." 

Henry  felt  his  companion  gripe  his  arm  hard,  as  he  lis- 
tened in  a  great  tremor  to  this  cry,  which  was  followed  by 
the  passage  of  a  dozen  horsemen,  with  a  vigor  and  speed 
that  showed  too  plainly  how  little  security  their  over-tired 
steeds  could  have  afforded  them. 

"  Now,"  said  the  peddler,  rising  from  the  cover  to  recon- 
noitre, and  standing  for  a  moment  in  suspense,  "all  that 
we  gain  is  clear  gain  ;  for  as  we  go  up,  they  go  down.  Let 
us  be  stirring." 


3i8  THE 

"  But  will  they  not  follow  us,  and  surround  this  moun- 
tain ?  "  said  Henry,  rising,  and  imitating  the  labored  but 
rapid  progress  of  his  companion  ;  "  remember,  they  have 
foot  as  well  as  horse,  and  at  any  rate,  we  shall  starve  in 
the  hills." 

"  Fear  nothing,  Captain  Wharton,"  returned  the  peddler, 
with  confidence  ;  "this  is  not  the  mountain  that  I  would 
be  on,  but  necessity  has  made  me  a  dexterous  pilot  among 
these  hills.  I  will  lead  you  where  no  man  will  dare  to  fol- 
low. See,  the  sun  is  already  setting  behind  the  tops  of  the 
western  mountains,  and  it  will  be  two  hours  to  the  rising 
of  the  moon.  Who,  think  you,  will  follow  us  far,  on  a 
November  night,  among  these  rocks  and  precipices  ?" 

"Listen  !  "  exclaimed  Henry  ;  "  the  dragoons  are  shout- 
ing to  each  other  ;  they  miss  us  already." 

"  Come  to  the  point  of  this  rock,  and  you  may  see  them," 
said  Harvey,  composedly  seating  himself  down  to  rest. 
"  Nay,  they  can  see  us — observe,  they  are  pointing  up  with 
their  fingers.  There,  one  has  fired  his  pistol,  but  the  dis- 
tance is  too  great  even  for  a  musket." 

"They  will  pursue  us,"  cried  the  impatient  Henry; 
"  let  us  be  moving." 

"  They  will  not  think  of  such  a  thing,"  returned  the 
peddler,  picking  the  checker-berries  that  grew  on  the  thin 
soil  where  he  sat,  and  very  deliberately  chewing  them, 
leaves  and  all,  to  refresh  his  mouth.  "  What  progress  could 
they  make  here,  in  their  heavy  boots  and  spurs,  and  long 
swords  ?  No,  no — they  may  go  back  and  turn  out  the  foot, 
but  the  horse  pass  through  these  defiles,  when  they  can 
keep  the  saddle,  with  fears  and  trembling.  Come,  follow 
me,  Captain  Wharton  ;  we  have  a  troublesome  march  be- 
fore us,  but  I  will  bring  you  where  none  will  think  of  ven- 
turing this  night." 

So  saying,  they  both  arose,  and  were  soon  hid  from  view 
among  the  rocks  and  caverns  of  the  mountain. 

The  conjecture  of  the  peddler  was  true  ;  Mason  and  his 
men  dashed  down  the  hill  in  pursuit,  as  they  supposed,  of 
their  victims,  but  on  reaching  the  bottom  lands,  they  found 
only  the  deserted  horses  of  the  fugitives.  Some  little  time 
was  spent  in  examining  the  woods  near  them,  and  in  en- 
deavoring to  take  the  trail  on  such  ground  as  might  en- 
able the  horses  to  pursue,  when  one  of  the  party  descried 
the  peddler  and  Henry  seated  on  the  rock  already  men- 
tioned. 

"  He's  off,"  muttered  Mason,  eying  Harvey  with  fury ; 


THE    SPY. 


3T9 


"lie's  off,  and  we  are  disgraced.  By  heavens,  Washington 
will  not  trust  us  with  the  keeping  of  a  suspected  Tory,  if  we 
let  the  rascal  trifle  in  this  manner  with  the  corps  ;  and 
there  sits  the  Englishman,  too,  looking  down  upon  us  with 
a  smile  of  benevolence  !  I  fancy  that  I  can  see  it.  Well, 
well,  my  lad,  you  are  comfortably  seated,  I  will  confess, 
and  that  is  something  better  than  dancing  upon  nothing  ; 
but  you  are  not  to  the  west  of  the  Harlem  River  yet,  and 
I'll  try  your  wind  before  you  tell  Sir  Henry  what  you  have 
seen,  or  I'm  no  soldier." 

"  Shall  I  fire,  and  frighten  the  peddler  ? "  asked  one  of 
the  men,  drawing  his  pistol  from  the  holster. 

"  Ay,  startle  the  birds  from  their  perch — let  us  see  how 
they  can  use  the  wing."  The  man  fired  the  pistol,  and 
Mason  continued — "  'Fore  George,  I  believe  the  scoundrels 
laugh  at  us.  But  homeward,  or  we  shall  have  them  roll- 
ing stones  upon  our  heads,  and  the  Royal  Gazettes  teem- 
ing with  an  account  of  a  rebel  regiment  routed  by  two 
loyalists.  They  have  told  bigger  lies  than  that  before 
now." 

The  dragoons  moved  sullenly  after  their  officer,  who 
rode  toward  their  quarters,  musing  on  the  course  it  be- 
hooved him  to  pursue  in  the  present  dilemma.  It  was  twi- 
light when  Mason's  party  reached  the  dwelling,  before  the 
door  of  which  were  collected  a  great  number  of  the  offi- 
cers and  men,  busily  employed  in  giving  and  listening  to 
the  most  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  escape  of  the  spy. 
The  mortified  dragoons  gave  their  ungrateful  tidings  witli 
the  sullen  air  of  disappointed  men  ;  and.  most  of  the  offi- 
cers gathered  around  Mason  to  consult  of  the  steps  that 
ought  to  be  taken.  Miss  Peyton  and  Frances  were  breath- 
less and  unobserved  listeners  to  all  that  passed  between 
them,  from  the  window  of  the  chamber  immediately  above 
their  heads.  ,, 

"  Something  must  be  done,  and  that  speedily,"  observed 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  regiment  which  lay  en- 
camped before  the  house  ;  "  this  English  officer  is  doubt- 
less an  instrument  in  the  great  blow  aimed  at  us  by  the 
enemy  lately  ;  besides,  our  honor  is  involved  in  his  es- 
cape." 

"Let  us  beat  the  woods  !"  cried  several,  at  once  ;  "by 
morning  we  shall  have  them  both  again." 

"  Softly,  softly,  gentlemen,"  returned  the  colonel  ;  "  no 
man  can  travel  these  hills  after  dark,  unless  used  to  the 
passes.  Nothing  but  horse  can  do  service  in  this  business, 


320  THE   SPY. 

and  I  presume  Lieutenant  Mason  hesitates  to  move  with- 
out the  orders  of  his  major." 

"  I  certainly  dare  not,"  replied  the  subaltern,  gravely 
shaking  his  head,  ''unless  you  will  take  the  responsibility 
of  an  order  ;  but  Major  Dunwoodie  will  be  back  again  in 
two  hours,  and  we  can  carry  the  tidings  through  the  hills 
before  daylight  ;  so  that,  by  spreading  patrols  across  from 
one  river  to  the  other,  and  offering  a  reward  to  the 
country  people,  their  escape  will  yet  be  impossible,  unless 
they  can  join  the  party  that  is  said  to  be  out  on  the  Hud- 
son." 

"A  very  plausible  plan,"  cried  the  colonel,  "and  one 
that  must  succeed  ;  but  let  a  messenger  be  despatched  to 
Dunwoodie,  or  he  may  continue  at  the  ferry  until  it  proves 
too  late  ;  though  doubtless  the  runaways  will  lie  in  the 
mountains  to-night." 

To  this  suggestion  Mason  acquiesced,  and  a  courier  was 
sent  to  the  major  with  the  important  intelligence  of  the 
escape  of  Henry,  and  an  intimation  of  the  necessity  of  his 
presence  to  conduct  the  pursuit.  After  this  arrangement 
the  officers  separated. 

When  Miss  Peyton  and  her  niece  first  learned  the  escape 
of  Captain  Wharton,  it  was  with  difficulty  they  could  credit 
their  senses.  They  both  relied  so  implicitly  on  the  success 
of  Dunwoodie's  exertions,  that  they  thought  the  act,  on 
the  part  of  their  relative,  extremely  imprudent  ;  but  it 
was  now  too  late  to  mend  it.  While  listening  to  the  con- 
versation of  the  officers,  both  were  struck  with  the  in- 
creased danger  of  Henry's  situation,  if  recaptured,  and 
they  trembled  to  think  of  the  great  exertions  that  would 
be  made  to  accomplish  this  object.  Miss  Peyton  consoled 
herself,  and  endeavored  to  cheer  her  niece,  with  the  prob- 
ability that  the  fugitives  would  pursue  their  course  with 
unremitting  diligence,  so  that  they  might  reach  the  Neu- 
tral Ground  before  the  horse  would  carry  down  the  tid- 
ings of  their  flight.  The  absence  of  Dunwoodie  seemed 
to  her  all-important,  and  the  artless  lady  was  anxiously 
devising  some  project  that  might  detain  her  kinsman,  and 
thus  give  her  nephew  the  longest  possible  time.  But  very 
different  were  the  reflections  of  Frances.  She  could  no 
longer  doubt  that  the  figure  she  had  seen  on  the  hill  was 
Birch,  and  she  felt  certain  that,  instead  of  flying  to  the 
friendly  forces  below,  her  brother  would  be  taken  to  the 
mysterious  hut  to  pass  the  night. 

Frances  and  her  aunt  held  a  long  and  animated  discus- 


THE   SPY.  321 

sion  by  themselves,  when  the  good  spinster  reluctantly 
yielded  to  the  representation  of  her  niece,  and,  folding 
her  in  her  arms,  she  kissed  her  cold  cheek,  and  fervently 
blessing  her,  allowed  her  to  depart  on  an  errand  of  fra- 
ternal love. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

And  here,  forlorn  and  lost,  I  tread, 

With  fainting  steps,  and  slow  ; 
Where  wilds,  immeasurably  spread, 

Seem  lengthening  as  I  go. — GOLDSMITH. 

THE  night  had  set  in  dark  and  chilling,  as  Frances 
Wharton,  with  a  beating  heart  but  light  step,  moved 
through  the  little  garden  that  lay  behind  the  farm-house 
which  had  been  her  brother's  prison,  and  took  her  way  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where  she  had  seen  the  figure  of 
him  she  supposed  to  be  the  peddler.  It  was  still  early, 
but  the  darkness  and  the  dreary  nature  of  a  November 
evening  would,  at  any  other  moment,  or  with  less  induce- 
ment to  exertion,  have  driven  her  back  in  terror  to  the 
circle  she  had  left.  Without  pausing  to  reflect,  however, 
she  flew  over  the  ground  with  a  rapidity  that  seemed  to 
bid  defiance  to  all  impediments,  nor  stopped  even  to 
breathe,  until  she  had  gone  half  the  distance  to  the  rock 
that  she  had  marked  as  the  spot  where  Birch  made  his 
appearance  on  that  very  morning. 

The  good  treatment  of  their  women  is  the  surest  evi- 
dence that  a  people  can  give  of  their  civilization  ;  and 
there  is  no  nation  which  has  more  to  boast  of,  in  this  re- 
spect, than  the  Americans.  Frances  felt  but  little  appre- 
hension from  the  orderly  and  quiet  troops  who  were  taking 
their  evening's  repast  on  the  side  of  the  highway,  opposite 
to  the  field  through  which  she  was  flying.  There  were 
her  countrymen,  and  she  knew  that  her  sex  would  be  re- 
spected by  the  Eastern  militia,  who  composed  this  body  ; 
but  in  the  volatile  and  reckless  character  of  the  Southern 
horse  she  had  less  confidence.  Outrages  of  any  descrip- 
tion were  seldom  committed  by  the  really  American  sol- 
diery ;  but  she  recoiled,  with  exquisite  delicacy,  from  even 
the  appearance  of  humiliation.  When,  therefore,  she 
heard  the  footsteps  of  a  horse  moving  slowly  up  the  road 
she  shrank,  timidly,  into  a  little  thicket  of  wood  which 


322  THE    SPY. 

grew  around  the  spring  that  bubbled  from  the  side  of  a 
hillock  near  her.  The  vedette,  for  such  it  proved  to  be, 
passed  her  without  noticing  her  form,  which  was  so  enve- 
loped as  to  be  as  little  conspicuous  as  possible,  humming 
a  low  air  to  himself,  and  probably  thinking  of  some  other 
fair  that  he  had  left  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 

Frances  listened  anxiously  to  the  retreating  footsteps  of 
his  horse,  and  as  they  died  upon  her  ear  she  ventured  from 
her  place  of  secrecy,  and  advanced  a  short  distance  into  the 
field,  where,  startled  at  the  gloom,  and  appalled  with  the 
dreariness  of  the  prospect,  she  paused  to  reflect  on  what  she 
had  undertaken.  Throwing  back  the  hood  of  her  cardinal, 
she  sought  the  support  of  a  tree,  and  gazed  toward  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  that  was  to  be  the  goal  of  her  enter- 
prise. It  rose  from  the  plain  like  a  huge  pyramid,  giving 
nothing  to  the  eye  but  its  outlines.  The  pinnacle  could  be 
faintly  discerned  in  front  of  a  lighter  background  of  clouds, 
between  which  a  few  glimmering  stars  occasionally  twinkled 
in  momentary  brightness,  and  then  gradually  became  ob- 
scured by  the  passing  vapor  that  was  moving  before  the 
wind,  at  a  vast  distance  below  the  clouds  themselves. 
Should  she  return,  Henry  and  the  peddler  would  most 
probably  pass  the  night  in  fancied  security  upon  that  very 
hill,  toward  which  she  was  straining  her  eyes,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  observing  some  light  that  might  encourage  her  to 
proceed.  The  deliberate,  and  what  to  her  seemed  cold- 
blooded, project  of  the  officer  for  the  recapture  of  the 
fugitives,  still  rang  in  her  ears,  and  stimulated  her  to  go 
on  ;  but  the  solitude  into  which  she  must  venture,  the 
time,  the  actual  danger  of  the  ascent,  and  the  uncertainty 
of  her  finding  the  hut,  or,  what  was  still  more  dishearten- 
ing, the  chance  that  it  might  be  occupied  by  unknown 
tenants,  and  those  of  the  worst  description,  urged  her  to 
retreat. 

The  increasing  darkness  was  each  moment  rendering 
objects  less  and  less  distinct,  and  the  clouds  were  gather- 
ing more  gloomily  in  the  rear  of  the  hill,  until  its  form 
could  no  longer  be  discerned.  Frances  threw  back  her 
rich  curls  with  both  hands  on  her  temples,  in  order  to  pos- 
sess her  senses  in  their  utmost  keenness  ;  but  the  towering 
hill  was  entirely  lost  to  the  eye.  At  length  she  discovered 
a  faint  and  twinkling  blaze  in  the  direction  in  which  she 
thought  the  building  stood,  that  by  its  reviving  and  reced- 
ing lustre  might  be  taken  for  the  glimmering  of  a  fire. 
But  the  delusion  vanished  as  the  horizon  again  cleared, 


THE   SPY.  323 

and  the  star  of  evening  shone  forth  from  a  cloud,  after 
struggling  hard,  as  if  for  existence.  She  now  saw  the 
mountain  to  the  left  of  the  place  where  the  planet  was 
shining,  and  suddenly  a  streak  of  mellow  light  burst  upon 
the  fantastic  oaks  that  were  thinly  scattered  over  its  sum- 
mit, and  gradually  moved  down  its  side,  until  the  whole 
pile  became  distinct  under  the  rays  of  the  rising  moon. 
Although  it  would  have  been  physically  impossible  for 
our  heroine  to  advance  without  the  aid  of  the  friendly 
light  which  now  gleamed  on  the  long  line  of  level  land 
before  her,  yet  she  was  not  encouraged  to  proceed.  If  she 
could  see  the  goal  of  her  wishes,  she  could  also  perceive 
the  difficulties  that  must  attend  her  reaching  it. 

While  deliberating  in  distressing  incertitude,  now  shrink- 
ing with  the  timidity  of  her  sex  and  years  from  the  enter- 
prise, and  now  resolving  to  rescue  her  brother  at  every 
hazard,  Frances  turned  her  looks  toward  the  east,  in  ear- 
nest gaze  at  the  clouds  which  constantly  threatened  to  in- 
volve her  again  in  comparative  darkness.  Had  an  adder 
stung  her,  she  could  not  have  sprung  with  greater  celerity 
than  she  recoiled  from  the  object  against  which  she  was 
leaning,  and  which  she,  for  the  first  time,  noticed.  The 
two  upright  posts,  with  a  cross-beam  on  their  tops,  and  a 
rude  platform  beneath,  told  but  too  plainly  the  nature  of 
the  structure  ;  even  the  cord  was  suspended  from  an  iron 
staple,  and  was  swinging  to  and  fro  in  the  night  air. 
Frances  hesitated  no  longer,  but  rather  flew  than  ran 
across  the  meadow,  and  was  soon  at  the  base  of  the  rock, 
where  she  hoped  to  find  something  like  a  path  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain.  Here  she  was  compelled  to^rjause 
for  breath,  and  she  improved  the  leisure  by  surveying  the 
ground  about  her.  The  ascent  was  quite  abrupt,  but  she 
found  a  sheep-path  that  wound  among  the  shelving  rocks 
and  through  the  trees,  so  as  to  render  her  labor  much  less 
tiresome  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  Throwing  a 
fearful  glance  behind,  the  determined  girl  commenced  her 
journey  upward.  Young,  active,  and  impelled  by  her 
generous  motive,  she  moved  up  the  hill  with  elastic  steps, 
and  very  soon  emerged  from  the  cover  of  the  woods  into 
an  open  space  of  more  level  ground,  that  had  evidently 
been  cleared  of  its  timber  for  the  purpose  of  cultivation. 
But  either  the  war,  or  the  sterility  of  the  soil,  had  com- 
pelled the  adventurer  to  abandon  the  advantages  that  he 
had  obtained  over  the  wilderness,  and  already  the  bushes 
and  briers  were  springing  up  afresh,  as  if  the  plough  had 


324 


THE   SPY. 


never  traced  its  furrows  through  the  mould  which  nour- 
ished them. 

Frances  felt  her  spirits  invigorated  by  these  faint  ves- 
tiges of  the  labor  of  man,  and  she  walked  up  the  gentle  ac- 
clivity with  renewed  hopes  of  success.  The  path  now  di- 
verged in  so  many  different  directions,  that  she  soon  saw 
it  would  be  useless  to  follow  their  windings,  and  aban- 
doning it  at  the  first  turn,  she  labored  forward  toward  what 
she  thought  was  the  nearest  point  of  the  summit.  The 
cleared  ground  was  soon  passed,  and  woods  and  rocks, 
clinging  to  the  precipitous  sides  of  the  mountain,  again 
opposed  themselves  to  her  progress.  Occasionally,  the 
path  was  to  be  seen  running  along  the  verge  of  the  clear- 
ing, and  then  striking  off  into  the  scattering  patches  of 
grass  and  herbage,  but  in  no  instance  could  she  trace  it 
upward.  Tufts  of  wood  hanging  to  the  briers  sufficiently 
denoted  the  origin  of  these  tracks,  and  Frances  rightly 
conjectured  that  whoever  descended  the  mountain  would 
avail  himself  of  their  existence  to  lighten  the  labor. 
Seating  herself  on  a  stone,  the  wearied  girl  again  paused 
to  rest  and  to  reflect  ;  the  clouds  were  rising  before  the 
moon,  and  the  whole  scene  at  her  feet  lay  pictured  in  the 
softest  colors. 

The  white  tents  of  the  militia  were  stretched  in  regular 
lines  immediately  beneath  her.  The  Hght  was  shining  in 
the  window  of  her  aunt,  who,  Frances  easily  fancied,  was 
watching  the  mountain,  racked  with  all  the  anxiety  she 
might  be  supposed  to  feel  for  her  niece.  Lanterns  were 
playing  about  in  the  stable-yard,  where  she  knew  the 
horses  of  the  dragoons  were  kept,  and  believing  them  to 
be  preparing  for  their  night  march,  she  again  sprang  upon 
her  feet  and  renewed  her  toil. 

Our  heroine  had  to  ascend  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
farther,  although  she  had  already  conquered  two-thirds  of 
the  height  of  the  mountain.  But  she  was  now  without  a 
path  or  any  guide  to  direct  her  in  her  course.  Fortu- 
nately, the  hill  was  conical,  like  most  of  the  mountains  in 
that  range,  and  by  advancing  upward,  she  was  certain  of 
at  length  reaching  the  desired  hut,  which  hung,  as  it  were, 
on  the  very  pinnacle.  Nearly  an  hour  did  she  struggle 
with  the  numerous  difficulties  that  she  was  obliged  to  over- 
come, when,  having  been  repeatedly  exhausted  with  her 
efforts  and,  in  several  instances,  in  great  danger  from  falls, 
she  succeeded  in  gaining  the  small  piece  of  table-land  on 
the  summit. 


THE   SPY. 


325 


Faint  with  her  exertions,  which  had  been  unusually  se- 
vere for  so  slight  a  frame,  she  sank  on  a  rock  to  recover 
her  strength  and  fortitude  for  the  approaching  interview. 
A  few  moments  sufficed  for  this  purpose,  when  she  pro- 
ceeded in  quest  of  the  hut.  All  of  the  neighboring  hills 
were  distinctly  visible  by  the  aid  of  the  moon,  and  Frances 
was  able,  where  she  stood,  to  trace  the  route  of  the  high- 
way from  the  plains  into  the  mountains.  By  following 
this  line  with  her  eyes,  she  soon  discovered  the  point 
whence  she  had  seen.the  mysterious  dwelling,  and  directly 
opposite  to  that  point  she  well  knew  the  hut  must  stand. 

The  chilling  air  sighed  through  the  leafless  branches  of 
the  gnarled  and  crooked  oaks,  as,  with  a  step  so  light  as 
hardly  to  rustle  the  dry  leaves  on  which  she  trod,  Frances 
moved  forward  to  that  part  of  the  hill  where  she  expected 
to  find  this  secluded  habitation  ;  but  nothing  could  she  dis- 
cern that  in  the  least  resembled  a  dwelling  of  any  sort. 
In  vain  she  examined  every  recess  of  the  rocks,  or  inquisi- 
tively explored  every  part  of  the  summit  that  she  thought 
could  hold  the  tenement  of  the  peddler.  No  hut,  nor  any 
vestige  of  a  human  being,  could  she  trace.  The  idea  of 
her  solitude  struck  on  the  terrified  mind  of  the  affrighted 
girl,  and  approaching  to  the  edge  of  a  shelving  rock,  she 
bent  forward  to  gaze  on  the  signs  of  life  in  the  vale,  when 
a  ray  of  keen  light  dazzled  her  eyes,  and  a  warm  air  dif- 
fused itself  over  her  whole  frame.  Recovering  from  her 
surprise,  Frances  looked  on  the  ledge  beneath  her,  and  at 
once  perceived  that  she  stood  directly  over  the  object  of 
her  search.  A  hole  through  its  roof  afforded  a  passage  to 
the  smoke,  which,  as  it  blew  aside,  showed  her  a  clear  and 
cheerful  fire  crackling  and  snapping  on  a  rude  hearth  of 
stone.  The  approach  to  the  front  of  the  hut  was  by  a 
winding  path  around  the  point  of  the  rock  on  which  she 
stood,  and  by  this  she  advanced  to  its  door. 

Three  sides  of  this  singular  edifice,  if  such  it  could  be 
called,  were  composed  of  logs  laid  alternately  on  each 
other,  to  a  little  more  than  the  height  of  a  man  ;  and  the 
fourth  was  formed  by  the  rock  against  which  it  leaned. 
The  roof  was  made  of  the  bark  of  trees,  laid  in  long  strips 
from  the  rock  to  its  eaves  ;  the  fissures  between  the  logs 
had  been  stuffed  with  clay,  which  in  many  places  had  fallen 
out,  and  dried  leaves  were  made  use  of  as  a  substitute  to 
keep  out  the  wind.  A  single  window  of  four  panes  of 
glass  was  in  front,  but  a  board  carefully  closed  it,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  emit  no  light  from  the  fire  within.  After 


326  THE  SPY. 

pausing  some  time  to  view  this  singularly  constructed 
hiding-place,  for  such  Frances  well  knew  it  to  be,  she  ap- 
plied her  eye  to  a  crevice  to  examine  the  inside.  There 
was  no  lamp  or  candle,  but  the  blazing  fire  of  dry  wood 
made  the  interior  of  the  hut  light  enough  to  read  by.  In 
one  corner  lay  a  bed  of  straw,  with  a  pair  of  blankets 
thrown  carelessly  over  it,  as  if  left  where  they  had  last 
been  used.  Against  the  walls  and  rock  were  suspended, 
from  pegs  forced  into  the  crevices,  various  garments,  and 
such  as  were  apparently  fitted  for  all  ages  and  conditions, 
and  for  either  sex.  British  and  American  uniforms  hung 
peaceably  by  the  side  of  each  other  ;  and  on  the  peg  that 
supported  a  gown  of  striped  calico,  such  as  was  the  usual 
country  wear,  was  also  depending  a  well  powdered  wig  ; 
in  short,  the  attire  was  numerous,  and  as  various  as  if  a 
whole  parish  were  to  be  equipped  from  this  one  wardrobe. 
In  the  angle  against  the  rock,  and  opposite  to  the  fire 
which  was  burning  in  the  other  corner,  was  an  open  cup- 
board, that  held  a  plate  or  two,  a  mug,  and  the  remains  of 
some  broken  meat.  Before  the  fire  was  a  table,  with  one 
of  its  legs  fractured,  and  made  of  rough  boards  ;  these, 
with  a  single  stool,  composed  the  furniture,  if  we  except 
a  few  articles  of  cooking.  A  book  that,  by  its  size  and 
shape,  appeared  to  be  a  Bible,  was  lying  on  the  table,  un- 
opened. But  it  was  the  occupant  of  the  hut  in  whom 
Frances  was  chiefly  interested.  This  was  a  man,  sitting 
on  the  stool,  with  his  head  leaning  on  his  hand  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  conceal  his  features,  and  deeply  occupied  in 
examining  some  open  papers.  On  the  table  lay  a  pair  of 
curiously  and  richly  mounted  horseman's  pistols  ;  and  the 
handle  of  a  sheathed  rapier,  of  exquisite  workmanship, 
protruded  from  between  the  legs  of  the  gentleman,  one  of 
whose  hands  carelessly  rested  on  its  guard.  The  tall  stat- 
ure of  this  unexpected  tenant  of  the  hut,  and  his  form, 
much  more  athletic  than  that  of  either  Harvey  or  her 
brother,  told  Frances,  without  the  aid  of  his  dress,  that  it 
was  neither  of  those  she  sought.  A  close  stirtout  was 
buttoned  high  in  the  throat  of  the  stranger,  and  parting  at 
his  knees,  snowed  breeches  of  buff,  with  military  boots 
and  spurs.  His  hair  wras  dressed  so  as  to  expose  the 
whole  face  ;  and,  after  the  fashion  of  that  day,  it  was  pro- 
fusely powdered.  A  round  hat  was  laid  on  the  stones  that 
formed  a  paved  floor  to  the  hut,  as  if  to  make  room  for  a 
large  map,  which,  among  the  other  papers,  occupied  the 
table. 


THE   SPY.  327 

This  was  an  unexpected  event  to  our  adventuress.  She 
had  been  so  confident  that  the  figure  twice  seen  was  the 
peddler,  that  on  learning  his  agency  in  her  brother's  es- 
cape, she  did  not  in  the  least  doubt  of  finding  them  both 
in  the  place,  which,  she  now  discovered,  was  occupied  by 
another  and  a  stranger.  She  stood,  earnestly  looking 
through  the  crevice,  hesitating  whether  to  retire,  or  to 
wait  with  the  expectation  of  yet  meeting  Henry,  as  the 
stranger  moved  his  hand  from  before  his  eyes,  and  raised 
his  face,  apparently  in  deep  musing  ;  when  Frances  in- 
stantly recognized  the  benevolent  and  strongly  marked, 
but  composed,  features  of  Harper. 

All  that  Dunwoodie  had  said  of  his  power  and  disposi- 
tion ;  all  that  he  had  himself  promised  her  brother,  and 
all  the  confidence  that  had  been  created  by  his  dignified 
and  paternal  manner,  rushed  across  the  mind  of  Frances, 
who  threw  open  the  door  of  the  hut,  and  falling  at  his  feet, 
clasped  his  knees  with  her  arms,  as  she  cried  : 

"  Save  him — save  him — save  my  brother  ;  remember 
your  promise,  and  save  him  !  " 

Harper  had  risen  as  the  door  opened,  and  there  was  a 
slight  movement  of  one  hand  toward  his  pistols  ;  but  it 
was  cool,  and  instantly  checked.  He  raised  the  hood  of 
the  cardinal,  which  had  fallen  over  her  features,  and  ex- 
claimed, with  some  uneasiness  : 

"  Miss  Wharton  !     But  you  cannot  be  alone  ?  " 

"There  is  none  here  but  my  God  and  you  ;  and  by  his 
sacred  name,  I  conjure  you  to  remember  your  promise, 
and  save  my  brother  !  " 

Harper  gently  raised  her  from  her  knees,  and  placed  her 
on  the  stool,  begging  her  at  the  same  time  to  be  composed, 
and  to  acquaint  him  with  the  nature  of  her  errand.  This 
Frances  instantly  did,  ingenuously  admitting  him  to  a 
knowledge  of  all  her  views  in  visiting  that  lone  spot  at  such 
an  hour,  and  by  herself. 

It  was  at  all  times  difficult  to  probe  the  thoughts  of  one 
who  held  his  passions  in  such  disciplined  subjection  as 
Harper,  but  still  there  was  a  lightening  of  his  thoughtful 
eye,  and  a  slight  unbending  of  his  muscles,  as  the  hurried 
and  anxious  girl  proceeded  in  her  narrative.  His  interest, 
as  she  dwelt  upon  the  manner  of  Henry's  escape  and  the 
flight  to  the  woods,  was  deep  and  manifest,  and  he  lis- 
tened to  the  remainder  of  her  tale  with  a  marked  expres- 
sion of  benevolent  indulgence.  Her  apprehensions,  that 
her  brother  might  still  be  too  late  through  the  mountains, 


328  Tin-:  spy. 

seemed  to  have  much  weight  with  him,  for,  as  she  con- 
cluded, he  walked  a  turn  or  two  across  the  hut,  in  silent 
musing. 

Frances  hesitated,  and  unconsciously  played  with  the 
handle  of  one  of  the  pistols,  and  the  paleness  that  her  fears 
had  spread  over  her  fine  features  began  to  give  place  to  a 
rich  tint,  as,  after  a  short  pause,  she  added  : 

11  We  can  depend  much  on  the  friendship  of  Major  Dun- 
woodie,  but  his  sense  of  honor  is  so  pure,  that — that — not- 
withstanding his — his — feelings — his  desire  to  serve  us — 
he  will  conceive  it  to  be  his  duty  to  apprehend  my  brother 
again.  Besides,  he  thinks  there  will  be  no  danger  in  so  do- 
ing, as  he  relies  greatly  on  your  interference." 

"  On  mine  !  "  said  Harper,  raising  his  eyes  in  surprise. 

•'Yes,  on  yours.  When  we  told  him  of  your  kind  lan- 
guage, he  at  once  assured  us  all,  that  you  had  the  power, 
and  if  you  had  promised,  would  have  the  inclination,  to 
procure  Henry's  pardon." 

"  Said  he  more  ? "  asked  Harper,  who  appeared  slightly 
uneasy. 

"Nothing  but  reiterated  assurances  of  Henry's  safety  ; 
even  now  he  is  in  quest  of  you." 

"Miss  Wharton,  that  I  bear  no  mean  part  in  the  un- 
happy struggle  between  England  and  America,  it  might 
now  be  useless  to  deny.  You  owe  your  brother's  escape, 
this  night,  to  my  knowledge  of  his  innocence,  and  the  re- 
membrance of  my  word.  Major  Dunwoodie  is  mistaken 
when  he  says  that  I  might  openly  have  procured  his  par- 
don. I  now,  indeed,  can  control  his  fate,  and  I  pledge  to 
you  a  word  which  has  some  influence  with  Washington, 
that  means  shall  be  taken  to  prevent  his  recapture.  But 
from  you,  also,  I  exact  a  promise  that  this  interview,  and 
all  that  has  passed  between  us,  remain  confined  to  your 
own  bosom,  until  you  have  my  permission  to  speak  upon 
the  subject." 

Frances  gave  the  desired  assurance,  and  he  continued  : 

"The  peddler  and  your  brother  will  soon  be  here,  but  I 
must  not  be  seen  by  the  royal  officer,  or  the  life  of  Birch 
might  be  the  forfeiture." 

"  Never  !  "  cried  Frances,  ardently  ;  "  Henry  could  never 
be  so  base  as  to  betray  the  man  who  saved  him." 

"  It  is  no  childish  game  that  we  are  now  playing,  Miss 
Wharton.  Men's  lives  and  fortunes  hang  upon  slender 
threads,  and  nothing  must  be  left  to  accident  that  can  be 
guarded  against.  Did  Sir  Henry  Clinton  know  that  the 


THE   SPY.  329 

peddler  had  communion  with  me,  and  under  such  circum- 
stances, the  life  of  the  miserable  man  would  be  taken  in- 
stantly ;  therefore,  as  you  value  human  blood,  or  remem- 
ber the  rescue  of  your  brother,  be  prudent  and  be  silent. 
Communicate  what  you  know  to  them  both,  and  urge  them 
to  instant  departure.  If  they  can  reach  the  last  pickets  of 
our  army  before  morning,  it  shall  be  my  care  that  there  are 
none  to  intercept  them.  There  is  better  work  for  Major 
Dunwoodie  than  to  be  exposing  the  life  of  his  friend." 

While  Harper  was  speaking,  he  carefully  rolled  up  the 
map  he  had  been  studying,  and  placed  it,  together  with 
sundry  papers  that  were  also  open,  into  his  pocket.  He 
was  still  occupied  in  this  manner,  when  the  voice  of  the 
peddler,  talking  in  unusually  loud  tones,  was  heard  directly 
over  their  heads. 

"  Stand  further  this  way,  Captain  Wharton,  and  you  can 
see  the  tents  in  the  moonshine.  But  let  them  mount  and 
ride  ;  I  have  a  nest,  here,  that  will  hold  us  both,  and  we 
will  go  in  at  our  leisure." 

"And  where  is  this  nest?  I  confess  that  I  have  eaten 
but  little  the  two  last  days,  and  I  crave  some  of  the  cheer 
you  mention." 

"  Hem  !  "  said  the  peddler,  exerting  his  voice  still  more 
"hem — this  fog  has  given  me  a  cold  ;  but  move  slow — and 
be  careful  not  to  slip,  or  you  may  land  on  the  bayonet  of 
the  sentinel  on  the  flats  ;  it  is  a  steep  hill  to  rise,  but  one 
can  go  down  it  with  ease." 

Harper  pressed  his  finger  on  his  lip,  to  remind  Frances 
of  her  promise,  and,  taking  his  pistols  and  hat,  so  that 
no  vestige  of  his  visit  remained,  he  retired  deliberately  to 
a  far  corner  of  the  hut,  where,  lifting  several  articles  of 
dress,  he  entered  a  recess  in  the  rock,  and  letting  them 
fall  again,  was  hid  from  view.  Frances  noticed,  by  the 
strong  firelight,  as  he  entered,  that  it  was  a  natural  cavity, 
and  contained  nothing  but  a  few  more  articles  of  domestic 
use. 

The  surprise  of  Henry  and  the  peddler,  on  entering  and 
finding  Frances  in  possession  of  the  hut,  may  be  easily  im- 
agined. Without  waiting  for  explanations  or  questions, 
the  warm-hearted  girl  flew  into  the  arms  of  her  brother, 
and  gave  a  vent  to  her  emotions  in  tears.  But  the  ped- 
dler seemed  struck  with  very  different  feelings.  His  first 
look  was  at  the  fire,  which  had  been  recently  supplied  with 
fuel  ;  he  then  drew  open  a  small  drawer  of  the  table,  and 
looked  a  little  alarmed  at  finding  it  empty. 


330  THE   SPY. 

"Are  you  alone,  Miss  Fanny?"  he  asked,  in  a  quick 
voice  ;  "you  did  not  come  here  alone  ? " 

"  As  you  see  me,  Mr.  Birch,"  said  Frances,  raising  her- 
self from  her  brother's  arms,  and  turning  an  expressive 
glance  toward  the  secret  cavern,  that  the  quick  eye  of  the 
peddler  instantly  understood. 

"But  why  and  wherefore  are  you  here  ?"  exclaimed  her 
astonished  brother  ;  "  and  how  knew  you  of  this  place  at 
all!" 

Frances  entered  at  once  into  a  brief  detail  of  what  had 
occurred  at  the  house  since  their  departure,  and  the  mo- 
tives which  induced  her  to  seek  them. 

"  But,"  said  Birch,  "why  follow  us  here,  when  we  were 
left  on  the  opposite  hill  ?" 

Frances  related  the  glimpse  that  she  had  caught  of  the 
hut  and  peddler,  in  her  passage  through  the  Highlands, 
as  well  as  her  view  of  him  on  that  day,  and  her  immediate 
conjecture  that  the  fugitives  would  seek  the  shelter  of  his 
habitation  for  the  night.  Birch  examined  her  features  as, 
with  open  ingenuousness,  she  related  the  simple  incidents 
that  had  made  her  mistress  of  his  secret ;  and,  as  she 
ended  he  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and,  striking  the  window 
with  the  stick  in  his  hand,  demolished  it  at  a  blow. 

"  'Tis  but  little  luxury  or  comfort  that  I  know,"  he  said, 
"but  even  that  little  cannot  be  enjoyed  in  safety!  Miss 
Wharton,"  he  added,  advancing  before  Fanny,  and  speak- 
ing with  the  bitter  melancholy  that  was  common  to  him, 
"  I  am  hunted  through  these  hills  like  a  beast  *bf  the  for- 
est ;  but  whenever,  tired  with  my  toils,  I  can  reach  this 
spot,  poor  and  dreary  as  it  is,  I  can  spend  my  solitary  nights 
in  safety.  Will  you  aid  to  make  the  life  of  a  wretch  still 
more  miserable  ? " 

"Never!"  cried  Frances,  with  fervor;  "your  secret  is 
safe  with  me." 

"  Major  Dunwoodie — "  said  the  peddler,  slowly  turn- 
ing an  eye  upon  her  that  read  her  soul. 

Frances  lowered  her  head  upon  her  bosom  for  a  mo- 
ment, in  shame  ;  then,  elevating  her  fine  and  glowing  face, 
she  added,  with  enthusiasm  : 

"  Never,  never,  Harvey,  as  God  may  hear  my  prayers  ! " 

The  peddler  seemed  satisfied  ;  for  he  drew  back,  and, 
watching  his  opportunity,  unseen  by  Henry,  slipped  be- 
hind the  screen,  and  entered  the  cavern. 

Frances  and  her  brother,  who  thought  his  companion 
had  passed  through  the  door,  continued  conversing  on  the 


THE   SPY.  33I 

latter's  situation  for  several  minutes,  when  the  former 
urged  the  necessity  of  expedition  on  his  part,  in  order  to 
precede  Dunwoodie,  from  whose  sense  of  duty  they  knew 
they  had  no  escape.  The  captain  took  out  his  pocket- 
book,  and  wrote  a  few  lines  with  his  pencil ;  then  folding 
the  paper,  he  handed  it  to  his  sister. 

"Frances,"  he  said,  "you  have  this  night  proved  your- 
self to  be  an  incomparable  woman.  As  you  love  me,  give 
that  unopened  to  Dunwoodie,  and  remember  that  two 
hours  may  save  my  life." 

"  I  will — I  will ;  but  why  delay?  Why  not  fly,  and  im- 
prove these  precious  moments  ?  " 

"  Your  sister  says  well,  Captain  Wharton,"  exclaimed 
Harvey,  who  had  re-entered  unseen  ;  "we  must  ge*at  once. 
Here  is  food  to  eat,  as  we  travel." 

"  But  who  is  to  see  this  fair  creature  in  safety  ?"  cried 
the  captain.  "  I  can  never  desert  my  sister  in  such  a  place 
as  this." 

"  Leave  me  !  leave  me !  "  said  Frances  ;  "  I  can  descend 
as  I  came  up.  Do  not  doubt  me  ;  you  know  not  my  cour- 
age nor  my  strength." 

"  I  have  not  known  you,  dear  girl,  it  is  true  ;  but  now,  as 
I  learn  your  value,  can  I  quit  you  here  ?  Never,  never  !  " 

"  Captain  Wharton,"  said  Birch,  throwing  open  the 
door,  "  you  can  trifle  with  your  own  lives,  if  you  have 
many  to  spare.  I  have  but  one,  and  must  nurse  it.  Do  I 
go  alone,  or  not  ?  " 

"Go,  go,  dear  Henry,"  said  Frances,  embracing  him; 
"go;  remember  our  father;  remember  Sarah."  She 
waited  not  for  his  answer,  but  gently  forced  him  through 
the  door  and  closed  it  with  her  own  hands. 

For  a  short  time  there  was  a  warm  debate  between 
Henry  and  the  peddler,  but  the  latter  finally  prevailed, 
and  the  breathless  girl  heard  the  successive  plunges,  as 
they  went  down  the  sides  of  the  mountain  at  a  rapid  rate. 

Immediately  after  the  noise  of  their  departure  had 
ceased,  Harper  reappeared.  He  took  the  arm  of  Frances 
in  silence,  and  led  her  from  the  hut.  The  way  seemed 
familiar  to  him  ;  for  ascending  to  the  ledge  above  them,  he 
led  his  companion  across  the  table-land  tenderly,  pointing 
out  the  little  difficulties  in  their  route,  and  cautioning  her 
against  injury. 

Frances  felt,  as  she  walked  by  the  side  of  this  extraor- 
dinary man,  that  she  was  supported  by  one  of  no  common 
stamp.  The  firmness  of  his  step,  and  the  composure  of  his 


332  THE   SPY. 

manner,  seemed  to  indicate  a  mind  settled  and  resolved. 
By  taking  a  route  over  the  back  of  the  hill,  they  descended 
with  great  expedition,  and  but  little  danger.  The  distance 
it  had  taken  Frances  an  hour  to  conquer,  was  passed  by 
Harper  and  his  companion  in  ten  minutes,  and  they  en- 
tered the  open  space  already  mentioned.  He  struck  into 
one  of  the  sheep-paths,  and,  crossing  the  clearing  with 
rapid  steps,  they  came  suddenly  upon  a  horse,  caparisoned 
for  a  rider  of  no  mean  rank.  The  noble  beast  snorted  and 
pawed  the  earth  as  his  master  approached  and  replaced 
the  pistols  in  the  holsters. 

Harper  then  turned,  and,  taking  the  hand  of  Frances, 
spoke  as  follows  : 

"You  have  this  night  saved  your  brother,  Miss  Whar- 
ton.  It  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  explain  wThy  there 
are  limits  to  my  ability  to  serve  him  ;  but  if  you  can  de- 
tain the  horse  for  two  hours,  he  is  assuredly  safe.  After 
what  you  have  already  done,  I  can  believe  you  equal  to 
any  duty.  God  has  denied  to  me  children,  young  lady  ; 
but  if  it  had  been  his  blessed  will  that  my  marriage  should 
not  have  been  childless,  such  a  treasure  as  yourself  would 
I  have  asked  from  his  mercy.  But  you  are  my  child  ;  all 
who  dwell  in  this  broad  land  are  my  children,  and  my 
care  ;  and  take  the  blessing  of  one  who  hopes  yet  to  meet 
you  in  happier  days." 

As  he  spoke,  with  a  solemnity  that  touched  Frances  to 
the  heart,  he  laid  his  hand  impressively  upon  her  head. 
The  guileless  girl  turned  her  face  toward  him,  and  the 
hood  again  falling  back,  exposed  her  lovely  features  to  the 
moonbeams.  A  tear  was  glistening  on  either  cheek,  and 
her  mild  blue  eyes  were  gazing  upon  him  in  reverence. 
Harper  bent  and  pressed  a  paternal  kiss  upon  her  forehead, 
and  continued — "Any  of  these  sheep-paths  will  take  you 
to  the  plain  ;  but  here  we  must  part — I  have  much  to  do, 
and  far  to  ride  ;  forget  me  in  all  but  your  prayers." 

He  then  mounted  his  horse,  and  lifting  his  hat,  rode 
toward  the  back  of  the  mountain,  descending  at  the  same 
time,  and  was  soon  hid  by  the  trees.  Frances  sprang  for- 
ward with  a  lightened  heart,  and  taking  the  first  path  that 
led  downward,  in  a  few  minutes  she  reached  the  plain  in 
safety.  While  busied  in  stealing  through  the  meadows  to- 
ward the  house,  the  noise  of  horses  approaching  startled 
her,  and  she  felt  how  much  more  was  to  be  apprehended 
from  man,  in  some  situations,  than  from  solitude.  Hiding 
her  form  in  the  angle  of  a  fence  near  the  road,  she  re- 


THE   SPY.  333 

mained  quiet  for  a  moment,  and  watched  their  passage. 
A  small  party  of  dragoons,  whose  dress  was  different  from 
the  Virginians,  passed  at  a  brisk  trot.  They  were  followed 
by  a  gentleman,  enveloped  in  a  large  cloak,  whom  she  at 
once  knew  to  be  Harper.  Behind  him  rode  a  black  in 
livery,  and  two  youths  in  uniform  brought  up  the  rear. 
Instead  of  taking  the  road  that  led  by  the  encampment, 
they  turned  short  to  the  left,  and  entered  the  hills. 

Wondering  who  this  unknown  but  powerful  friend  of 
her  brother  could  be,  Frances  glided  across  the  fields,  and 
using  due  precautions  in  approaching  the  dwelling,  re- 
gained her  residence  undiscovered  and  in  safety. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Hence,  bashful  cunning 
And  prompt  me,  plain  and  holy  innocence  ; 
I  am  your  wife,  if  you  will  marry  me. — Tempest. 

ON  joining  Miss  Peyton,  Frances  learnt  that  Dunwoodie 
was  not  yet  returned  ;  although,  with  a  view  to  relieve 
Henry  from  the  importunities  of  the  supposed  fanatic,  he 
had  desired  a  very  respectable  divine  of  their  own  church 
to  ride  up  from  the  river  and  offer  his  services.  This 
gentleman  was  already  arrived,  and  had  been  passing  the 
half-hour  he  had  been  there  in  a  sensible  and  well-bred 
conversation  with  the  spinster,  that  in  no  degree  touched 
upon  their  domestic  affairs. 

To  the  eager  inquiries  of  Miss  Peyton,  relative  to  her 
success  in  her  romantic  excursion,  Frances  could  say  no 
more  than  that  she  was  bound  te  be  silent,  and  to  recom- 
mend the  same  precaution  to  the  good  maiden  also.  There 
was  a  smile  playing  around  the  beautiful  mouth  of  Frances, 
while  she  uttered  this  injunction,  which  satisfied  her  aunt 
that  all  was  as  it  should  be.  She  was  urging  her  niece  to 
take  some  refreshment  after  her  fatiguing  expedition,  when 
the  noise  of  a  horseman  riding  to  the  door  announced  the 
return  of  the  major.  He  had  been  found  by  the  courier, 
who  was  despatched  by  Mason,  impatiently  waiting  the  re- 
turn of  Harper  to  the  ferry,  and  immediately  flew  to  the 
place  where  his  friend  had  been  confined,  tormented  by  a 
thousand  conflicting  fears.  The  heart  of  Frances  bounded 
as  she  listened  to  his  approaching  footsteps.  It  wanted  yet 


334 


77/A 


an  hour  to  the  termination  of  the  shortest  period  that  the 
peddler  had  fixed  as  the  time  necessary  to  effect  his  escape. 
Even  Harper,  powerful  and  well-disposed  as  he  acknowl- 
edged himself  to  be,  had  laid  great  stress  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  detaining  the  Virginians  during  that  hour.  She, 
however,  had  not  time  to  rally  her  thoughts  before  Dun- 
woodie  entered  one  door,  as  Miss  Peyton,  with  the  readi- 
ness of  female  instinct,  retired  through  another. 

The  countenance  of  Peyton  was  flushed,  and  an  air  of 
vexation  and  disappointment  pervaded  his  manner. 

"'Twas  imprudent,  Frances;  nay,  it  was  unkind,"  he 
cried,  throwing  himself  in  a  chair,  "to  fly  at  the  very  mo- 
ment that  I  had  assured  him  of  safety  !  I  can  almost  per- 
suade myself  that  you  delight  in  creating  points  of  differ- 
ence in  our  feelings  and  duties." 

"In  our  duties  there  may  very  possibly  be  a  difference," 
returned  his  mistress,  approaching,  and  leaning  her  slender 
form  against  the  wall  ;  "  but  not  in  our  feelings,  Peyton. 
You  must  certainly  rejoice  in  the  escape  of  Henry !" 

"  There  was  no  danger  impending.  He  had  the  promise 
of  Harper,  and  it  is  a  word  never  to  be  doubted.  Oh  ! 
Frances  !  Frances  !  had  you  known  the  man,  you  would 
never  have  distrusted  his  assurance,  nor  would  you  have 
again  reduced  me  to  the  distressing  alternative." 

"What  alternative  ?"  asked  Frances,  pitying  his  emo- 
tions deeply,  but  eagerly  seizing  upon  every  circumstance 
to  prolong  the  interview. 

"  What  alternative  !  Am  I  not  compelled  to  spend  this 
night  in  the  saddle  to  recapture  your  brother,  when  I  had 
thought  to  lay  my  head  on  its  pillow,  with  the  happy  con- 
sciousness of  having  contributed  to  his  release  ?  You  make 
me  seem  your  enemy  ;  I,  who  would  cheerfully  shed  the 
last  drop  of  blood  in  your  service.  I  repeat,  Frances,  it 
was  rash  ;  it  was  unkind  ;  it  was  a  sad,  sad  mistake." 

She  bent  toward  him,  and  timidly  took  one  of  his  hands, 
while  with  the  other  she  gently  removed  the  curls  from 
his  burning  brow. 

"Why  go  at  all,  dear  Peyton  ?"  she  asked  ;  "  you  have 
done  much  for  your  country,  and  she  cannot  exact  such  a 
sacrifice  as  this  at  your  hand." 

"Frances!  Miss  Wharton  ! "  exclaimed  the  youth, 
springing  on  his  feet  and  pacing  the  floor  with  a  cheek 
that  burned  through  its  brown  covering,  .and  an  eye  that 
sparkled  with  wounded  integrity  ;  "  it  is  not  my  country, 
but  my  honor,  that  requires  the  sacrifice.  Has  he  not  lied 


THE   SPY. 


335 


from  a  guard  of  my  own  corps  ?  But  for  this,  I  might  have 
been  spared  the  blow  !  But  if  the  eyes  of  the  Virginians 
are  blinded  to  deception  and  artifice,  their  horses  are  swift 
of  foot,  and  their  sabres  keen.  We  shall  see,  before  to- 
morrow's sun,  who  will  presume  to  hint  that  the  beauty  of 
the  sister  furnished  a  mask  to  conceal  the  brother!  Yes, 
yes  ;  I  should  like,  even  now,"  he  continued,  laughing 
bitterly,  "  to  hear  the  villain  who  would  dare  to  surmise 
that  such  treachery  existed  !  " 

"  Peyton,  dear  Peyton,"  said  Frances,  recoiling  from  his 
angry  eye,  "you  curdle  my  blood — would  you  kill  my 
brother?" 

"  Would  I  not  die  for  him  ?  "  exclaimed  Dunwoodie,  as 
he  turned  to  her  more  mildly  ;  "you  know  I  would;  but  I 
am  distracted  with  the  cruel  surmise  to  which  this  step  of 
Henry's  subjects  me.  What  will  Washington  think  of  me, 
should  he  learn  that  I  ever  became  your  husband  ?" 

"If  that  alone  impels  you  to  act  so  harshly  toward  my 
brother,"   returned   Frances,   with  a  slight  tremor  in  her 
voice,  "  let  it  never  happen  for  him  to  learn." 
"And  this  is  consolation,  Frances  !  " 
"Nay,  dear  Dunwoodie,  I  meant  nothing  harsh  or  un- 
kind ;  but  are  you  not  making  us  both  of  more  consequence 
with  Washington  than  the  truth  will  justify  ?" 

"  I  trust  that  my  name  is  not  entirely  unknown  to  the 
commander-in-chief,"  said  the  major,  a  little  proudly  ;  "  nor 
are  you  as  obscure  as  your  modesty  would  make  you.  I 
believe  you,  Frances,  when  you  say  that  you  pity  me,  and 
it  must  be  my  task  to  continue  worthy  of  such  feelings. 
But  I  waste  the  precious  moments  ;  we  must  go  through 
the  hills  to-night,  that  we  may  be  refreshed  in  time  for 
the  duty  of  to-morrow.  Mason  is  already  waiting  my  or- 
ders to  mount.  Frances,  I  leave  you  with  a  heavy  heart  , 
pity  me,  but  feel  no  concern  for  your  brother  ;  he  must 
again  become  a  prisoner,  but  every  hair  of  his  head  is 
sacred." 

"  Stop  !  Dunwoodie,  I .  conjure  you,"  cried  Frances, 
gasping  for  breath,  as  she  noticed  that  the  hand  of  the 
clock  still  wanted  many  minutes  to  the  desired  hour  ;  "  be- 
fore you  go  on  your  errand  of  fastidious  duty,  read  this 
note  that  Henry  has  left  for  you,  and  which,  doubtless,  he 
thought  he  was  writing  to  the  friend  of  his  youth." 

"  Frances,  I  excuse  your  feelings  ;  but  the  time  will 
come  when  you  will  do  rne  justice." 

"That  time  is  now,"  she  answered,  extending  her  hand, 


336  T/IK   SPY. 

unable  any  longer  to  feign  a  displeasure  that  she  did  not 
feel. 

"  Where  got  you  this  note  ? "  exclaimed  the  youth,  glanc- 
ing his  eyes  over  its  contents.  "  Poor  Henry,  you  are  in- 
deed my  friend  !  If  anyone  wishes  me  happiness,  it  is 
you  !  " 

"He  does,  he  does,"  cried  Frances,  eagerly  ;  "he wishes 
you  every  happiness  ;  believe  what  he  tells  you  ;  every 
word  is  true." 

"  I  do  believe  him,  lovely  girl,  and  he  refers  me  to  you 
for  its  confirmation.  Would  that  I  could  trust  equally  to 
your  affections  ! " 

"  You  may,  Peyton,"  said  Frances,  looking  up  with  in- 
nocent confidence  toward  her  lover. 

"  Then  read  for  yourself,  and  verify  your  words,"  inter- 
rupted Dunwoodie,  holding  the  note  toward  her. 

Frances  received  it  in  astonishment,  and  read  the  follow- 
ing : 

"  Life  is  too  precious  to  be  trusted  to  uncertainties.  I  leave 
you,  Peyton,  unknown  to  all,  biit  Cczsar,  and  I  recommend  him  to 
your  mercy.  But  there  is  a  care  that  weighs  me  to  the  earth. 
Look  at  my  aged  and  infirm  parent.  He  will  be  reproached  for 
the  supposed  crime  of  his  son.  Look  at  those  helpless  sisters  that 
J  leave  behind  me  without  a  protector.  Prove  to  me  that  you  love 
us  all.  Let  the  clergyman  whom  you  will  bring  with  you  unite 
you  this  night  to  Frances,  and  become  at  once  brother,  son,  ami 
husband." 

The  paper  fell  from  the  hands  of  Frances,  and  she  en- 
deavored to  raise  her  eyes  to  the  face  of  Dunwoodie,  but 
they  sank  abashed  to  the  floor. 

"  Am  I  worthy  of  this  confidence  ?  Will  you  send  me 
out  this  night,  to  meet  my  own  brother  ?  or  will  it  be  the 
officer  of  Congress  in  quest  of  the  officer  of  Britain  ?" 

"  And  would  you  do  less  of  your  duty  because  I  am  your 
wife,  Major  Dunwoodie  ?  In  what  degree  would  it  better 
the  condition  of  Henry?" 

"  Henry,  I  repeat,  is  safe.  The  word  of  Harper  is  his 
guarantee  ;  but  I  will  show  the  world  a  bridegroom,"  con- 
tinued the  youth,  perhaps  deceiving  himself  a  little,  "who 
is  equal  to  the  duty  of  arresting  the  brother  of  his  bride." 

"And  will  the  world  comprehend  this  refinement?" 
said  Frances,  with  a  musing  air,  that  lighted  a  thousand 
hopes  in  the  bosom  of  her  lover.  In  fact,  the  temptation 


THE  SPY.  337 

was  mighty.  Indeed,  there  seemed  no  other  way  to  detain 
Dunwoodie  until  the  fatal  hour  had  elapsed.  The  words 
of  Harper  himself,  who  had  so  lately  told  her  that  openly 
he  could  do  but  little  for  Henry,  and  that  everything  de- 
pended upon  gaining  time,  were  deeply  engraved  upon  her 
memory.  Perhaps  there  was  also  a  fleeting  thought  of  the 
possibility  of  an  eternal  separation  from  her  lover,  should 
he  proceed  and  bring  back  her  brother  to  punishment.  It 
is  difficult  at  all  times  to  analyze  human  emotions,  and  they 
pass  through  the  sensitive  heart  of  a  woman  with  the  ra- 
pidity and  nearly  with  the  vividness  of  lightning. 

"Why  do  you  hesitate,  dear  Frances?"  cried  Dun- 
woodie, who  was  studying  her  varying  countenance  ;  "a 
few  minutes  might  give  me  a  husband's  claim  to  protect 
you." 

Frances  grew  giddy.  She  turned  an  anxious  eye  to  the 
clock,  and  the  hand  seemed  to  linger  over  its  face,  as  if 
with  intent  to  torture  her. 

"  Speak,  Frances,"  murmured  Dunwoodie  ;  "  may  I 
summon  my  good  kinswoman?  Determine,  for  time 
presses." 

She  endeavored  to  reply,  but  could  only  whisper  some- 
thing that  was  inaudible,  but  which  her  lover,  with  the 
privilege  of  immemorial  custom,  construed  into  assent. 
He  turned  and  flew  to  the  door,  when  his  mistress  recov- 
ered her  voice  : 

"Stop,  Peyton  !  I  cannot  enter  into  such  a  solemn  en- 
gagement with  a  fraud  upon  my  conscience.  I  have  seen 
Henry  since  his  escape,  and  time  is  all-important  to  him. 
Here  is  my  hand  ;  if,  with  this  knowledge  of  the  conse- 
quences of  delay,  you  will  not  reject  it,  it  is  freely  yours." 

"  Reject  it !  "  cried  the  delighted  youth  ;  "  I  take  it  as 
the  richest  gift  of  heaven.  There  is  time  enough  for  us 
all.  Two  hours  will  take  me  through  the  hills  ;  and  by 
noon  to-morrow  I  will  return  with  Washington's  pardon 
for  your  brother,  and  Henry  will  help  to  enliven  our  nup- 
tials." 

"  Then  meet  me  here  in  ten  minutes,"  said  Frances, 
greatly  relieved  by  unburthening  her  mind,  and  filled  with 
the  hope  of  securing  Henry's  safety,  "and  I  will  return 
and  take  those  vows  which  will  bind  me  to  you  forever." 

Dunwoodie  paused  only  to  press  her  once  to  his  bosom, 
and  flew  to  communicate  his  wishes  to  the  priest. 

Miss  Peyton  received  the  avowal  of  her  niece  with  in- 
finite astonishment,  and  a  little  displeasure.  It  was  violat- 


338  THE   SPY. 

ing  all  the  order  and  decorum  of  a  wedding  to  get  it  up 
so  hastily,  and  with  so  little  ceremony.  But  Frances,  with 
modest  firmness,  declared  that  her  resolution  was  taken  ; 
she  had  long  possessed  the  consent  of  her  friends,  and 
their  nuptials,  for  months,  had  only  waited  her  pleasure. 
She  had  now  promised  Dunwoodie,  and  it  was  her  wish  to 
comply  ;  more  she  dare  not  say  without  committing  her- 
self, by  entering  into  explanations  that  might  endanger 
Birch  or  Harper,  or  both.  Unused  to  contention,  and 
really  much  attached  to  her  kinsman,  the  feeble  objections 
of^Miss  Peyton  gave  way  to  the  firmness  of  her  niece. 
Mr.  Wharton  was  too  completely  a  convert  to  the  doctrine 
of  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance  to  withstand  any 
solicitation  from  an  officer  of  Dunwoodie's  influence  in 
the  rebel  armies;  and  the  maid  returned  to  the  apartment, 
accompanied  by  her  father  and  aunt,  at  the  expiration  of 
the  time  that  she  had  fixed.  Dunwoodie  and  the  clergy- 
man were  already  there.  Frances  silently,  and  without 
the  affectation  of  reserve,  placed  in  his  hand  the  wedding- 
ring  of  her  own  mother,  and,  after  some  little  time  spent 
in  arranging  Mr.  Wharton  and  herself,  Miss  Peyton  suf- 
fered the  ceremony  to  proceed. 

The  clock  stood  directly  before  the  eyes  of  Frances, 
and  she  turned  many  an  anxious  glance  at  the  dial  ;  but 
the  solemn  language  of  the  priest  soon  caught  her  atten- 
tion, and  her  mind  became  intent  upon  the  vows  she  was 
uttering.  The  ceremony  was  quickly  over,  and  as  the 
clergyman  closed  the  words  of  benediction,  the  clock  told 
the  hour  of  nine.  This  was  the  time  that  Harper  had 
deemed  so  important,  and  Frances  felt  as  if  a  mighty  load 
was  at  once  removed  from  her  heart. 

Dunwoodie  folded  her  in  his  arms,  saluted  the  mild  aunt 
again  and  again,  and  shook  Mr.  Wharton  and  the  divine 
repeatedly  by  the  hand.  In  the  midst  of  the  felicitation, 
a  tap  was  heard  at  the  door.  It  was  opened,  and  Mason 
appeared. 

"We  are  in  the  saddle,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "and,  with 
your  permission,  I  will  lead  on  ;  as  you  are  so  well 
mounted,  you  can  overtake  us  at  your  leisure." 

"Yes,  yes,  my  good  fellow  ;  march,"  cried  Dunwoodie, 
gladly  seizing  an  excuse  to  linger  ;  "  I  will  reach  you  at 
the  first  halt." 

The  subaltern  retired  to  execute  these  orders  ;  he  was 
followed  by  Mr.  Wharton  and  the  divine. 

"  Now,  Peyton,"  said  Frances,  "it  is  indeed  a  brother 


THE   SPY. 


339 


that  you  seek  ;  I  am  sure  I  need  not  caution  you  in  his 
behalf,  should  you  unfortunately  find  him." 

"  Say  fortunately,"  cried  the  youth  ;  "  for  I  am  deter- 
mined he  shall  yet  dance  at  my  wedding.  Would  that  I 
could  win  him  to  our  cause  !  it  is  the  cause  of  his  coun- 
try ;  and  I  could  fight  with  more  pleasure,  Frances,  with 
your  brother  by  my  side." 

"  Oh  !  mention  it  not !  you  awaken  terrible  reflections." 

"I  will  not  mention  it,"  returned  her  husband;  "but 
I  must  now  leave  you.  But  the  sooner  I  go,  Frances,  the 
sooner  I  shall  return." 

The  noise  of  a  horseman  was  heard  approaching  the 
house,  and  Dunwoodie  was  yet  taking  leave  of  his  bride 
and  her  aunt,  when  an  officer  was  shown  into  the  room  by 
his  own  man. 

The  gentleman  wore  the  dress  of  an  aide-de-camp,  and 
the  major  at  once  knew  him  to  be  one  of  the  military 
family  of  Washington. 

"  Major  Dunwoodie,"  he  said,  after  bowing  to  the  ladies, 
"  the  commander-in-chief  has  directed  me  to  give  you 
these  orders." 

He  executed  his  mission,  and,  pleading  duty,  took  his 
leave  immediately. 

"•Here,  indeed,"  cried  the  major,  "is  an  unexpected 
turn  in  the  whole  affair  ;  but  I  understand  it  ;  Harper  has 
got  my  letter,  and  already  we  feel  his  influence." 

"  Have  you  news  affecting  Henry  ? "  cried  Frances, 
springing  to  his  side. 

"  Listen,  and  you  shall  judge." 

"  SIR  :  Upon  the  receipt  of  this,  you  will  concentrate 
your  squadron,  so  as  to  be  in  front  of  a  covering  party 
which  the  enemy  has  sent  up  in  front  of  his  forager,  by 
ten  o'clock  to-morrow,  on  the  heights  of  Croton,  where 
you  will  find  a  body  of  foot  to  support  you.  The  escape 
of  the  English  spy  has  been  reported  to  me,  but  his  arrest 
is  unimportant,  compared  with  the  duty  I  now  assign  you. 
You  will,  therefore,  recall  your  men,  if  any  are  in  pursuit, 
and  endeavor  to  defeat  the  enemy  forthwith. 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

"Thank  God!"  cried  Dunwoodie,  "  my  hands  are 
washed  of  Henry's  recapture  ;  I  can  now  move  to  my  duty 
with  honor." 


340  THE   SPY. 

"  And  with  prudence,  too,  dear  Peyton,"  said  Frances, 
with  a  face  as  pale  as  death  ;  "  remember,  Dunwoodie,  you 
leave  behind  you  new  claims  on  your  life." 

The  youth  dwelt  on  her  lovely  but  pallid  features  with 
rapture  ;  and,  as  he  folded  her  to  his  heart,  exclaimed  : 

"  For  your  sake,  I  will,  lovely  innocent  ! "  Frances 
sobbed  a  moment  on  his  bosom,  and  he  tore  himself  from 
her  presence. 

Miss  Peyton  retired  with  her  niece,  to  whom  she  con- 
ceived it  necessary,  before  they  separated  for  the  night,  to 
give  an  admonitory  lecture  on  the  subject  of  matrimonial 
duty.  Her  instruction  was  modestly  received,  if  not  prop- 
erly digested.  We  regret  that  history  has  not  handed 
down  to  us  this  precious  dissertation  ;  but  the  result  of  all 
our  investigation  has  been  to  learn  that  it  partook  largely 
of  those  peculiarities  which  are  said  to  tincture  the  rules 
prescribed  to  govern  bachelors'  children.  We  shall  now 
leave  the  ladies  of  the  Wharton  family,  and  return  to  Cap- 
tain Wharton  and  Harvey  Birch. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  peddler  and  his  companion  soon  reached  the  val- 
ley, and,  after  pausing  to  listen,  and  hearing  no  sounds 
which  announced  that  pursuers  were  abroad,  they  entered 
the  highway.  Acquainted  with  every  step  that  led 
through  the  mountains,  and  possessed  of  sinews  inured  to 
toil,  Birch  led  the  way,  with  the  lengthened  strides  that 
were  peculiar  to  the  man  and  his  profession  ;  his  pack 
alone  was  wanting  to  finish  the  appearance  of  his  ordi- 
nary business  air.  At  times,  when  they  approached  one  of 
those  little  posts  held  by  the  American  troops,  with  which 
the  Highlands  abounded,  he  would  take  a  circuit  to  avoid 
the  sentinels,  and  plunge  fearlessly  into  a  thicket,  or  as- 
cend a  rugged  hill  that  to  the  eye  seemed  impassable. 
But  the  peddler  was  familiar  with  every  turn  in  their  dif- 
ficult route,  knew  where  the  ravines  might  be  penetrated, 
or  where  the  streams  were  fordable.  In  one  or  two  in- 
stances, Henry  thought  that  their  further  progress  was 
absolutely  at  an  end,  but  the  ingenuity,  or  knowledge,  of 
his  guide,  conquered  every  difficulty.  After  walking  at  a 
great  rate  for  three  hours,  they  suddenly  diverged  from 
the  road,  which  inclined  to  the  east,  and  held  their  course 


THE   SPY. 


341 


directly  across  the  hills,  in  a  due  south  direction.  This 
movement  was  made,  the  peddler  informed  his  compan- 
ion, in  order  to  avoid  the  parties  who  constantly  patrolled 
in  the  southern  entrance  of  the  Highlands,  as  well  as  to 
shorten  the  distance,  by  travelling  in  a  straight  line. 
After  reaching  the  summit  of  a  hill,  Harvey  seated  him- 
self by  the  side  of  a  little  run,  and,  opening  a  wallet  that 
he  had  slung  where  his  pack  was  commonly  suspended, 
he  invited  his  comrade  to  partake  of  the  coarse  fare  it 
contained.  Henry  had  kept  pace  with  the  peddler,  more 
by  the  excitement  natural  to  his  situation  than  by  the 
equality  of  his  physical  powers.  The  idea  of  a  halt  was 
unpleasant,  so  long  as  there  existed  a  possibility  of  the 
horse  getting  below  him  in  time  to  intercept  their  retreat 
through  the  neutral  ground.  He  therefore  stated  his  ap- 
prehensions to  his  companion,  and  urged  a  wish  to  pro- 
ceed. 

"  Follow  my  example,  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  ped- 
dler, commencing  his  frugal  meal  ;  "  if  the  horse  have 
started,  it  will  be  more  than  man  can  do  to  head  them  ;  and 
if  they  have  not,  work  is  cut  out  for  them  that  will  drive 
all  thoughts  of  you  and  me  from  their  brains." 

"  You  said,  yourself,  that  two  hours'  detention  was  all-im- 
portant to  us,  and  if  we  loiter  here,  of  what  use  will  be  the 
advantage  that  we  may  have  already  obtained  ? " 

"  The  time  is  passed,  and  Major  Dunwoodie  thinks  little 
of  following  two  men,  when  hundreds  are  waiting  for  him 
on  the  banks  of  the  river." 

"  Listen,"  interrupted  Henry  ;  "  there  are  horse  at  this 
moment  passing  the  foot  of  the  hill.  I  hear  them  even  laugh- 
ing and  talking  to  each  other.  Hist !  there  is  the  voice  of 
Dunwoodie  himself  ;  he  calls  to  his  comrades  in  a  manner 
that  shows  but  little  uneasiness.  One  would  think  that  the 
situation  of  his  friend  would  lower  his  spirits  ;  surely  Fran- 
ces could  not  have  given  him  the  letter." 

On  hearing  the  first  exclamation  of  the  captain,  Birch 
arose  from  his  seat,  and  approached  cautiously  to  the  brow 
of  the  hill,  taking  care  to  keep  his  body  in  the  shadow  of 
the  rocks,  so  as  to  be  unseen  at  any  distance,  and  earnestly 
reconnoitred  the  group  of  passing  horsemen.  He  con- 
tinued listening  until  their  footsteps  were  no  longer  audi- 
ble, and  then  quietly  returned  to  his  seat,  and  with  incom- 
parable coolness  resumed  his  meal. 

"  You  have  a  long  walk,  and  a  tiresome  one,  before  you, 
Captain  Wharton  ;  you  had  better  do  as  I  do — you  were 


342  THE   SPY. 

eager  for  food  at  the  hut  above  Fishkill,  but  travelling 
seems  to  have  worn  down  your  appetite." 

"  1  thought  myself  safe  then,  but  the  information  of  my 
sister  fills  me  with  uneasiness,  and  I  cannot  eat." 

"  You  have  less  reason  to  be  troubled  now  than  at  any 
tinae  since  the  night  before  you  were  taken,  when  you  re- 
fused my  advice  and  an  offer  to  see  you  in,  in  safety,"  re- 
turned the  peddler.  "  Major  Dunwoodie  is  not  a  man  to 
laugh  and  be  gay  when  his  friend  is  in  difficulty.  Come, 
then,  and  eat,  for  no  horse  will  be  in  our  way,  if  we  can 
hold  our  legs  for  four  hours  longer,  and  the  sun  keeps  be- 
hind the  hills  as  long  as  common." 

There  was  a  composure  in  the  peddler's  manner  that  en- 
couraged his  companion  ;  and  having  once  determined  to 
submit  to  Harvey's  government,  he  suffered  himself  to  be 
persuaded  into  a  tolerable  supper,  if  quantity  be  considered 
without  any  reference  to  the  'quality.  After,  completing 
their  repast,  the  peddler  resumed  his  journey. 

Henry  followed  in  blind  submission  to  his  will.  For 
two  hours  more  they  struggled  with  the  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous passes  of  the  Highlands,  without,  road  or  any  other 
guide  than  the  moon,  which  was  travelling  the  heavens, 
now  wading  through  flying  clouds,  and  now  shining 
brightly.  At  length  they  arrived  at  a  point  where  the 
mountains  sunk  into  rough  and  unequal  hillocks,  and  passed 
at  once  from  the  barren  sterility  of  the  precipices  to  the 
imperfect  culture  of  the  neutral  ground. 

The  peddler  now  became  more  guarded  in  the  manner 
in  which  they  proceeded,  and  took  divers  precautions  to 
prevent  meeting  any  moving  parties  of  the  Americans. 
With  the  stationary  posts  he  was  too  familiar  to  render  it 
probable  he  might  fall  upon  any  of  them  unawares.  He 
wound  among  the  hills  and  vales,  now  keeping  the  high- 
ways and  now  avoiding  them,  with  a  precision  that  seemed 
instinctive.  There  was  nothing  elastic  in  his  tread,  but  he 
glided  over  the  ground  with  enormous  strides  and  a  body 
bent  forward,  without  appearing  to  use  exertion  or  know 
weariness. 

The  moon  had  set,  and  a  faint  streak  of  light  was  be- 
ginning to  show  itself  in  the  east.  Captain  Wharton  vent- 
ured to  express  a  sense  of  fatigue,  and  to  inquire  if  th'ey 
were  not  yet  arrived  at  a  part  of  the  country  where  it 
might  be  safe  to  apply  at  some  of  the  farm-houses  for  ad- 
mission. 

"  See  here,"   said  the   peddler,  pointing  to  a  hill,  at  & 


THE   SPY.  343 

short  distance  in  their  rear ;  "  do  you  not  see  a  man  walk- 
ing on  the  point  of  that  rock  ?  Turn,  so  as  to  bring  the 
daylight  in  the  range — now,  see,  he  moves,  and  seems  to 
be  looking  earnestly  at  something  to  the  eastward.  That 
is  a  royal  sentinel ;  two  hundred  of  the  rig'lar  troops  lay 
on  that  hill,  no  doubt  sleeping  on  their  arms." 

"Then,"  cried  Henry,  "let  us  join  them,  and  our  dan- 
ger is  ended." 

"  Softly,  softly,  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  peddler, 
dryly,  "  you've  once  been  in  the  midst  of  three  hundred 
of  them',  but  there  was  a  man  who  could  take  you  out  ; 
see  you  not  yon  dark  body,  on  the  side  of  the  opposite 
hill,  just  above  the  cornstalks  ?  There  are  the — the  rebels 
(since  that  is  the  word  for  us  royal  subjects),  waiting  only 
for  day,  to  see  who  will  be  master  of  the  ground." 

"  Nay,  then,"  exclaimed  the  fiery  youth,  "  I  will  join  the 
troops  of  my  prince,  and  share  their  fortunes,  be  it  good 
or  be  it  bad." 

"You  forget  that  you  fight  with  a  halter  round  your 
neck  ;  no,  no — I  have  promised  one  whom  I  must  not  dis- 
appoint, to  carry  you  safe  in,  and  unless  you  forget  what  I 
have  already  done,  and  what  I  have  risked  for  you,  Cap- 
tain Wharton,  you  will  turn,  a"nd  follow  me  to  Harlem." 

To  this  appeal  the  youth  felt  unwillingly  obliged  to  sub- 
mit;  and  they  continued  their  course  toward  the  city.  It 
was  not  long  before  they  gained  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 
After  searching  fora  short  time  under  the  shore,  the  ped- 
dler discovered  a  skiff,  that  appeared  to  be  an  old  acquaint- 
ance ;  and  entering  it  with  his  companion,  he  landed  him 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Croton.  Here  Birch  declared 
they  were  in  safety  ;  for  the  royal  troops  held  the  continen- 
tals at  bay,  and  the  former  were  out  in  too  great  strength 
for  the  light  parties  of  the  latter  to  trust  themselves  below 
that  river  on  the  immediate  banks  of  the  Hudson. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  arduous  flight  the  peddler 
had  manifested  a  coolness  and  presence  of  mind  that  noth- 
ing appeared  to  disturb.  All  his  faculties  seemed  to  be 
of  more  than  usual  perfection,  and  the  infirmities  of  nature 
to  have  no  dominion  over  him.  Henry  had  followed  him 
like  a  child  in  leading-strings,  and  he  now  reaped  his  re- 
ward, as  he  felt  a  bound  of  pleasure  at  his  heart  on  hear- 
ing that  he  was  relieved  from  apprehension  and  permitted 
to  banish  every  doubt  of  security. 

A  steep  and  laborious  ascent  brought  them  from  the 
level  of  the  tide-waters  to  the  highlands  that  form,  in  this 


344  TI!K   SPY. 

part  of  the  river,  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Hudson.  Retir- 
ing a  little  from  the  highway,  under  the  shelter  of  a  thicket 
of  cedars,  the  peddler  threw  his  form  on  a  flat  rock,  and 
announced  to  his  companion  that  the  hour  for  rest  and 
refreshment  was  at  length  arrived.  The  day  was  now 
opened,  and  objects  could  be  seen  in  the  distance  with  dis- 
tinctness. Beneath  them  lay  the  Hudson,  stretching  to  the 
south  in  a  straight  line,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  To 
the  north,  the  broken  fragments  of  the  Highlands  threw 
upward  their  lofty  heads,  above  masses  of  fog  that  hung 
over  the  water,  and  by  which  the  course  of  the  river  could 
be  traced  into  the  bosom  of  the  hills,  whose  conical  summits 
were  grouping  together,  one  behind  another,  in  that  disor- 
der which  might  be  supposed  to  have  succeeded  their  gi- 
gantic but  fruitless  efforts  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  flood. 
Emerging  from  these  confused  piles,  the  river,  as  if  rejoic- 
ing at  its  release  from  the  struggle,  expanded  into  a  wide 
bay,  which  was  ornamented  by  a  few  fertile  and  low  points 
that  jutted  humbly  into  its  broad  basin.  On  the  opposite 
or  western  shore,  the  rocks  of  Jersey  were  gathered  into 
an  array  that  has  obtained  for  them  the  name  of  the/#//- 
sadoes,  elevating  themselves  for  many  hundred  feet,  as  if 
to  protect  the  rich  country  in  their  rear  from  the  inroads 
of  the  conqueror  ;  but,  disdaining  such  an  enemy,  the 
river  swept  proudly  by  their  feet,  and  held  its  undeviating 
way  to  the  ocean.  A  ray  of  the  rising  sun  darted  upon 
the  slight  cloud  that  hung  over  the  placid  river,  and  at 
once  the  whole  scene  was  in  motion,  changing  and  assum- 
ing new  forms,  and  exhibiting  fresh  objects  in  each  suc- 
cessive moment.  At  the  daily  rising  of  this  great  curtain 
of  nature,  at  the  present  time,  scores  of  white  sails  and 
sluggish  vessels  are  seen  thickening  on  the  water,  with  that 
air  of  life  which  denotes  the  neighborhood  to  the  metrop- 
olis of  a  great  and  flourishing  empire  ;  but  to  Henry  and 
the  peddler  it  displayed  only  the  square  yards  and  lofty 
masts  of  a  vessel  of  war,  riding  a  few  miles  below  them. 
Before  the  fog  had  begun  to  move,  the  tall  spars  were  seen 
above  it,  and  from  one  of  them  a  long  pennant  was  feebly 
borne  abroad  in  the  current  of  night  air  that  still  quiv- 
ered along  the  river  ;  but  as  the  smoke  arose,  the  black 
hull,  the  crowded  and  complicated  mass  of  rigging,  and 
the  heavy  yards  and  booms,  spreading  their  arms  afar,  were 
successively  brought  into  view. 

"  There,  Captain  Wharton,"  said  the  peddler,  "there  is 
a  safe  resting-place  for  you  ;  America  has  no  arm  that  can 


THE    SPY. 


345 


reach  you,  if  you  gain  the  deck  of  that  ship.  She  is  sent 
up  to  cover  the  foragers,  and  support  the  troops  ;  the  rig'- 
lar  officers  are  fond  of  the  sound  of  cannon  from  their 
shipping." 

Without  condescending  to  reply  to  the  sarcasm  conveyed 
in  this  speech,  or  perhaps  not  noticing  it,  Henry  joyfully 
acquiesced  in  the  proposal,  and  it  was  accordingly  arranged 
between  them,  that,  as  soon  as  they  were  refreshed,  he 
should  endeavor  to  get.  on  board  the  vessel. 

While  busily  occupied  in  the  very  indispensable  opera- 
tion of  breaking  their  fast,  our  adventurers  were  startled 
with  the  sound  of  distant  firearms.  At  first  a  few  scatter- 
ing shots  were  fired,  which  were  succeeded  by  a  long  and 
animated  roll  of  musketry,  and  then  quick  and  heavy  vol- 
leys followed  each  other. 

"  Your  prophecy  is  made  good,"  cried  the  English  offi- 
cer, springing  upon  his  feet.  "  Our  troops  and  the  rebels 
are  at  it !  I  would  give  six  months'  pay  to  see  the  charge." 

"  Umph  !  "  returned  his  companion,  without  ceasing  his 
meal  ;  "  they  do  very  well  to  look  at  from  a  distance.  I 
can't  say  but  the  company  of  this  bacon,  cold  as  it  is,  is 
more  to  my  taste,  just  now,  than  a  hot  fire  from  the  con- 
tinentals." 

"  The  discharges  are  heavy  for  so  small  a  force  ;  but  the 
fire  seems  irregular." 

"  The  scattering  guns  are  from  the  Connecticut  militia," 
said  Harvey,  raising  his  head  to  listen  ;  "  they  rattle  it  off 
finely,  and  are  no  fools  at  a  mark.  The  volleys  are  the  rig'- 
lars,  who,  you  know,  fire  by  word — as  long  as  they  can." 

"  I  like  not  the  warmth  of  what  you  call  a  scattering 
fire,"  exclaimed  the  captain,  moving  about  with  uneasi- 
ness ;  "  it  is  more  like  the  roll  of  a  drum  than  the  shooting 
of  skirmishers." 

"  No,  no  ;  I  said  not  skrimmagers,"  returned  the  other, 
raising  himself  upon  a  knee  and  ceasing  to  eat  ;  "  so  long 
as  they  stand,  they  are  too  good  for  the  best  troops  in  the 
royal  army.  Each  man  does  his  work,  as  if  fighting  by  the 
job  ;  and  then  they  think  while  they  fight,  and  don't  send 
bullets  among  the  clouds,  that  were  meant  to  kill  men 
upon  earth." 

"  You  talk  and  look,  sir,  as  if  you  wished  them  success," 
said  Henry,  sternly. 

"  I  wish  success  to  the  good  cause  only,  Captain  Whar- 
ton.  I  thought  you  knew  me  too  well,  to  be  uncertain 
which  party  I  favored." 


346  THE    SPY. 

"Oh!  you  are  reputed  loyal,  Mr.  Birch.  But  the  vol- 
leys have  ceased  !  " 

Both  now  listened  intently  for  a  little  while,  during 
which  the  irregular  reports  became  less  brisk,  and  suddenly 
heavy  and  repeated  volleys  followed. 

"They've  been  at  the  bayonet,"  said  the  peddler  ;  "the 
rig'lars  have  tried  the  bayonet,  and  the  rebels  are  driven." 

"Ay,  Mr.  Birch,  the  bayonet  is  the  thing  for  the  British 
soldier,  after  all.  They  delight  in  the  bayonet  !  " 

"Well,  to  my  notion,"  said  the  peddler,  "there's  but 
little  delight  to  be  taken  in  any  such  fearful  weapon.  I 
dare  say  the  militia  are  of  my  mind,  for  half  of  them  don't 
carry  the  ugly  things.  Lord  !  Lord  !  captain,  I  wish  you'd 
go  with  me  once  into  the  rebel  camp,  and  hear  what  lies 
the  men  will  tell  about  Bunker  Hill  and  Burg'yne  ;  you'd 
think  they  loved  the  bayonet  as  much  as  they  do  their 
dinners." 

There  was  a  chuckle,  and  an  air  of  affected  innocency 
about  his  companion,  that  rather  annoyed  Henry,  and  he 
did  not  deign  to  reply. 

The  firing  now  became  desultory,  occasionally  inter- 
mingled with  heavy  volleys.  Both  of  the  fugitives  were 
standing,  listening  with  much  anxiety,  when  a  man,  armed 
with  a  musket,  was  seen  stealing  toward  them,  under  the 
shelter  of  the  cedar-bushes  that  partially  covered  the  hill. 
Henry  first  observed  this  suspicious-looking  stranger,  and 
instantly  pointed  him  out  to  his  companion.  Birch  started, 
and  certainly  made  an  indication  of  sudden  flight ;  but 
recollecting  himself,  he  stood,  in  sullen  silence,  until  the 
stranger  was  within  a  few  yards  of  them. 

"'Tis  friends,"  said  the  fellow,  clubbing  his  gun,  but  ap- 
parently afraid  to  venture  nearer. 

"You  had  better  retire,"  said  Birch  ;  "here  are  rig'lars 
at  hand.  We  are  not  near  Dunwoodie's  horse  now,  and 
you  will  not  find  me  an  easy  prize  to-day." 

"Damn  Major  Dunwoodie  and  his  horse!"  cried  the 
leader  of  the  Skinners  (for  it  was  he)  ;  "  God  bless  King 
George  !  and  a  speedy  end  to  the  rebellion,  say  I.  If  you 
would  show  me  the  safe  way  into  the  refugees,  Mr.  Birch, 
I'll  pay  you  well,  and  ever  after  stand  your  friend,  in  the 
bargain." 

"  The  road  is  as  open  to  you  as  to  me,"  said  Birch,  turn- 
ing from  him  in  ill-concealed  disgust  ;  "  if  you  want  to  find 
the  refugees,  you  know  well  where  they  lay." 

"  Ay,  but  I'm  a  little  doubtful  of  going  in  upon  them  by 


THE   SPY. 


347 


myself  ;  now,  you  are  well  known  to  them  all,  and  it  will 
be  no  detriment  to  you  just  to  let  me  go  in  with  you." 

Henry  here  interfered,  and  after  holding  a  short  dialogue 
with  the  fellow,  he  entered  into  a  compact  with  him/that, 
on  condition  of  surrendering  his  arms,  he  might  join  the 
party.  The  man  complied  instantly,  and  Birch  received  his 
gun  with  eagerness  ;  nor  did  he  lay  it  upon  his  shoulder  to 
renew  their  march,  before  he  had  carefully  examined  the 
priming  and  ascertained,  to  his  satisfaction,  that  it  con- 
tained a  good  dry  ball-cartridge. 

As  soon  as  this  engagement  was  completed,  they  com- 
menced their  journey  anew.  By  following  the  bank  of  the 
river,  Birch  led  the  way  free  from  observation,  until  they 
reached  the  point  opposite  to  the  frigate,  when,  by  making 
a  signal,  a  boat  was  induced  to  approach.  Some  time  was 
spent,  and  much  precaution  used,  before  the  seamen 
would  trust  themselves  ashore  ;  but  Henry  having  finally- 
succeeded  in  making  the  officer  who  commanded  the  party 
credit  his  assertions,  he  was  able  to  rejoin  his  companions 
in  arms  in  safety.  Before  taking  leave  of  Birch,  the  cap- 
tain handed  him  his  purse,  which  was  tolerably  well  sup- 
plied for  the  times  ;  the  peddler  received  it,  and,  watching 
an  opportunity,  he  conveyed  it,  unnoticed  by  the  Skinner, 
to  a  part  of  his  dress  that  was  ingeniously  contrived  to 
hold  such  treasures. 

The  boat  pulled  from  the  shore,  and  Birch  turned  on  his 
heel,  drawing  his  breath  like  one  relieved,  and  shot  up  the 
hills  with  the  strides  for  which  he  was  famous.  The  Skin- 
ner followed,  and  each  party  pursued  the  common  course, 
casting  frequent  and  suspicious  glances  at  the  other,  and 
both  maintaining  a  most  impenetrable  silence. 

Wagons  were  moving  along  the  river  road,  and  occa- 
sional parties  of  horse  were  seen  escorting  the  fruits  of  the 
inroad  toward  the  city.  As  the  peddler  had  views  of  his 
own,  he  rather  avoided  falling  in  with  any  of  these  pa- 
trols than  sought  their  protection.  But,  after  travelling  a 
few  miles  on  the  immediate  banks  of  the  river,  during 
which,  notwithstanding  the  repeated  efforts  of  the  Skinner 
to  establish  something  like  sociability,  he  maintained  a  most 
determined  silence,  keeping  a  firm  hold  of  the  gun,  and 
always  maintaining  a  jealous  watchfulness  of  his  associate, 
the  peddler  suddenly  struck  into  the  highway,  with  an  in- 
tention of  crossing  the  hills  toward  Harlem.  At  the  mo- 
ment he  gained  the  path  a  body  of  horse  came  over  a  lit- 
tle eminence,  and  was  upon  him  before  he  perceived  them. 


348  THE   SPY. 

It  was  too  late  to  retreat  ;  and  after  taking  a  view  of  the 
materials  that  composed  this  party,  Birch  rejoiced  at  the 
rencounter,  as  a  probable  means  of  relieving  him  from  his 
unwelcome  companion.  There  were  some  eighteen  or 
twenty  men,  mounted  and  equipped  as  dragoons,  though 
neither  their  appearance  nor  manners  denoted  much  dis- 
cipline. At  their  head  rode  a  heavy,  middle-aged  man, 
whose  features  expressed  as  much  of  animal  courage  and 
as  little  of  reason  as  could  be  desired  for  such  an  occupa- 
tion. He  wore  the  dress  of  an  officer,  but  there  was  none 
of  that  neatness  in  his  attire,  nor  grace  in  his  movements, 
that  was  usually  found  about  the  gentlemen  who  bore  the 
royal  commission.  His  limbs  were  firm,  and  not  pliable, 
and  he  sat  his  horse  with  strength  and  confidence,  but  his 
bridle-hand  would  have  been  ridiculed  by  the  meanest 
rider  among  the  Virginians.  As  he  expected,  this  leader 
instantly  hailed  the  peddler,  in  a  voice  by  no  means  more 
conciliating  than  his  appearance. 

"  Hey  ?  my  gentlemen,  which  way  so  fast  ? "  he  cried. 
"  Has  Washington  sent  you  down  as  spies  ? " 

"  I  am  an  innocent  peddler,"  returned  Harvey,  meekly, 
"  and  am  going  below,  to  lay  in  a  fresh  stock  of  goods." 

"  And  how  do  you  expect  to  get  below,  my  innocent 
peddler  ?  Do  you  think  we  hold  the  forts  at  Kingsbridge 
to  cover  such  peddling  rascals  as  you,  in  your  goings  in 
and  comings  out  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  hold  a  pass  that  will  carry  me  through," 
said  the  peddler,  handing  him  a  paper,  with  an  air  of  great 
indifference. 

The  officer,  for  such  he  was,  read  it  and  cast  a  look  of 
surprise  and  curiosity  at  Harvey  when  he  had  done. 

Then  turning  to  one  or  two  of  his  men,  who  had  offi- 
ciously stopped  the  wray,  he  cried  : 

"  Why  do  you  detain  the  man  ?  give  way,  and  let  him 
pass  in  peace  ;  but  who  have  we  here  ?  Your  name  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  pass  !  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  Skinner,  lifting  his  hat  with  humil- 
ity. "  I  have  been  a  poor  deluded  man,  who  has  been 
serving  in  the  rebel  army  ;  but,  thank  God,  I've  lived  to 
see  the  error  of  my  ways,  and  am  now  come  to  make  repa- 
ration, by  enlisting  under  the  Lord's  anointed." 

"  Umph  !  a  deserter — a  Skinner,  I'll  swear,  wanting  to 
turn  Cow-boy!  In  the  last  brush  I  had  with  the  scoun- 
drels I  could  hardly  tell  my  own  men  from  the  enemy. 
We  are  not  overvvell  supplied  with  coats,  and  as  for  coun« 


THE    SPY. 


349 


tenances,  the  rascals  change  sides  so  often  that  you  may 
as  well  count  their  faces  for  nothing  ;  but  trudge  on,  we 
will  contrive  to  make  use  of  you  sooner  or  later." 

Ungracious  as  was  this  reception,  if  you  could  judge  of 
the  Skinner's  feelings  from  his  manner,  it  nevertheless  de- 
lighted him.  He  moved  with  alacrity  toward  the  city,  and 
realty  was  so  happy  to  escape  the  brutal  looks  and  fright- 
ful manner  of  his  interrogator,  as  to  lose  sight  of  all  other 
considerations.  But  the  man  who  performed  the  functions 
of  orderly  in  the  irregular  troop  rode  up  to  the  side  of  his 
commander  and  commenced  a  close  and  apparently  a  con- 
fidential discourse  with  his  principal.  They  spoke  in 
whispers  and  cast  frequent  and  searching  glances  at  the 
Skinner,  until  the  fellow  began  to  think  himself  an  object 
of  more  than  common  attention.  His  satisfaction  at  this 
distinction  was  somewhat  heightened  at  observing  a  smile 
on  the  face  of  the  captain,  which,  although  it  might  be 
thought  grim,  certainly  denoted  satisfaction.  This  panto- 
mime occupied  the  time  they  were  passing  a  hollow,  and 
concluded  as  they  rose  another  hill.  Here  the  captain  and 
his  sergeant  both  dismounted,  and  ordered  the  party  to  halt. 
The  two  partisans  each  took  a  pistol  from  his  holster,  a 
movement  that  excited  no  suspicion  or  alarm,  as  it  was  a 
precaution  always  observed,  and  beckoned  to  the  peddler 
and  the  Skinner  to  follow.  A  short  walk  brought  them 
to  a  spot  where  the  hill  overhung  the  river,  the  ground 
falling  nearly  perpendicularly  to  the  shore.  On  the  brow 
of  the  eminence  stood  a  deserted  and  dilapidated  barn. 
Many  boards  of  its  covering  were  torn  from  their  places, 
and  its  wide  doors  were  lying,  the  one  in  front  of  the 
building,  and  the  other  half-way  down  the  precipice, 
whither  the  wrind  had  cast  it.  Entering  this  desolate  spot, 
the  refugee  officer  very  coolly  took  from  his  pocket  a  short 
pipe,  which,  from  long  use,  had  acquired  not  only  the  hue 
but  the  gloss  of  ebony,  a  tobacco-box,  and  a  small  roll  of 
leather,  that  contained  steel,  flint,  and  tinder.  With  this 
apparatus,  he  soon  furnished  his  mouth  with  a,  companion 
that  habit  had  long  rendered  necessary  to  reflection.  So 
soon  as  a  large  column  of  smoke  arose  from  this  arrange- 
ment, the  captain  significantly  held  forth  a  hand  toward 
his  assistant.  A  small  cord  was  produced  from  the  pocket 
of  the  sergeant,  and  handed  to  the  other.  The  refugee 
threw  out  vast  puffs  of  smoke,  until  nearly  all  of  his  head 
was  obscured,  and  looked  around  the  building  with  an  in- 
quisitive eye.  At  length  he  removed  the  pipe,  and  inhal- 


350  7777i    SPY. 

ing  a  draught  of  pure  air  returned  it  to  its  domicile,  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  business.  A  heavy  piece  of  timber 
lay  across  the  girths  of  the  barn,  but  a  little  way  from  the 
southern  door,  which  opened  directly  upon  a  full  view  of 
the  river,  as  it  stretched  far  away  toward  the  bay  of  New 
York.  Over  this  beam  the  refugee  threw  one  end  of  the 
rope,  and,  regaining  it,  joined  the  two  parts  in  his  hand. 
A  small  and  weak  barrel,  that  wanted  a  head,  the  staves 
of  which  were  loose,  and  at  one  end  standing  apart,  was 
left  on  the  floor  probably,  as  useless.  The  sergeant,  in 
obedience  to  a  look  from  his  officer,  placed  it  beneath  the 
beam.  All  of  these  arrangements  were  made  with  immov- 
able composure,  and  they  now  seemed  completed  to  the 
officer's  perfect  satisfaction. 

"Come,"  he  said  coolly  to  the  Skinner,  who,  admiring 
the  preparations,  had  stood  a  silent  spectator  of  their  prog- 
ress. He  obeyed,  and  it  was  not  until  he  found  his  neck- 
cloth removed,  and  hat  thrown  aside,  that  he  took  the 
alarm.  But  he  had  so  often  resorted  to  a  similar  expedi- 
ent to  extort  information,  or  plunder,  that  he  by  no  means 
felt  the  terror  an  unpractised  man  would  have  suffered  at 
these  ominous  movements.  The  rope  was  adjusted  to  his 
neck  with  the  same  coolness  that  formed  the  characteristic 
of  the  whole  movement,  and  a  fragment  of  a  board  being 
laid  upon  the  barrel,  he  was  ordered  to  mount. 

"  But  it  may  fall,"  said  the  Skinner,  for  the  first  time 
beginning  to  tremble.  "  I  will  tell  you  anything — even 
how  to  surprise  our  party  at  the  Pond,  without  all  this 
trouble,  and  it  is  commanded  by  my  own  brother." 

"  I  want  no  information,"  returned  his  executioner  (for 
such  he  now  seemed  really  to  be),  throwing  the  rope  re- 
peatedly over  the  beam,  first  drawing  it  tight  so  as  to  an- 
noy the  Skinner  a  little,  and  then  casting  the  end  from 
him,  beyond  the  reach  of  any  one. 

"This  is  joking  too  far,"  cried  the  Skinner  in  a  tone  of 
remonstrance,  and  raising  himself  on  his  toes,  with  the  vain 
hope  of  releasing  himself  from  the  cord,  by  slipping  his 
head  through  the  noose.  But  the  caution  and  experience 
of  the  refugee  officer  had  guarded  against  this  escape. 

"What  have  you  done  with  the  horse  you  stole  from  me, 
rascal?"  muttered  the  officer  of  the  Cow-boys,  throwing 
out  volumes  of  smoke  while  he  waited  for  a  reply. 

"  He  broke  down  in  the  chaise,"  replied  the  Skinner, 
quickly  ;  "  but  I  can  tell  you  where  one  is  to  be  found  thai 
is  worth  his  and  his  sire  " 


THE   SPY. 


35* 


"  Liar !  I  will  help  myself  when  I  am  in  need  ;  you  had 
better  call  upon  God  for  aid,  as  your  hour  is  short."  On 
concluding  this  consoling  advice,  he  struck  the  barrel  a 
violent  blow  with  his  heavy  boot,  and  the  slender  staves 
flew  in  every  direction,  leaving  the  Skinner  whirling  in  the 
air.  As  his  hands  were  unconfined,  he  threw  them  upward 
and  held  himself  suspended  by  main  strength. 

"  Come,  captain,"  he  said,  coaxingly,  a  little  huskiness 
creeping  into  his  voice,  and  his  knees  beginning  to  shake 
with  tremor,  "  end  the  joke  ;  'tis  enough  to  make  a  laugh, 
and  my  arms  begin  to  tire — I  can't  hold  on  much  longer." 

"  Harkee,  Mr.  Peddler,"  said  the  refugee,  in  a  voice 
that  would  not  be  denied,  "  I  want  not  your  company. 
Through  that  door  lies  your  road — march  !  offer  to  touch 
that  door,  and  you'll  swing  in  his  place,  though  twenty 
Sir  Henries  wanted  your  services."  So  saying,  he  retired 
to  the  road  with  the  sergeant,  as  the  peddler  precipitately 
retreated  down  the  bank. 

Birch  went  no  farther  than  a  bush  that  opportunely  of- 
fered itself  as  a  screen  to  his  person,  while  he  yielded  to 
an  unconquerable  desire  to  witness  the  termination  of  this 
extraordinary  scene. 

Left  alone  the  Skinner  began  to  throw  fearful  glances 
around,  to  espy  the  hiding-places  of  his  tormentors.  For 
the  first  time  the  horrid  idea  seemed  to  shoot  through  his 
brain  that  something  serious  was  intended  by  the  Cow-boy. 
He  called  entreatingly  to  be  released,  and  made  rapid  and 
incoherent  promises  of  important  information,  mingled 
with  affected  pleasantry  at  their  conceit,  which  he  would 
hardly  admit  to  himself  could  mean  anything  so  dreadful 
as  it  seemed.  But  as  he  heard  the  tread  of  the  horses 
moving  on  their  course,  and  in  vain  looked  around  for 
human  aid,  violent  trembling  seized  his  limbs,  and  his  eyes 
began  to  start  from  his  head  with  terror.  He  made  a  des- 
perate effort  to  reach  the  beam  ;  but,  too  much  exhausted 
with  his  previous  exertions,  he  caught  the  rope  in  his  teeth, 
in  a  vain  effort  to  sever  the  cord,  and  fell  to  the  whole 
length  of  his  arms.  Here  his  cries  were  turned  into 
shrieks : 

"  Help  !  cut  the  rope  !  captain ! — Birch  !  good  peddler  ! 
down  with  the  Congress  ! — sergeant ! — for  God's  sake,  help! 
Hurrah  for  the  king  !— Oh  God  !  oh  God  ! — mercy — mercy 
— mercy !  " 

As  his  voice  became  suppressed  one  of  his  hands  en- 
deavored to  make  its  way  between  the  rope  and  his  neck, 


352  THE   SPY. 

and  partially  succeeded  ;  but  the  other  fell  quivering  by 
his  side.  A  convulsive  shuddering  passed  over  his  whole 
frame,  and  he  hung  a  hideous  corpse. 

Birch  continued  gazing  on  this  scene  with  a  kind  of  in- 
fatuation. At  its  close  he  placed  his  hands  to  his  ears,  and 
rushed  toward  the  highway.  Still  the  cries  for  mercy 
rang  through  his  brain,  and  it  was  many  weeks  before  his 
memory  ceased  to  dwell  on  the  horrid  event.  The  Cow- 
boys rode  steadily  on  their  route,  as  if  nothing  had  oc- 
curred ;  and  the  body  was  left  swinging  in  the  wind,  until 
chance  directed  the  footsteps  of  some  straggler  to  the 
place. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Green  be  the  turf  above  thee, 

Friend  of  my  better  days  ; 
None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee, 

None  named  thee  but  to  praise. 

WHILE  the  scenes  and  events  that  we  have  recorded 
were  occurring,  Captain  Lavvton  led  his  small  party,  by 
slow  and  wary  marches,  from  the  Four  Corners  to  the  front 
of  a  body  of  the  enemy  ;  where  he  so  successfully  manoeu- 
vred, fora  short  time,  as  completely  to  elude  all  their  efforts 
to  entrap  him,  and  yet  so  disguised  his  own  force  as  to  ex- 
cite the  constant  apprehension  of  an  attack  from  the 
Americans.  This  forbearing  policy,  on  the  side  of  the 
partisan,  was  owing  to  positive  orders  received  from  his 
commander.  When  Dunwoodie  left  his  detachment,  the 
enemy  wrere  known  to  be  slowly  advancing,  and  he  directed 
Lawton  to  hover  around  them,  until  his  own  return,  and 
the  arrival  of  a  body  of  foot,  might  enable  him  to  inter- 
cept their  retreat. 

The  trooper  discharged  his  duty  to  the  letter,  but  with 
no  little  of  the  impatience  that  made  part  of  his  character 
when  restrained  from  the  attack. 

During  these  movements  Betty  Flanagan  guided  her 
little  cart  with  indefatigable  zeal  among  the  rocks  of  West- 
chester,  now  discussing  with  the  sergeant  the  nature  of  evil 
spirits,  and  now  combating  with  the  surgeon  sundry  points 
of  practice  that  were  hourly  arising  between  them.  But 
the  moment  at  length  arrived  that  was  to  decide  the  tempo- 
rary mastery  of  the  field.  A  detachment  of  the  eastern 


THE   SPY.  353 

militia  moved  out  from  their  fastnesses  and  approached 
the  enemy. 

The  junction  between  Lawton  and  his  auxiliaries  was 
made  at  midnight,  and  an  immediate  consultation  was  held 
between  him  and  the  leader  of  the  foot-soldiers.  After 
listening  to  the  statements  of  the  partisan,  who  rather  de- 
spised the  prowess  of  his  enemy,  the  commandant  of  the 
party  determined  to  attack  the  British  the  moment  day- 
light enabled  him  to  reconnoitre  their  position,  without 
\vraiting  for  the  aid  of  Dunwoodie  and  his  horse.  So  soon 
as  this  decision  was  made,  Lawton  retired  from  the  build- 
ing where  the  consultation  was  held,  and  rejoined  his  own 
small  command. 

The  few  troopers  who  were  with  the  captain  had  fas- 
tened their  horses  in  a  spot  adjacent  to  a  haystack,  and 
laid  their  own  frames  under  its  shelter,  to  catch  a  few 
hours  sleep.  But  Dr.  Sitgreaves,  Sergeant  Hollister,  and 
Betty  Flanagan  were  congregated  at  a  short  distance  by 
themselves,  having  spread  a  few  blankets  upon  the  drv 
surface  of  a  rock.  Lawton  threw  his  huge  frame  by  the 
side  of  the  surgeon,  and  folding  his  cloak  about  him 
leaned  his  head  upon  one  hand,  and  appeared  deeply  en- 
gaged in  contemplating  the  moon  as  it  waded  through  the 
heavens.  The  sergeant  was  sitting  upright,  in  respectful 
deference  to  the  surgeon,  and  the  washerwoman  was  now 
raising  her  head,  in  order  to  vindicate  some  of  her  favorite 
maxims,  and  now  composing  it  on  one  of  her  gin-casks,  in 
a  vain  effort  to  sleep. 

"  So,  sergeant,"  continued  Sitgreaves,  following  up  a 
previous  position,  "  if  you  cut  upward,  the  blow,  by  losing 
the  additional  momentum  of  your  weight,  will  be  less  de- 
structive, and  at  the  same  time  effect  the  true  purposes  of 
war,  that  of  disabling  your  enemy." 

"  Pooh  !  pooh  !  sergeant  dear,"  said  the  washerwoman, 
raising  her  head  from  the  blanket  ;  "where's  the  harm  of 
taking  a  life,  jist  in  the  way  of  battle  ?  Is  it  the  rig'lars 
who'll  show  favor,  and  they  fighting  ?  Ask  Captain  Jack 
there,  if  the  country  could  get  the  liberty,  and  the  boys  no 
strike  their  might.  I  wouldn't  have  them  disparage  the 
whiskey  so  much." 

"  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  an  ignorant  female  like 
yourself,  Mrs.  Flanagan,"  returned  the  surgeon,  with  a 
calmness  that  only  rendered  his  contempt  more  stinging 
to  Betty,  "  can  comprehend  the  distinctions  of  surgical 
science,  neither  are  you  accomplished  in  the  sword  exer- 

23 


354  THE 

cise  ;  so  that  dissertations  upon  the  judicious  use  of  that 
weapon  could  avail  you  nothing,  either  in  theory  or  in 
practice." 

"  It's  but  little  I  care,  any  way,  for  such  botherments  ; 
but  fighting  is  no  play,  and  a  body  shouldn't  be  particular 
how  they  strike,  or  who  they  hit,  so  it's  the  inimy." 

"  Are  we  likely  to  have  a  warm  day,  Captain  Lavvton  ? " 

"  'Tis  more  than  probable,"  replied  the  trooper;  "these 
militia  seldom  fail  making  a  bloody  field,  either  by  their 
cowardice  or  their  ignorance,  and  the  real  soldier  is  made 
to  suffer  for  their  bad  conduct." 

"Are  you  ill,  John  ?"  said  the  surgeon,  passing  his  arm 
along  the  arm  of  the  captain,  until  it  instinctively  settled 
on  his  pulse  ;  but  the  steady,  even  beat  announced  neither 
bodily  nor  mental  malady. 

"  Sick  at  heart,  Archibald,  at  the  folly  of  our  rulers,  in 
believing  that  battles  are  to  be  fought  and  victories  won 
by  fellows  who  handle  a  musket  as  they  would  a  flail  ;  lads 
who  wink  wh«n  they  pull  a  trigger,  and  form  a  line  like  a 
hoop  pole.  The  dependence  we  place  on  these  men  spills 
the  best  blood  of  the  country." 

The  surgeon  listened  with  amazement.  It  was  not  the 
matter,  but  the  manner  that  surprised  him.  The  trooper 
had  uniformly  exhibited,  on  the  eve  of  battle,  an  anima- 
tion, and  an  eagerness  to  engage,  that  was  directly  at  va- 
riance with  the  admirable  coolness  of  his  manner  at  other 
times.  But  now  there  was  a  despondency  in  the  tones  of 
his  voice,  and  a  listlessness  in  his  air,  that  was  entirely  dif- 
ferent. The  operator  hesitated  a  moment,  to  reflect  in 
what  manner  he  could  render  this  change  of  service  in  fur- 
thering his  favorite  system  available,  and  then  continued  : 

"  It  would  be  wise,  John,  to  advise  that  colonel  to  keep 
at  long  shot  ;  a  spent  shot  will  disable " 

"  No  !  "  exclaimed  the  trooper,  impatiently  ;  "let  the 
rascals  singe  their  whiskers  at  the  muzzles  of  the  British 
muskets,  if  they  can  be  driven  there.  But,  enough  of  them. 
Archibald,  do  you  deem  that  moon  to  be  a  world  like  this, 
containing  creatures  like  ourselves  ?  " 

"  Nothing  more  probable,  dear  John  ;  we  know  its  size, 
and,  reasoning  from  analogy,  may  easily  conjecture  its  use. 
Whether  or  not  its  inhabitants  have  attained  to  that  per- 
fection in  the  sciences  which  we  have  acquired,  must  de- 
pend greatly  on  the  state  of  its  society,  and  in  some  meas- 
ure upon  its  physical  influences." 

"  I   care   nothing  about  their  learning,  Archibald  ;  but 


THE  SPY.  355 

'tis  a  wonderful  power  that  can  create  such  worlds,  and  con- 
trol them  in  their  wanderings.  I  know  not  why,  but  there 
is  a  feeling  of  melancholy  excited  within  me  as  I  gaze  on 
that  body  of  light,  shaded  as  it  is  by  your  fancied  sea  and 
land.  It  seems  to  be  the  resting-place  of  departed 
spirits  ! " 

"  Take  a  drop,  darling,"  said  Betty,  raising  her  head 
once  more,  and  proffering  her  own  bottle  ;  "  'tis  the  night 
damp  that  chills  the  blood — and  then  the  talk  with  the 
cursed  militia  is  no  good  for  a  fiery  temper.  Take  a  drop, 
darling,  and  ye'll  sleep  till  the  morning.  I  fed  Roanoke 
myself,  for  I  thought  ye  might  need  hard  riding  the 
morrow." 

"  Tis  a  glorious  heaven  to  look  upon,"  continued  the 
trooper,  in  the  same  tone,  disregarding  the  offer  of  Betty, 
"  and  'tis  a  thousand  pities  that  such  worms  as  men  should 
let  their  vile  passions  deface  such  goodly  work." 

"You  speak  the  truth,  dear  John ;  there  is  room  for  all 
to  live  and  enjoy  themselves  in  peace,  if  each  could  be  sat- 
isfied with  his  own.  Still,  war  has  its  advantages  ;  it  par- 
ticularly promotes  the  knowledge  of  surgery  ;  and— 

"  There  is  a  star,"  continued  Lawton,  still  bent  on  his 
own  ideas,  "  struggling  to  glitter  through  a  few  driving 
clouds  ;  perhaps  that  too  is  a  world,  and  contains  its  creat- 
ures endowed  with  reason  like  ourselves  ;  think  you  that 
they  know  of  war  and  bloodshed  ?" 

"  If  I  might  be  so  bold,"  said  Sergeant  Hollister,  me- 
chanically raising  his  hand  to  his  cap,  "  'tis  mentioned  in 
the  good  book,  that  the  Lord  made  the  sun  to  stand  still 
while  Joshua  was  charging  the  enemy,  in  order,  sir,  as  I 
suppose,  that  they  might  have  daylight  to  turn  their  flank, 
or  perhaps  make  a  feint  in  the  rear,  or  some  such  manoeu- 
vre. Now,  if  the  Lord  would  lend  them  a  hand,  fighting 
cannot  be  sinful.  I  have  often  been  nonplussed,  though, 
to  find  that  they  used  them  chariots  instead  of  heavy  dra- 
goons, who  are,  in  all  comparison,  better  to  break  a  line  of 
infantry,  and  who,  for  the  matter  of  that,  could  turn  such 
wheel  carriages,  and,  getting  in  the  rear,  play  the  very 
devil  with  them,  horse  and  all." 

"  It  is  because  you  do  not  understand  the  construction 
of  those  ancient  vehicles,  Sergeant  Hollister,  that  you  judge 
of  them  so  erroneously,"  said  the  surgeon.  "They  were 
armed  with  sharp  weapons  that  protruded  from  their 
wheels,  and  which  broke  up  the  columns  of  foot,  like  dis- 
membered particles  of  matter.  1  doubt  not,  if  similar  in- 


356  THE  SPY. 

strumerits  were  affixed  to  the  cart  of  Mrs.  Flanagan,  that 
great  confusion  might  be  carried  into  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy  thereby,  this  very  day." 

"  It's  but  little  that  the  mare  would  go,  and  the  rig'lars 
firing  at  her,"  grumbled  Betty,  from  under  her  blanket  ; 
"  when  we  got  the  plunder,  the  time  we  drove  them  through 
the  Jarseys,  it  was  I  had  to  back  the  baste  up  to  the  dead  ; 
for  the  divil  the  foot  would  she  move,  forencnt  the  firing, 
wid  her  eyes  open.  Roanoke  and  Captain  Jack  are  good 
enough  for  the  red-coats,  letting  alone  myself  and  the 
mare." 

A  long  roll  of  the  drums,  from  the  hill  occupied  hy  the 
British,  announced  that  they  were  on  the  alert  ;  and  a  cor- 
responding signal  was  immediately  heard  from  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  bugle  of  the  Virginians  struck  up  its  martial 
tones  ;  and  in  a  few  moments  both  the  hills,  the  one  held 
by  the  royal  troops,  and  the  other  by  their  enemies,  were 
'alive  with  armed  men.  Day  had  begun  to  dawn,  and  prep- 
arations were  making  by  both  parties,  to  give  and  to  re- 
ceive the  attack.  In  numbers  the  Americans  had  greatly 
the  advantage  ;  but  in  discipline  and  equipments  the  su- 
periority was  entirely  with  their  enemies.  The  arrange- 
ment for  the  battle  was  brief,  and  by  the  time  the  sun 
had  risen  the  militia  moved  forward. 

The  ground  did  not  admit  of  the  movements  of  horse  ; 
and  the  only  duty  that  could  be  assigned  to  the  dragoons 
was  to  watch  the  moment  of  victory,  and  endeavor  to  im- 
prove the  success  to  the  utmost.  Lawton  soon  got  his  war- 
riors into  the  saddle ;  and  leaving  them  to  the  charge  of 
Hollister,  he  rode  himself  along  the  line  of  foot,  who,  in 
varied  dresses,  and  imperfectly  armed,  were  found  in  a 
shape  that  in  some  degree  resembled  a  martial  array.  A 
scornful  smile  lowered  about  the  lip  of  the  trooper  as  he 
guided  Roanoke  with  a  skilful  hand  through  the  windings 
of  their  ranks  ;  and  when  the  word  was  given  to  march,  he 
turned  the  flank  of  the  regiment,  and  followed  close  in  the 
rear.  The  Americans  had  to  descend  into  a  little  hollow, 
and  rise  a  hill  on  its  opposite  side,  to  approach  the  enemy. 

The  descent  wras  made  with  tolerable  steadiness,  until 
near  the  foot  of  the  hill,  when  the  royal  troops  advanced  in 
a*  beautiful  line,  with  their  flanks  protected  by  the  formation 
of  the  ground.  The  appearance  of  the  British  drew  a  fire 
from  the  militia,  which  was  given  with  good  effect,  and  for 
a  moment  staggered  the  regulars.  But  they  were  rallied 
by  their  officers,  and  threw  in  volley  after  volley  with  great 


THE   SPY.  357 

steadiness.  For  a  short  time  the  fire  was  warm  and  de- 
structive, until  the  English  advanced  with  the  bayonet. 
This  assault  the  militia  had  not  sufficient  discipline  to  with- 
stand. Their  line  wavered,  then  paused,  and  finally  broke 
into  companies  and  fragments  of  companies,  keeping  up  at 
the  same  time  a  scattering  and  desultory  fire. 

Lawton  witnessed  these  operations  in  silence,  nor  did 
he  open  his  mouth  until  the  field  was  covered  with  parties 
of  the  flying  Americans.  Then,  indeed,  he  seemed  stung 
with  the  disgrace  thus  heaped  upon  the  arms  of  his  country. 
.Spurring  Roanoke  along  the  side  of  the  hill,  he  called  to 
the  fugitives,  in  all  the  strength  of  his  powerful  voice.  He 
pointed  to  the  enemy,  and  assured  his  countrymen  that 
they  had  mistaken  the  way.  There  was  such  a  mixture 
of  indifference  and  irony  in  his  exhortations,  that  a  few 
paused  in  surprise — more  joined  them,  until,  roused  by  the 
example  of  the  trooper,  and  stimulated  by  their  own  spirit, 
they  demanded  to  be  led  against  their  foe  once  more. 

"  Come  on,  then,  my  brave  friends  !  "  shouted  the  trooper, 
turning  his  horse's  head  toward  the  British  line,  one  flank 
of  which  was  very  near  him  ;  "  come  on,  and  hold  your  fire 
until  it  will  scorch  their  eyebrows." 

The  men  sprang  forward,  and  followed  his  example, 
neither  giving  nor  receiving  a  fire  until  they  had  come  with- 
in a  very  short  distance  of  the  enemy.  An  English  ser- 
geant, who  had  been  concealed  by  a  rock,  enraged  with 
the  audacity  of  the  officer  who  thus  dared  their  arms, 
stepped  from  behind  his  cover,  and  advancing  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  trooper,  levelled  his  musket : 

"  Fire,  and  you  die !"  cried  Lawton,  spurring  his  charger, 
which  leaped  forward  at  the  instant.  The  action  and  the 
tone  of  his  voice  shook  the  nerves  of  the  Englishman,  who 
drew  his  trigger  with  an  uncertain  aim.  Roanoke  sprang 
with  all  his  feet  from  the  earth,  and  plunging,  fell  headlong 
and  lifeless  at  the  feet  of  his  destroyer.  Lawton  kept  his 
feet,  standing  face  to  face  with  his  enemy.  The  latter  pre- 
sented his  bayonet,  and  made  a  desperate  thrust  at  the 
trooper's  heart.  The  steel  of  their  weapons  emitted  sparks 
of  fire,  and  the  bayonet  flew  fifty  feet  in  the  air.  At  the 
next  moment  its  owner  lay  a  quivering  corpse. 

"  Come  on  ! "  shouted  the  trooper,  as  a  body  of  Eng- 
lish appeared  on  a  rock,  and  threw  in  a  close  fire  ;  "  come 
on  ! "  he  repeated,  and  brandished  his  sabre  fiercely. 
Then  his  gigantic  form  fell  backward,  like  a  majestic  pine 
yielding  to  the  axe  ;  but  still,  as  he  slowly  fell,  he  con- 


358  TV/A    SPY. 

tinued  to  wield  his  sabre,  and  once  more  the  deep  tone  of 
his  voice  was  heard  uttering,  "  Come  on  !  " 

The  advancing  Americans  paused  aghast,  and  turning, 
they  abandoned  the  field  to  the  royal  troops. 

It  was  neither  the  intention  nor  the  policy  of  the  Eng- 
lish commander  to  pursue  his  success,  for  he  well  knew 
that  strong  parties  of  the  Americans  would  soon  arrive  ; 
accordingly,  he  only  tarried  to  collect  his  wounded,  and, 
forming  in  a  square,  he  commenced  his  retreat  toward  the 
shipping.  Within  twenty  minutes  of  the  fall  of  Lawton, 
the  ground  was  deserted  by  both  the  English  and  Ameri- 
cans. 

When  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  called  upon 
to  enter  the  field,  they  were  necessarily  attended  by  such 
surgical  advisers  as  were  furnished  by  the  low  state  of  the 
profession  in  the  interior  at  that  day.  Dr.  Sitgreaves  en- 
tertained quite  as  profound  a  contempt  for  the  medical 
attendants  of  the  militia  as  the  captain  did  of  the  troops 
themselves.  He  wandered,  therefore,  around  the  field, 
casting  many  a  glance  of  disapprobation  at  the  slight 
operations  that  came  under  his  eye  ;  but  when,  among  the 
flying  troops,  he  found  that  his  comrade  and  friend  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen,  he  hastened  back  to  the  spot  at  which 
Hollister  was  posted,  to  inquire  if  the  trooper  had  re- 
turned. Of  course,  the  answer  was  in  the  negative. 
Filled  with  a  thousand  uneasy  conjectures,  the  surgeon, 
without  regarding,  or  indeed  without  at  all  reflecting 
upon  any  dangers  that  might  lie  in  his  way,  strode  over 
the  ground  at  an  enormous  rate,  to  the  point  where  he 
knew  the  final  struggle  had  been.  Once  before,  the  sur- 
geon had  rescued  his  friend  from  death  in  a  similar  situa- 
tion ;  and  he  felt  a  secret  joy  in  his  own  conscious  skill, 
as  he  perceived  Betty  Flanagan  seated  on  the  ground, 
holding  in  her  lap  the  head  of  a  man  whose  size  and  dress 
he  knew  could  belong  only  to  the  trooper.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  spot,  the  surgeon  became  alarmed  at  the 
aspect  of  the  washerwoman.  Her  little  black  bonnet  was 
thrown  aside,  and  her  hair,  which  was  already  streaked 
with  gray,  hung  around  her  face  in  disorder. 

"John!  dear  John!"  said  the  doctor  tenderly,  as  he 
bent  and  laid  his  hand  upon  the  senseless  wrist  of  the 
trooper  from  which  it  recoiled  with  an  intuitive  knowl- 
edge of  his  fate  ;  "John  !  dear  John  !  where  are  you  hurt  ? 
— can  I  help  you  ?" 

"  Yee  talk  to  the  senseless  clay,"  said  Betty,  rocking 


THE    SPY. 


359 


her  body,  and  unconsciously  playing  with  the  raven  ring- 
lets of  the  trooper's  hair  ;  "  it's  no  more  will  he  hear,  and 
it's  but  little  will  he  mind  yee'r  probes  and  yee'r  med'cines. 
Och  hone,  och  hone  ! — and  where  will  be  the  liberty  now  ? 
or  who  will  there  be  to  fight  the  battle  or  gain  the  day  ? " 

"John!"  repeated  the  surgeon,  still  unwilling  to  be- 
lieve the  evidence  of  his  unerring  senses,  "dear  John, 
speak  to  me  ;  say  what  you  will,  that  you  do  but  speak. 
Oh,  God  !  he  is  dead  ;  would  that  I  had  died  with  him  !  " 

"  There  is  but  little  use  in  living  and  fighting  now," 
said  Betty  ;  "  both  him  and  the  baste  !  see,  there  is  the 
poor  cratur,  and  here  is  the  master  !  I  fed  the  horse  with 
my  own  hands,  the  day  ;  and  the  last  male  that  he  ate  was 
of  my  own  cooking.  Och  hone  !  och  hone  ! — that  Captain 
Jack  should  live  to  be  killed  by  the  rig'lars  ! " 

"John!  my  dear  John!"  said  the  surgeon,  with  con- 
vulsive sobs,  "  thy  hour  has  come,  and  many  a  more  pru- 
dent man  survives  thee  ;  but  none  better,  nor  braver. 
Oh,  John  !  thou  wert  to  me  a  kind  friend,  and  very  dear  ; 
it  is  unphilosophical  to  grieve  ;  but  for  thee,  John,  I  must 
weep,  even  in  bitterness  of  heart  !  " 

The  doctor  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  for  several 
minutes  sat  yielding  to  an  ungovernable  burst  of  sorrow  ; 
while  the  washerwoman  gave  vent  to  her  grief  in  words, 
moving  her  body  in  a  kind  of  writhing,  and  playing  with 
different  parts  of  her  favorite's  dress  with  her  fingers. 

"And  who'll  be  there  to  encourage  the  boys  now  ? "  she 
said.  "Oh  !  Captain  Jack  !  Captain  Jack  !  ye  was  the 
sowl  of  the  troop,  and  it  was  but  little  we  knowed  of  the 
danger,  and  yee  fighting.  Och  !  he  was  no  maly  mouth'd, 
that  quarrelled  wid  a  widowed  woman  for  the  matter  of  a 
burn  in  *the  mate,  or  the  want  of  a  breakfast.  Taste  a 
drop,  darling,  and  it  may  be  'twill  revive  yee.  Och  !  and 
he'll  niver  taste  agin  ;  here's  the  doctor,  honey,  him  yee 
used  to  blarney  wid,  wapeing  as  if  the  poor  sowl  would 
die  for  yee.  Och  !  he's  gone,  he's  gone  ;  and  the  liberty 
is  gone  wid  him." 

A  thundering  sound  of  horses'  feet  came  rolling  along 
the  road  which  led  near  the  place  where  Lawton  lay,  and 
directly  the  whole  body  of  Virginians  appeared,  with  Dun- 
woodie  at  their  head.  The  news  of  the  captain's  fate  had 
reached  him  ;  for  the  instant  that  he  saw  the  body  he 
halted  the  squadron,  and  dismounting,  approached  the 
spot.  The  countenance  of  Lawton  was  not  in  the  least 
distorted,  but  the  angry  frown  which  had  lowered  over  his 


360  THE   SPY. 

brow  during  the  battle  was  fixed  even  in  death.  His  frame 
was  composed,  and  stretched  as  in  sleep.  Dunwoodie 
took  hold  of  his  hand,  and  gazed  a  moment  in  silence  ;  hjs 
own  dark  eye  kindled,  and  the  paleness  which  had  over- 
spread his  features  was  succeeded  by  a  spot  of  deep  red  in 
either  cheek. 

"  With  his  own  sword -will  I  avenge  him  !  "  he  cried,  en- 
deavoring to  take  the  weapon  from  the  hands  of  Lawton  ; 
but  the  grasp  resisted  his  utmost  strength.'  "  It  shall  be 
buried  with  him.  Sitgreaves,  take  care  of  our  friend  while 
I  revenge  his  death." 

The  major  hastened  back  to  his  charger,  and  led  the  way 
in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 

While  Dunwoodie  had  been  thus  engaged,  the  body  of 
Lawton  lay  in  open  view  of  the  whole  squadron.  He  was 
a  universal  favorite,  and  the  sight  inflamed  the  men  to  the 
utmost  ;  neither  officers  nor  soldiers  possessed  that  cool- 
ness which  is  necessary  to  insure  success  in  military  oper- 
ations, but  they  spurred  ardently  after  their  enemies, 
burning  with  a  wish  for  vengeance. 

The  English  were  formed  in  a  hollow  square,  which  con- 
tained their  wounded,  who  were  far  from  numerous,  and 
were  marching  steadily  across  a  very  uneven  country  as 
the  dragoons  approached.  The  horse  charged  in  column, 
and  were  led  by  Dunwoodie,  who,  burning  with  revenge, 
thought  to  ride  through  their  ranks,  and  scatter  them  at  a 
blow.  But  the  enemy  knew  their  own  strength  too  well, 
and,  standing  firm,  they  received  the  charge  on  the  points 
of  their  bayonets.  The  horses  of  the  Virginians  recoiled, 
and  the  rear  rank  of  the  foot  throwing  in  a  close  fire,  the 
major,  with  a  few  men,  fell.  The  English  continued  their 
retreat  the  moment  they  were  extricated  from  their  assail- 
ants ;  and  Dunwoodie,  who  was  severely,  but  not  danger- 
ously wounded,  recalled  his  men  from  further  attempts 
which,  in  that  stony  country,  must  necessarily  be  fruit- 
less. 

A  sad  duty  remained  to  be  fulfilled.  The  dragoons  re- 
tired slowly  through  the  hills,  conveying  their  wounded 
commander  and  the  body  of  Lawton.  The  latter  they  in- 
terred under  the  ramparts  of  one  of  the  Highland  forts, 
and  the  former  they  consigned  to  the  tender  care  of  his 
afflicted  bride. 

Many  weeks  were  gone  before  the  major  was  restored  to 
sufficient  strength  to  be  removed.  During  those  weeks, 
how  often  did  he  bless  the  moment  that  gave  him  a  right 


THE   SPY.  36? 

to  the  services  of  his  beautiful  nurse  !  She  hung  round  his 
couch  with  fond  attention  ;  administered  with  her  own 
hands  every  prescription  of  the  indefatigable  Sitgreaves, 
and  grew  each  hour  in  the  affections  and  esteem  of  her 
husband.  An  order  from  Washington  soon  sent  the  troops 
into  winter-quarters,  and  permission  was  given  to  Dun- 
woodie  to  repair  to  his  own  plantation,  with  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  in  order  to  complete  the  restoration  of 
his  health.  Captain  Singleton  made  one  of  the  party.  ;  and 
the  whole  family  retired  from  the  active  scenes  of  the  war 
to  the  ease  and  plenty  of  the  major's  own  estate.  Before 
leaving  Fishkill,  however,  letters  were  conveyed  to  them, 
through  an  unknown  hand,  acquainting  them  with  Henry's 
safety  and  good  health  ;  and  also  that  Colonel  Wellmere 
had  left  the  continent  for  his  native  island,  lowered  in  the 
estimation  of  every  honest  man  in  the  royal  army. 

It  was  a  happy  winter  for  Dunwoodie,  and  smiles  once 
more  began  to  play  around  the  lovely  mouth  of  Frances. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

'Midst  furs,  and  silks,  and  jewels'  sheen, 
He  stood,  in  simple  Lincoln  green, 
The  centre  of  the  glittering  ring  ; 
And  Snowdon's  knight  is  Scotland's  king. 

— Lady  of  the  Lake. 

THE  commencement  of  the  following  year  was  passed, 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  in  making  great  prepara- 
tions, in  conjunction  with  their  allies,  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
close.  In  the  south,  Greene  and  Rawdon  made  a  bloody 
campaign,  that  was  highly  honorable  to  the  troops  of  the 
latter,  but  which,  by  terminating  entirely  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  former  proved  him  to  be  the  better  general  of 
the  two. 

New  York  was  the  point  that  was  threatened  by  the 
allied  armies  ;  and  Washington,  by  exciting  a  constant  ap- 
prehension for  the  safety  of  that  city,  preventing  such  re- 
inforcements from  being  sent  to  Cornwallis  as  would  have 
enabled  him  to  improve  his  success. 

At  length,  as  autumn  approached,  every  indication  was 
given  thac  the  final  moment  had  arrived. 

The  French  forces  drew  near  to  the  royal  lines,  passing 
through  the  Neutral  Ground,  and  threatened  an  attack  in 


362  ^  THE  SPY. 

vtion  of  K  dge,  while  large  bodies  of  Amen 

n ml   the 

British  ;  ;  nigh  in  the  Jerseys,  they  seemed 

to  theaten  the  royal  forces  from  that  quarter  also, 
prep  took  of  the   nature  of  both  a  siege  ft] 

storm.     But  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  in  the  possession  of  inter- 
:od  letters  from  Washington.  rested  securely  within  his 
lines  and  ca  ;he  solicitations  of  Corn- 

wallis  for  sue. 

It  close  of  a  stormy  day  in   the   month  of 

September  t  hat  .  Mage  of  offuv 

near  the  door  of  a  building  t:  -ituated  in  the  heart 

of  the  A  troops,  who  held  the  Jerseys, 

the  dress,  and  the  dignity  of  deportment  >  of  these 

a    indicated   them   to  be  of  high    rank  ;  but  to  one 
in  particular  was  paid  B  deference  ..-.ui  obedience  that  an- 

nced  him  to  be  of  the  highest     His  dress  w 
but  it  bore   :  .1   military  distinctions  of  command. 

He  was  mounted  on  a  noble  animal,  of  a  deep  bay  ;  and  a 
.  in  g-ayc-  ,:.  his 

!  did   his   biddir  K  RS 

its  owner  ru:  !       .  pro- 

found attention,  C  n.il 

etiquette,  u..-  e\:..;  very  con  r..  .     At  length 

the  - 

around  him.  letunu  dis- 

})ei  -  Vicer  without  a  single  attendant,  except 

his  body  .p.     Dismounting,  he 

stepped  back  a  t  ul  fora  the 

condition  of  his  horse  with  the  eye  of  \\  ell  under- 

stood the  animal,  and  then,  casting  a  brief  but  expre> 

ice  at  his  aide  he  retired  into  the  building,  followed  by 
that  genileir. 

On  entering-  an  apartment  tl 

his  reception,  he  took  a  seat,  and  continued  fora  long  time 
in  a  thoughtful  attiti:,  ne  in  the  habit  of  commu 

h  with  himself.     During  this  silence,  the  aide-de-camp 
vi  in  expectation  of  his  orders.     At  length  the  general 
raised  his  eyes,  and  spoke  in  those  K  d  tones  that 

seemed  natural  to  him. 

••  ll.»s  the  :n.;n  whom  I  wished  to  see  arrived,  sir?" 
•lie  waits  the  pleasure 

*'  I  will  receive  him  here,  and  alone,  if  you  please." 

bdrew.      In   a   few  minute 
r  again  c;  .utment. 


THE  SPY.  363 

stood  modestly  at  a  distance  from  the  general,  without 
iking.  His  entrance  was  unheard  by  the  officer,  who 
sat  ga/.ing  at  the  lire,  still  absorbed  in  his  own  meditations. 
Several  minutes  passed,  when  he  spoke  to  himself  in  an 
undertone  : 

"  l\ "-morrow  we  must  raise  the  curtain,  and  expose  our 
plans.  May  heaven  prosper  them  !  " 

A  slight  movement  made  by  the  stranger  caught  his 
ear,  and  he  turned  his  head  and  saw  that  he  was  not  alone. 
He  pointed  silently  to  the  fire,  toward  which  the  figure  ad- 
vanced, although  the  multitude  of  his  garments,  which 
seemed  more  calculated  lor  disguise  than  comfort,  rendered 
its  warmth  unnecessary.  A  second  mild  and  courteous 
gesture  motioned  to  a  vacant  chair,  but  the  stranger  re- 
fused it  with  a  modest  acknowledgment.  Another  pause 
followed,  and  continued  for  some  time.  At  length  the 
officer  arose,  and  opening  a  desk  that  was  laid  upon  the 
table  near  which  he  sat,  took  from  it  a  small,  but  appar- 
ently heavy  bag. 

M  llarvey  Hirch,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  stranger,  "  the 
time  has  arrived  when  our  connection  must  cease  ;  hence- 
forth and  forever  we  must  be  strangers." 

The  peddler  dropped  the  folds  of  the  great-coat  that  con- 
cealed his  features,  and  ga.:ed  for  a  moment  earnestly  at 
the  lace  of  the  speaker  ;  then  dropping  his  head  upon  his 
bosom,  he  said,  meekly  : 

"  If  it  be  your  excellency's  pleasure." 

"  It  is  necessary.  Since  I  have  tilled  the  station  which 
I  now  hold,  it  has  become  my  duty  to  know  many  men, 
who,  like  yourself,  have  been  my  instruments  in  procuring 
intelligence.  You,  have  I  trusted  more  than  all  ;  1  early 
saw  in  you  a  regard  to  truth  and  principle  that,  I  am 
pleased  to  say,  has  never  deceived  me — you  alone  know 
my  secret  agents  in  the  city,  and  on  your  fidelity  depend, 
not  only  their  fortunes,  but  their  lives." 

He  paused,  as  if  to  reilect,  in  order  that  full  justice 
might  be  done  to  the  peddler,  and  then  continued  : 

"  1  believe  you  are  one  of  the  very  few  that  I  have  em- 
ployed who  have  acted  faithfully  to  our  cause  ;  and,  while 
you  have  passed  as  a  spy  of  the  enemy,  have  never  given 
intelligence  that  vou  were  not  permitted  to  divulge.  To 
me,  and  to  me  only  of  all  the  world,  vou  seem  to  have  acted 
with  a  strong  attachment  to  the  liberties  of  America." 

During  this  address,  llarvey  gradually  raised  his  head 
from  his  bosom,  until  it  reached  the  highest  point  of  e 


364  THE   SPY. 

vation  ;  a  faint  tinge  gathered  to  his  cheeks,  and,  as  the 
officer  concluded,  it  was  diffused  over  his  whole  counte- 
nance in  a  deep  glow,  while  he  stood  proudly  swelling 
with  his  emotions,  but  with  eyes  that  modestly  sought  the 
feet  of  the  speaker. 

"  It  is  now  my  duty  to  pay  you  for  these  services  ;  hith- 
erto you  have  postponed  receiving  your  reward,  and  the 
debt  has  become  a  heavy  one.  I  wish  not  to  undervalue 
your  dangers  ;  here  are  a  hundred  doubloons  ;  you  will  re- 
member the  poverty  of  our  country,  and  attribute  to  it  the 
smallness  of  your  pay." 

The  peddler  raised  his  eyes  to  the  countenance  of  the 
speaker  ;  but,  as  the  other  held  forth  the  money,  he  moved 
back,  as  if  refusing  the  bag. 

"  It  is  not  much  for  your  services  and  risks,  I  acknowl- 
edge," continued  the  general,  **  but  it  is  all  that  I  have  to 
offer ;  at  the  end  of  the  campaign,  it  may  be  in  my  power 
to  increase  it." 

"  Does  your  excellency  think  that  I  have  exposed  my 
life  and  blasted  my  character  for  money  ? " 

"  If  not  for  money,  what  then  ? " 

"What  has  brought  your  excellency  into  the  field? 
For  what  do  you  daily  and  hourly  expose  your  precious 
life  to  battle  and  the  halter  ?  What  is  there  about  me  to 
mourn,  when  such  men  as  you  risk  their  all  for  our  coun- 
try ?  No — no — no — not  a  dollar  of  your  gold  will  I  touch  ; 
poor  America  has  need  of  it  all  !  " 

The  bag  dropped  from  the  hand  of  the  officer,  and  fell 
at  the  feet  of  the  peddler,  where  it  lay  neglected  during 
the  remainder  of  the  interview.  The  officer  looked  stead- 
ily at  the  face  of  his  companion,  and  continued  : 

"  There  are  many  motives  which  might  govern  me,  that 
to  you  are  unknown.  Our  situations  are  different ;  I  am 
known  as  the  leader  of  armies,  but  you  must  descend  into 
the  grave  with  the  reputation  of  a  foe  to  your  native  land. 
Remember  that  the  veil  which  conceals  your  true  charac- 
ter cannot  be  raised  in  years — perhaps  never." 

Birch  again  lowered  his  face,  but  there  was  no  yielding 
of  the  soul  in  the  movement. 

"You  will  soon  be  old  ;  the  prime  of  your  days  is  al- 
ready past ;  what  have  you  to  subsist  on  ? " 

"  These  !  "  said  the  peddler,  stretching  forth  his  hands, 
that  were  already  embrowned  with  toil. 

"  But  those  may  fail  you  ;  take  enough  to  secure  a  sup- 
port to  your  age.  Remember  your  risks  and  cares.  J 


THE   SPY.  365 

have  told  you  that  the  characters  of  men  who  are  much 
esteemed  in  life  depend  on  your  secrecy  ;  what  pledge  can 
I  give  them  of  your  fidelity  ?  " 

"Tell  them,"  said  Birch,  advancing,  and  unconsciously 
resting  one  foot  on  the  bag,  "tell  them  that  I  would  not 
take  the  gold  !  " 

The  composed  features  of  the  officer  relaxed  into  a 
smile  of  benevolence,  and  he  grasped  the  hand  of  the 
peddler  firmly. 

"Now,  indeed,  I  know  you  ;  and  although  the  same 
reasons  which  have  hitherto  compelled  me  to  expose  your 
valuable  life  will  still  exist,  and  prevent  my  openly  assert- 
ing your  character,  in  private  I  can  always  be  your  friend  ; 
fail  not  to  apply  to  me  when  in  want  or  suffering,  and  so 
long  as  God  giveth  to  me,  so  long  will  I  freely  share  with 
a  man  who  feels  so  nobly  and  acts  so  well.  If  sickness  or 
want  should  ever  assail  you,  and  peace  once  more  smile 
upon  our  efforts,  seek  the  gates  of  him  whom  you  have  so 
often  met  as  Harper,  and  he  will  not  blush  to  acknowl- 
edge you  in  his  true  character." 

"  It  is  little  that  I  need  in  this  life,"  said  Harvey  ;  "so 
long  as  God  gives  me  health  and  honest  industry,  I  can 
never  want  in  this  country ;  but  to  know  that  your  excel- 
lency is  my  friend  is  a  blessing  that  I  prize  more  than  all 
the  gold  of  England's  treasury." 

The  officer  stood  for  a  few  moments  in  the  attitude  of  in- 
tense thought.  He  then  drew  to  him  the  desk,  and  wrote 
a  few  lines  on  a  piece  of  paper,  and  gave  it  to  the  peddler. 

"  That  Providence  destines  this  country  to  some  great 
and  glorious  fate  I  must  believe,  while  I  witness  the  patri- 
otism that  pervades  the  bosoms  of  her  lowest  citizens,"  he 
said.  "  It  must  be  dreadful  to  a  mind  like  yours  to  de- 
scend into  the  grave  branded  as  a  foe  to  liberty;  but  you 
already  know  the  lives  that  would  be  sacrificed  should 
your  real  character  be  revealed.  It  is  impossible  to  do 
you  justice  now,  but  I  fearlessly  intrust  you  with  this 
certificate  ;  should  we  never  meet  again,  it  may  be  ser- 
viceable to  your  children." 

"  Children  !  "  exclaimed  the  peddler,  "  can  I  give  to  a 
family  the  infamy  of  my  name  ?  " 

The  officer  gazed  at  the  strong  emotion  he  exhibited 
with  pain,  and  he  made  a  slight  movement  toward  the 
gold  ;  but  it  was  arrested  by  the  expression  of  his  compan- 
ion's face.  Harvey  saw  the  intention,  and  shook  his  head 
as  he  continued,  more  mildly  : 


366  THE   SPY. 

"  It  is,  indeed,  a  treasure  that  your  excellency  gives 
me  ;  it  is  safe  too.  There  are  men  living  who  could  say 
that  my  life  was  nothing  to  me,  compared  to  your  secrets. 
The  paper  that  I  told  you  was  lost,  I  swallowed  when 
taken  last  by  the  Virginians.  It  was  the  only  time  I  ever 
deceived  your  excellency,  and  it  shall  be  the  last  ;  yes, 
this  is,  indeed,  a  treasure  to  me  ;  perhaps,"  he  continued, 
with  a  melancholy  smile,  "  it  may  be  known  after  my 
death  who  was  my  friend  ;  but  if  it  should  not,  there  are 
none  to  grieve  for  me." 

"Remember,"  said  the  officer,  with  strong  emotion, 
"  that  in  me  you  will  always  have  a  secret  friend  ;  but 
openly  I  cannot  know  you." 

"  I  know  it,  I  know  it,"  said  Birch  ;  "  I  knew  it  when  I 
took  the  service.  'Tis  probably  the  last  time  that  I  shall 
ever  see  your  excellency.  May  God  pour  down  his  choic- 
est blessings  on  your  head  !  "  He  paused,  and  moved  to- 
ward the  door.  The  officer  followed  him  with  eyes  that 
expressed  deep  interest.  Once  more  the  peddler  turned, 
and  seemed  to  gaze  on  the  placid  but  commanding  feat- 
ures of  the  general  with  regret  and  reverence,  and  then, 
bowing  low,  he  withdrew. 

The  armies  of  America  and  France  were  led  by  their 
illustrious  commander  against  the  enemy  under  Corn- 
wallis,  and  terminated  a  campaign  in  triumph  that  had 
commenced  in  difficulties.  Great  Britain  soon  after  be- 
came disgusted  with  the  war  ;  and  the  independence  of 
the  States  was  acknowledged. 

As  years  rolled  by,  it  became  a  subject  of  pride  among 
the  different  actors  in  the  war,  and  their  descendants,  to 
boast  of  their  efforts  in  the  cause  which  had  confessedly 
heaped  so  many  blessings  upon  their  country  ;  but  the 
name  of  Harvey  Birch  died  away  among  the  multitude  of 
agents  who  were  thought  to  have  labored  in  secret  against 
the  rights  of  their  countrymen.  His  image,  however,  was 
often  present  to  the  mind  of  the  powerful  chief,  who  alone 
knew  his  true  character  ;  and  several  times  did  he  cause 
secret  inquiries  to  be  made  into  the  other's  fate,  one  of 
which  only  resulted  in  any  success.  By  this  he  learned 
that  a  peddler  of  a  different  name,  but  similar  appearance, 
was  toiling  through  the  new  settlements  that  were  spring- 
ing up  in  every  direction,  and  that  he  was  struggling  with 
the  advance  of  years  and  apparent  poverty.  Death  pre* 
Vented  further  inquiries  on  the  part  of  the  officer,  arid  a 
long  period  passed  before  he  was  again  heard  of. 


THE   SPY.  367 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Some  village  Hampden,  that  with  dauntless  breast 

The  little  tyrant  of  his  fields  withstood — 
Some  mute,  inglorious  Milton  here  may  rest ; 

Some  Cromwell,  guiltless  of  his  country's  blood. — GRAY. 

IT  was  thirty-three  years  after  the  interview  which  we 
have  just  related  that  an  American  army  was  once  more 
arrayed  against  the  troops  of  England  ;  but  the  scene  was 
transferred  from  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  to  those  of  the 
Niagara. 

The  body  of  Washington  had  long  lain  mouldering  in  the 
tomb  ;  but  as  time  was  fast  obliterating  the  slight  impres- 
sions of  political  enmity  or  personal  envy,  his  name  was 
hourly  receiving  new  lustre,  and  his  worth  and  integrity 
each  moment  became  more  visible,  not  only  to  his  country- 
men, but  to  the  world.  He  was  already  the  acknowledged 
hero  of  an  age  of  reason  and  truth  ;  and  many  a  young 
heart  among  those  who  formed  the  pride  of  our  army  in 
1814,  was  glowing  with  the  recollection  of  the  one  great 
name  of  America,  and  inwardly  beating  with  the  sanguine 
expectation  of  emulating,  in  some  degree,  its  renown.  In 
no  one  were  these  virtuous  hopes  more  vivid  than  in  the 
bosom  of  a  young  officer  who  stood  on  the  table  rock,  con- 
templating the  great  cataract,  on  the  evening  of  July  25th 
of  that  bloody  year.  The  person  of  this  youth  was  tall 
and  finely  moulded,  indicating  a  just  proportion  between 
strength  and  activity  ;  his  deep  black  eyes  were  of  a  search- 
ing and  dazzling  brightness.  At  times,  as  they  gazed  upon 
the  flood  of  waters  that  rushed  tumultuously  at  his  feet, 
there  was  a  stern  and  daring  look  that  flashed  from  them, 
which  denoted  the  ardor  of  an  enthusiast.  But  this  proud 
expression  was  softened  by  the  lines  of  a  mouth  around 
which  there  played  a  suppressed  archness,  that  partook  of 
feminine  beauty.  His  hair  shone  in  the  setting  sun  like 
ringlets  of  gold,  as  the  air  from  the  falls  gently  moved  the 
rich  curls  from  a  forehead,  whose  whiteness  showed  that 
exposure  and  heat  alone  had  given  their  darker  hue  to  a 
face  glowing  with  health.  There  was  another  officer  stand- 
ing by  the  side  of  this  favored  youth  ;  and  both  seemed,  by 
the  interest  they  betrayed,  to  be  gazing  for  the  first  time 
at  the  wonder  of  the  western  world.  A  profound  silence 
was  observed  by  each,  until  the  companion  of  the  officer 


368  THE   SPY. 

that  we  have  described  suddenly  started,  and  pointing 
eagerly  with  his  sword  into  the  abyss  beneath,  exclaimed: 

"  See  !  Wharton,  there  is  a  man  crossing  in  the  very 
eddies  of  the  cataract,  and  in  a  skiff  no  bigger  than  an 
egg-shell." 

"  He  has  a  knapsack — it  is  probably  a  soldier,"  returned 
the  other.  "  Let  us  meet  him  at  the  ladder,  Mason,  and 
learn  his  tidings." 

Some  time  was  expended  in  reaching  the  spot  where  the 
adventurer  was  intercepted.  Contrary  to  the  expectations 
of  the  young  soldiers,  he  proved  to  be  a  man  far  advanced 
in  life,  and  evidently  no  follower  of  the  camp.  His  years 
might  be  seventy,  and  they  were  indicated  more  by  the 
thin  hairs  of  silver  that  lay  scattered  over  his  wrinkled 
brow,  than  by  any  apparent  failure  of  his  system.  His 
frame  was  meagre  and  bent ;  but  it  was  the  attitude  of 
habit,  for  his  sinews  were  strung  with  the  toil  of  half  a 
century.  His  dress  was  mean,  and  manifested  the  economy 
of  its  owner  by  the  number  and  nature  of  its  repairs.  On 
his  back  was  a  scantily  furnished  pack,  that  had  led  to  the 
mistake  in  his  profession.  A  few  words  of  salutation,  and, 
on  the  part  of  the  young  men,  of  surprise,  that  one  so 
aged  should  venture  so  near  the  whirlpools  of  the  cataract, 
were  exchanged  ;  when  the  old  man  inquired,  with  a  voice 
that  began  to  manifest  the  tremor  of  age,  the  news  from 
the  contending  armies. 

"  We  whipped  the  red-coats  here  the  other  day,  among 
the  grass  on  the  Chippewa  plains,"  said  the  one  who  was 
called  Mason  ;  "  since  when,  we  have  been  playing  hide- 
and-go-seek  with  the  ships  :  but  we  are  now  marching 
back  from  where  we  started,  shaking  our  heads,  and  as 
surly  as  the  devil." 

"  Perhaps  you  have  a  son  among  the  soldiers,"  said  his 
companion,  with  a  milder  demeanor,  and  an  air  of  kind- 
ness ;  *'  if  so,  tell  me  his  name  and  regiment,  and  I  will 
take  you  to  him." 

The  old  man  shook  his  head,  and,  passing  his  hand  over 
his  silver  locks,  with  an  air  -of  meek  resignation,  he  an- 
swered : 

"  No  ;  I  am  alone  in  the  world  !  " 

"You  should  have  added,  Captain  Dunwoodie,"  cried 
his  careless  comrade,  "  if  you  could  find  either  ;  for  nearly 
half  our  army  has  marched  down  the  road,  and  maybe,  by 
this  time,  under  the  walls  of  Fort  George,  for  anything 
that  we  know  to  the  contrary." 


THE   SPY.  369 

The  old  man  stopped  suddenly,  and  looked  earnsstly 
from  one  of  his  companions  to  the  other  ;  the  action  being 
observed  by  the  soldiers,  they  paused  also. 

"  Did  I  hear  right  ?  "  the  stranger  uttered,  raising  his 
hand  to  screen  his  eyes  from  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  ; 
"  what  did  he  call  you  ?" 

"  My  name  is  Wharton  Dunwoodie,"  replied  the  youth, 
smiling. 

The  stranger  motioned  silently  for  him  to  remove  his 
hat,  which  the  youth  did  accordingly,  and  his  fair  hair 
blew  aside  like  curls  of  silk,  and  opened  the  whole  of  his 
ingenuous  countenance  to  the  inspection  of  the  other. 

"  'Tis  like  our  native  land  !"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  with 
vehemence,  "  improving  with  time— God  has  blessed  both." 

"Why  do  you  stare  thus,  Lieutenant  Mason  ?"  cried 
Captain  Dunwoodie,  laughing  a  little;  "you  show  more 
astonishment  than  when  you  saw  the  falls." 

"  Oh,  the  falls!  tiiey  are  a  thing  to  be  looked  at  on  a 
moonshiny  night,  by  your  aunt  Sarah  and  that  gay  old 
bachelor,  Colonel  Singleton  ;  but  a  fellow  like  myself 
never  shows  surprise,  unless  it  may  be  at  such  a  touch  as 
this." 

The  extraordinary  vehemence  of  the  stranger's  manner 
had  passed  away  as  suddenly  as  is  was  exhibited,  but  he 
listened  to  this  speech  with  deep  interest,  while  Dunwoodie 
replied,  a  little  gravely  : 

"  Come,  come,  Tom,  no  jokes  about  my  good  aunt,  I 
beg  ;  she  is  kindness  itself  ;  and  I  have  heard  it  whispered 
that  her  youth  was  not  altogether  happy." 

"Why,  as  to  rumor,"  said  Mason,  "there  goes  one  in 
Accomac,  that  Colonel  Singleton  offers  himself  to  her  regu- 
larly every  Valentine's  day  ;  and  there  are  some  who  add, 
that  your  old  great-aunt  helps  his  suit." 

"  Aunt  Jeanette  !  "  said  Dunwoodie,  laughing;  "dear 
good  soul,  she  thinks  but  little  of  marriage  in  any  shape,  I 
believe,  since  the  death  of  Dr.  Sitgreaves.  There  were 
some  whispers  of  a  courtship  between  them  formerly,  but 
it  ended  in  nothing  but  civilities,  and  I  suspect  that  the 
whole  story  arises  from  the  intimacy  of  Colonel  Singleton 
and  my  father." 

"  I  know  all  that,-  of  course  ;  but  you  must  not  tell  me 
that  the  particular  prim  bachelor  goes  so  often  to  General 
Dunwoodie's  plantation  merely  for  the  sake  of  talking  old 
soldier  with  your  father.  The  last  time  I  was  there,  that 
yellow,  sharp-nosed  house-keeper  of  your  mother's  took  me 

24  -~ 


370  THE   SPY. 

into  the  pantry,  and  said  that  the  colonel  was  no  despis- 
able  match,  as  she  called  it,  and  how  the  sale  of  his  plan- 
tation in  Georgia  had  brought  him — oh,  Lord  !  I  don't 
know  how  much." 

"Quite  likely,"  returned  the  captain  ;  "  Katy  Haynes  is 
no  bad  calculator." 

They  had  stopped  during  this  conversation,  in  uncertainty 
whether  their  new  companion  was  to  be  left  or  not. 

The  old  man  listened  to  each  word  as  it  was  uttered, 
with  the  most  intense  interest ;  but,  toward  the  conclusion 
of  the  dialogue  the  earnest  attention  of  his  countenance 
changed  to  a  kind  of  inward  smile.  He  shook  his  head, 
and,  passing  his  hand  over  his  forehead,  seemed  to  be 
thinking  of  other  times.  Mason  paid  but  little  attention 
to  the  expression  of  his  features,  and  continued  : 

"  To  me,  she  is  selfishness  embodied  !  " 

"  Her  selfishness  does  but  little  harm,"  returned  Dun- 
woodie.  "One  of  her  greatest  difficulties  is  her  aversion 
to  the  blacks.  She  says  that  she  never  saw  but  one  that 
she  liked." 

"  And  who  was  he  ?  " 

"His  name  was  Caesar  ;  he  was  a  house-servant  of  my 
late  grandfather  Wharton.  You  don't  remember  him,  I 
believe  ;  he  died  the  same  year  with  his  master,  while  we 
were  children.  Katy  yearly  sings  his  requiem,  and,  upon 
my  word,  I  believe  he  deserved  it.  I  have  heard  something 
of  his  helping  my  English  uncle,  as  we  call  General  Whar- 
ton, in  some  difficulty  that  occurred  in  the  old  war.  My 
mother  always  speaks  of  him  with  great  affection.  Both 
Caesar  and  Katy  came  to  Virginia  with  my  mother  when 
she  married.  My  mother  was " 

"  An  angel ! "  interrupted  the  old  man,  in  a  voice  that 
startled  the  young  soldiers  by  its  abruptness  and  energy. 

"  Did  you  know  her  ?  "  cried  the  son,  with  a  glow  of 
pleasure  on  his  cheek. 

The  reply  of  the  stranger  was  interrupted  by  sudden  and 
heavy  explosions  of  artillery,  which  were  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  continued  volleys  of  small-arms,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  air  was  filled  with  the  tumult  of  a  warm  and 
well-contested  battle. 

The  two  soldiers  hastened  with  precipitation  toward  the 
camp,  accompanied  by  their  new  acquaintance.  The  ex- 
citement and  anxiety  created  by  the  approaching  fight  pre- 
vented  a  continuance  of  the  conversation,  and  the  three 
held  their  way  to  the  army,  making  occasional  conjectures 


THE   SPY. 


37* 


on  the  cause  of  the  fire,  and  the  probability  of  a  general 
engagement.  During  their  short  and  hurried  walk,  Cap- 
tain Dunwoodie,  however,  threw  several  friendly  glances 
at  the  old  man,  who  moved  over  the  ground  with  astonish- 
ing energy  for  his  years,  for  the  heart  of  the  youth  was 
warmed  by  an  eulogium  on  a  mother  that  he  adored.  In 
a  short  time  they  joined  the  regiment  to  which  the  officers 
belonged,  when  the  captain,  squeezing  the  stranger's  hand, 
earnestly  begged  that  he  would  make  inquiries  after  him 
on  the  following  morning,  and  that  he  might  see  him  in 
his  own  tent.  Here  they  separated. 

Everything  in  the  American  camp  announced  an  ap- 
proaching struggle.  At  a  distance  of  a  few  miles,  the 
sound  of  cannon  and  musketry  was  heard  above  the  roar 
of  the  cataract.  The  troops  were  soon  in  motion,  and  a 
movement  made  to  support  the  division  of  the  army  which 
was  already  engaged.  Night  had  set  in  before  the  reserve 
and  irregulars  reached  the  foot  of  Lundy's  Lane,  a  road  that 
diverged  from  the  river  and  crossed  a  conical  eminence,  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  Niagara  highway.  The  sum- 
mit of  this  hill  was  crowned  with  the  cannon  of  the  Brit- 
ish, and  in  the  flat  beneath  was  the  remnant  of  Scott's  gal- 
lant brigade,  which  for  a  long  time  had  held  an  unequal 
contest  with  distinguished  bravery.  A  new  line  was  inter- 
posed, and  one  column  of  the  Americans  directed  to  charge 
up  the  hill,  parallel  to  the  road.  This  column  took  the 
English  in  flank,  and,  bayoneting  their  artillerists,  gained 
possession  of  the  cannon.  They  were  immediately  joined 
by  their  comrades,  and  the  enemy  was  swept  from  the  hill. 
But  large  reinforcements  were  joining  the  English  general 
momentarily,  and  their  troops  were  too  brave  to  rest  easy 
under  the  defeat.  Repeated  and  bloofly  charges  were  made 
to  recover  the  guns,  but  in  all  they  were  repulsed  with 
slaughter.  During  the  last  of  these  struggles,  the  ardor  of 
the  youthful  captain  whom  we  have  mentioned  urged  him 
to  lead  his  men  some  distance  in  advance,  to  scatter  a  dar- 
ing party  of  the  enemy.  He  succeeded,  but  in  returning 
to  the  line  missed  his  lieutenant  from  the  station  that  he 
ought  to  have  occupied.  Soon  after  this  repulse,  which 
was  the  last,  orders  were  given  to  the  shattered  troops  to 
return  to  the  camp.  The  British  were  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
and  preparations  were  made  to  take  in  such  of  the  wounded 
as  could  be  moved.  At  this  moment  Wharton  Dunwoodie, 
impelled  by  affection  for  his  friend,  seized  a  lighted  fusee, 
and  taking  two  of  his  men,  went  himself  in  quest  of  his 


372  THE   SPY. 

body,  where  he  was  supposed  to  have  fallen.  Mason  was 
found  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  seated  with  great  composure, 
but  unable  to  walk  from  a  fractured  leg.  Dunwoodie  saw 
and  flew  to  the  side  of  his  comrade,  exclaiming  : 

"  Ah  !  dear  Tom,  I  knew  I  should  find  you  the  nearest 
man  to  the  enemy." 

"  Softly,  softly  ;  handle  me  tenderly,"  replied  the  lieu- 
tenant ;  "there  is  a  brave  fellow  still  nearer  than  myself, 
and  who  he  can  be  I  know  not.  He  rushed  out  of  our 
smoke,  near  my  platoon,  to  make  a  prisoner  or  some  such 
thing,  but,  poor  follow,  he  never  came  back  ;  there  he  lies 
just  over  the  hillock.  I  have  spoken  to  him  several  times, 
but  I  fancy  he  is  past  answering." 

Dunwoodie  went  to  the  spot,  and  to  his  astonishment 
beheld  the  aged  stranger. 

"  It  is  the  old  man  who  knew  my  mother  !  "  cried  the 
youth  ;  "for  her  sake  he  shall  have  honorable  burial  ;  lift 
him,  and  let  him  be  carried  in  ;  his  bones  shall  rest  on 
native  soil." 

The  men  approached  to  obey.  He  was  lying  on  his 
back,  with  his  face  exposed  to  the  glaring  light  of  the 
fusee  ;  his  eyes  were  closed,  as  if  in  slumber  ;  his  lips, 
sunken  with  years,  were  slightly  moved  from  their  natural 
position,  but  it  seemed  more  like  a  smile  than  a  convulsion 
which  had  caused  the  change.  A  soldier's  musket  lay 
near  him  ;  his  hands  were  pressed  upon  his  breast,  and 
one  of  them  contained  a  substance  that  glistened  like  sil- 
ver. Dunwoodie  stooped,  and  removing  the  limbs,  per- 
ceived the  place  where  the  bullet  had  found  a  passage  to 
his  heart.  The  subject  of  his  last  care  was  a  tin  box, 
through  which  the  fatal  lead  had  gone  ;  and  the  dying 
moments  of  the  old  man  must  have  passed  in  drawing  it 
from  his  bosom.  Dunwoodie  opened  it,  and  found  a  paper 
in  which,  to  his  astonishment,  he  read  the  following  : 

"  Circumstances  of  political  importance,  which  involve 
the  lives  and  fortunes  of  many,  have  hitherto  kept  secret 
what  this  paper  now  reveals.  Harvey  Birch  has  for  years 
been  a  faithful  and  unrequited  servant  of  his  country. 
Though  man  does  not,  may  God  reward  him  for  his  con- 
duct !  "  GEO.  WASHINGTON." 

It  was  the  SPY  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND,  who  died  as  he 
had  lived,  devoted  to  his  country,  and  a  martyr  to  her  lib- 
erties. 


NRLF 


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